The City of Red Deer has taken an important step toward strengthening its long-term financial sustainability with the presentation of the Financial Roadmap to City Council today.
Developed in partnership with KPMG, the Roadmap provides a detailed assessment of The City’s financial maturity and offers a clear path forward to enhance financial leadership, governance, and accountability. This work responds directly to Council’s 2024 direction to develop a Financial Management and Governance Maturity Plan and aligns with their 2025 priority of Financial Stewardship.
The report identifies key areas for improvement across financial systems, policies, and practices, and is accompanied by a 20-year budget scenario modelling tool to support future planning and long-range decision-making.
“The Financial Roadmap provides a strong foundation for Red Deer’s financial future,” said Tricia Hercina, General Manager of Finance. “It gives us a clear picture of where we are today, and even more importantly, a strategic direction for where we need to go. We’re focused on building a more transparent, collaborative, and data-informed financial function that can support Council and the community long into the future.”
The Roadmap assessed several key dimensions of The City’s financial operations, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement in areas such as financial policies, reporting, systems integration, and organizational structure.
Many of the recommendations in the report are already in progress. The City has:
- Initiated updates to financial policies, including those for offsite levies and utilities, with reserve-related work identified as a priority for the coming year.
- Launched service review efforts through Community Compass and zero-based budgeting.
- Begun recruitment for a permanent Chief Financial Officer, with interim leadership in place.
- Prepared to implement EPM budgeting software for the 2026 budget.
- Initiated a full review of the 10-Year Capital Plan, with a report coming to Council in August.
Quarterly updates on implementation progress will be provided to the Audit Committee to ensure transparency and ongoing accountability.
“This is a long-term journey, not a one-time report,” added Hercina. “We’re committed to strengthening the financial foundation of our entire organization. The Roadmap gives us a shared direction for how to do that in a more integrated, transparent, and forward-looking way.”
For more information, see attached Financial Roadmap FAQ (pdf) and visit www.reddeer.ca/budget