Research firm gives City of Saskatoon an 'F' on budget transparency

A research firm has given Saskatchewan’s two largest cities failing grades for budget transparency.

A report from the C.D. Howe Institute, released Tuesday, gives 31 Canadian municipalities a letter grade based on the transparency of their fiscal plans.

Both Saskatoon and Regina received an F.

“At the bottom of the scale are Regina and Saskatoon, whose financial documents fail to meet a minimal standard of transparency, usefulness and timeliness,” the report reads.

The study said Regina’s budget was “late and confusing.”

It found Saskatoon’s budget did not provide consistent numbers.

Both cities’ financial statement figures didn’t line up with the budget, according to C.D. Howe.

William Robson, the CEO of C.D. Howe Institute, said city budgets should be easy for taxpayers to understand.

“It’s confusing and it doesn’t need to be so confusing,” Robson told CTV News.

“There's no reason why the key numbers can't be upfront and so they’re identified.”

Clae Hack, the city of Saskatoon’s chief financial officer, disagreed with the study’s findings.

“Their indicators are pretty narrow and missed the mark,” Hack told CTV News.

“The grading is, in my opinion, and a lot of my counterparts' throughout the country, pretty fundamentally flawed.”

The report found Saskatoon’s budget didn’t meet Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS).

But Hack said the city budget is aligned with PSAS and the rules outlined in the province’s Cities Act.

“We follow and are in line with every regulation that is expected of us,” Hack said, referencing Saskatoon’s AAA credit rating from S&P Global Ratings.

CTV News has reached out to the city of Regina and is awaiting a response.

Vancouver earned the highest score from the C.D. Howe Institute. The report gave the city an A+ for its fiscal “clarity, completeness and promptness.”