Westmoreland Controller's Office honored for financial reports

The Westmoreland County Controller’s office was honored for production of its most recent report on county finances, a document completed by quarantining staffers who were required to work from home during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government Finance Officers Association issued a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the county’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2019. The association also honored the office for it’s summary publication county finances designed for easy public access.

Controller Jeff Balzer said most of his staff tasked with creating the reports did so from remote locations rather than the department’s courthouse offices.

“Although we did not a have a plan in our playbook for this situation, my staff rose to the challenge and adapted to operating under a new set of conditions,” Balzer said.

Westmoreland County is one of 16 Pennsylvania counties to receive the award.

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is a 228-page document that details all of the finances for Westmoreland County and includes county demographics and statistics of the local economy. The Citizen’s Financial Report is a 16-page pamphlet that gives a summary of financial highlights for past year.

Both documents are posted to the controller’s page on Westmoreland County’s website.

The controller’s office is now working to complete reports of the county’s 2020 finances.