Carla Sledge, the winner of the Outstanding CPA in Government Award at the local level, is the Chief Financial Officer of the Charter County in Wayne, MI. Wayne County is the home of Detroit and is the 11th largest county in the US. In 2003, Wayne County faced a $54 million dollar deficit as it struggled to recover from the national recession. In response to the problem, Sledge created a deficit plan to bring the budget into balance and developed and implemented strategies to strengthen and stabilize the county’s financial situation for the next several years. Sledge’s efforts have reduced the size of government by $50 million without increasing property taxes or reducing services to Wayne County residents.