Auditing American Fork: what we're examining and why

American Fork, a city of about 37,000 in northern Utah County, has a $45.3 million general fund budget this year, according to the city's budget highlights page. The budget adds nine firefighters and two police officers. ^[1]

The Utah Ledger is reviewing the city's public financial records: budgets, independent audits, redevelopment agency reports, contracts and officials' conflict-of-interest disclosures. This series reports what those records show as we find it. Where a record states something, we say so and link it. Each statement links to the record it comes from.

What the audits say

The city's independent auditor, Larson & Company, issued clean opinions for fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Its federal single audits list no findings. ^[2][3]

At the end of fiscal 2024, the general fund balance was $13.66 million, or 35% of revenue, the most state law allows a city to hold. Debt stood at about 17% of the legal limit. ^[4]

A financial audit checks whether money was recorded and reported correctly. It does not check whether a redevelopment area followed the limits in its own budget.

Redevelopment areas

Like many Utah cities, American Fork uses redevelopment areas. In these zones, part of the growth in property taxes, called tax increment, goes to the city's redevelopment agency instead of to the county, school district and water districts. The agency spends it on roads, utilities and incentives inside the zone.

The agency has four areas: East Main, North Valley, the Egg Farm business park and Patriot Station near the FrontRunner stop. ^[5]

Our first stories look at Patriot Station, where the tax increment has not yet covered the bond payments, and the Egg Farm area, which kept collecting after the agency's own report said it was $213,198 from its cap.

What comes next

Stories so far cover the city's debt, state compliance findings from fiscal 2016 through 2021 (none reported since), fitness center and broadband subsidies, the older redevelopment areas, and how officials handled votes touching their business ties. The auditors' letters for fiscal 2016 through 2019 are among the records still to be examined. If you have records or questions about American Fork's finances, use the contact on our About page.