Auditing Fruit Heights: what we're examining and why

The Utah Ledger is reviewing the public financial records of Fruit Heights, a Davis County city: its audited financial statements, its budgets and the minutes of its City Council. Each statement in this series links to the record it comes from.

This first look relies on the city's fiscal 2025 financial statements and auditor's reports, and on the fiscal 2027 budget, both in the copies the city filed with the Office of the Utah State Auditor. ^[1][2]

The audit

Gilbert & Stewart, CPA PC, of Provo, signed its independent auditor's report on Dec. 30, 2025. The report covers the city's governmental activities, business-type activities, each major fund and the remaining fund information for the year ended June 30, 2025. ^[1]

A separate report on internal control says the auditors did not identify any deficiencies they consider material weaknesses, and that their tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. ^[1]

In its report on state compliance, the firm says the city complied, in all material respects, with the state requirements it tested. The same report says instances of noncompliance are described in a letter to management dated Dec. 30, 2025, as item 25-1. That letter is not part of the 62-page filed report. ^[1]

Balances and debt

The statement of net position reports $37,772,096 in total net position at June 30, 2025: $19,273,292 for governmental activities and $18,498,804 for the water, sewer, solid waste and storm water operations. Of the total, $25,575,744 is invested in capital assets and $9,932,548 is unrestricted. ^[1]

The general fund ended the year with a fund balance of $2,163,811, up $995,642. That balance includes $1,292,711 unassigned, $683,600 restricted for Class C roads and $187,500 assigned to roads. ^[1]

The capital projects fund ended the year with $4,054,797: $992,508 restricted for transportation fees and $3,062,289 assigned to capital projects. ^[1]

The audit's note on obligations payable lists compensated absences and net pension liability, totaling $117,353 for governmental activities and $84,005 for business-type activities. It lists no bonds or notes. The management discussion says other long-term liabilities relate to employee compensation, such as accrued vacation leave and pension liabilities. ^[1]

The city reports a $5,038,387 lease receivable from two communications-tower property leases, with American Tower and Crown Castle, which brought in $104,082 in lease revenue in fiscal 2025. The note says the Crown Castle lease runs to August 2026 and the American Tower lease to January 2027, with renewal options remaining on both. ^[1]

The audit's reporting-entity note names one component unit, the Fruit Heights City Municipal Building Authority, and says it had no activity in the year. ^[1]

The fiscal 2027 budget

The fiscal 2027 budget the city filed with the state lists $3,806,800 of general fund revenue and the same amount of spending. Revenue includes $1,420,000 of general property taxes and $1,125,000 of sales and use taxes. ^[2]

The same document budgets $1,126,000 for the capital projects fund, $2,223,050 for the water fund, $1,115,000 for sewer, $455,650 for storm water and $619,700 for solid waste. These are spending plans, not actual spending. ^[2]

The June 16, 2026 council agenda lists a resolution adopting the fiscal 2027 operating budget and a certified tax rate of 0.001693. A separate story in this series reports what the minutes of that meeting record. ^[3][4]