Auditing Harrisville: what we're examining and why

The Utah Ledger is reviewing the public financial records of Harrisville, Utah: budgets, the annual audit, council packets and minutes. This series reports what those records show, and each statement links to the record it comes from. The city's fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. ^[1]

The approved minutes of the Aug. 11, 2026 meeting, when the council considered the fiscal 2027 budget and property tax rate, are posted as scanned images without readable text. The fiscal 2025 statements in the council's Dec. 9, 2025 packet are marked draft. ^[1]

The budget

The requested fiscal 2027 general fund budget in the Aug. 11, 2026 council packet lists $7,772,914 in revenues and the same amount in expenditures. It includes a $35,000 revenue line, 10-31-115, labeled "Proposed TNT Increase" and tied to sidewalk repairs. ^[3]

The packet's notice of a proposed tax increase describes a 2.12% increase, excluding eligible new growth, that would bring in $24,132 of additional property tax revenue. It estimates a rate of .001567, up from .001534. The packet's draft Resolution 26-22 leaves the adopted rate blank. ^[3]

The city's proposed Amendment #1, in the Oct. 13, 2026 packet, shows a "Budgeted" column for the current fiscal 2027 budget. That column lists $3,814,490 in general fund taxes, including $1,054,490 of general property taxes, and $25,000 for sidewalk repairs. It also lists $1,177,546 in sewer fund revenues and $1,122,924 in storm water fund revenues. A separate story in this series covers the amendment. ^[2]

The fiscal 2025 statements

The Dec. 9, 2025 council agenda lists a fiscal 2025 audit presentation by Rob Wood. The packet includes the city's financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025, with every page marked "DRAFT" and an auditor's report dated Dec. 8, 2025. ^[1]

The draft shows general fund revenues of $6,130,504 and expenditures of $5,229,019 in fiscal 2025, and a general fund balance of $3,513,734 at year end. The draft shows $909,627 of that balance unassigned, compared with $1,756,048 at June 30, 2024. ^[1]

The draft reports $17,352,000 in bonds payable at June 30, 2025, compared with $14,328,000 a year earlier. The draft's discussion section says the debt included three sales and franchise tax revenue bonds for building a public works facility and City Hall. The draft reports total net position of $20,178,814. ^[1]

The draft's table of contents lists a schedule of findings and responses; the packet's readable text does not include that section. ^[1]