Auditing Holladay: what city records show about money and debt, 2020 to 2026

The Utah Ledger is reviewing Holladay's public financial records in a series called Auditing Holladay. The series uses council minutes, budget amendments and public notices posted by the city, and it reports only what those records state. Older records are labeled with the years they cover.

What the records show so far

The city's 2022 audit, presented to the council on Jan. 19, 2023, carried an unmodified opinion and one state compliance finding, on deficit fund balances in the redevelopment agency and stormwater funds. ^[1]

In April 2025 the council reviewed draft financial policies that set a General Fund reserve floor of 15% of budgeted revenues. The minutes put the reserve at 33.6% the year before. ^[2]

In 2025 the city created a Local Building Authority to finance City Hall and Spring Lane Park. A public hearing was noticed for up to $11,500,000 in lease revenue bonds. ^[3][4]

At a May 14, 2026 work meeting on the fiscal 2026-27 budget, the minutes record General Fund unassigned fund balance of $8,141,000 and total projected expenditures of $50,400,000. ^[5]

The Cottonwood Mall urban renewal area, created in 2008, has a $122.5 million increment cap, according to the city manager's June 2025 overview. ^[6]

Stories in this series

Reserves and the 2022 audit (2018 to 2025); the 2022 sales tax revenue bonds; the 2025 lease revenue bonds for City Hall and Spring Lane Park; the Cottonwood Mall urban renewal area (2008 to 2025); and the fiscal 2026-27 budget work meeting.