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

The Utah Ledger reviewed Holladay's public financial records for this series: its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, council and work-meeting minutes from 2021 to 2026, budget amendments, and public notices posted by the city. It reports only what those records state. Older records are labeled with the years they cover. ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

The general fund

Holladay's audited fiscal 2025 statements, by HBME, LLC and dated Dec. 8, 2025, report General Fund revenues of $25,133,407 and expenditures of $19,516,518. Revenues came in $1,891,172 above the final budget, and expenditures $596,088 below it. ^[7]

The final budget had allowed for a $3,670,464 drop in the fund balance, mostly because it included $6,927,480 in transfers out to other funds. The actual drop was $1,183,204, leaving a total balance of $8,430,403, of which $8,367,346 was unassigned. ^[7]

The unassigned balance equals 33.3% of General Fund revenues, compared with 33.6% in 2024, the audit reports. In April 2025 the council reviewed draft financial policies that would keep the reserve at no less than 15% of budgeted revenues. The minutes say the state range is 5% to 35%. ^[2][7]

Earlier records show the same pattern. The March 2021 retreat minutes put the General Fund at about 31% when the legal limit rose from 25% to 35%. The 2022 audit, presented Jan. 19, 2023, carried an unmodified opinion and one state compliance finding, on deficit fund balances in the redevelopment agency and stormwater funds. ^[1][8]

Debt

The fiscal 2025 statements list $17,176,000 in sales tax revenue bonds, down from $18,460,000 a year earlier. The city says it has no general obligation debt. ^[7]

Most of that borrowing dates to 2022, when the council authorized up to $19 million in sales tax revenue bonds for roads and stormwater. The June 2022 sale received an AA+ rating at a true interest cost of 3.15%. ^[9]

In 2025 the city created a Local Building Authority to finance City Hall and Spring Lane Park through lease revenue bonds. A public hearing was noticed for up to $11,500,000. The minutes state that sales and property tax are not pledged. ^[3][4]

At a May 14, 2026 work meeting on the fiscal 2026-27 budget, the minutes record a transfer to the authority for 2025 bond debt service of $492,000, total projected expenditures of $50,400,000 and General Fund unassigned fund balance of $8,141,000. ^[5]

Redevelopment

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]

The audited statements show the redevelopment agency fund with $3,724,159 restricted for housing projects and an unassigned deficit of $835,259. They also show a $1,200,000 interfund note from the agency to the Capital Projects Fund, issued in 2009; the management's discussion says the agency expects rising property values to reduce the deficit over time. ^[7]

Stories in this series

Reserves and the 2022 audit (2018 to 2025); the fiscal 2025 audited statements; 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.