Auditing Magna: what public records show about the city's finances

The Utah Ledger is reviewing Magna's public financial records. Every sentence in the series is tied to a linked record: the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District's financial statements, the city's budget schedules and financial reports, and meeting records posted to the Utah Public Notice Website. The series states what those records say and draws no conclusions from them.

Where Magna's numbers are reported

The Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District (MSD) publishes financial statements that include Magna as one of several component units, each shown in its own column. The final report for the six months ended June 30, 2024 labels the column "Magna Metro Township." The draft for the year ended June 30, 2025 labels it "City of Magna." ^[1][2][3]

Squire & Company audited the six-month 2024 statements and gave an unmodified opinion on the district's basic financial statements, including the aggregate component units. The report says the combining schedules that show each member's column are other information, on which the auditor expresses no opinion or assurance. ^[1]

The 2024 baseline

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, Magna's column shows $6,989,301 in revenue and $6,796,197 in expenditures. The expenditures include $5,695,715 in contributions to other governments. The fund balance rose $193,104 to $1,457,818, of which $1,112,741 was assigned and $345,077 unassigned. ^[2]

Magna's net position on June 30, 2024 was $71,572,441, of which $70,114,623 was net investment in capital assets. Net position is an accrual measure and is not cash. ^[2]

The 2025 draft

The draft fiscal 2025 statements, dated March 20, 2026, show Magna's governmental fund balance at $3,799,538 on June 30, 2025, of which $2,397,964 was unassigned. ^[3]

The draft raises Magna's opening net position by $34,565,111 to correct a prior-period capital-asset error, and reports ending net position of $113,032,470. A separate story in this series covers that correction. ^[3]

The district's Series 2022 excise tax revenue bonds had $14,330,000 outstanding on June 30, 2025, according to the draft. Those bonds are reported for the district's primary government, not in Magna's column. Magna's column lists liabilities that include $953,057 in performance bonds held as deposits and $1,772,368 due to the district. ^[4][3]

The budget and redevelopment

The fiscal 2027 budget schedules attached to Ordinance 2026-O-10, which the posted ordinance says was adopted June 9, 2026, show two columns for Fund 60: $16,377,237 and an updated $14,513,185. The city's financial report for July and August 2026 uses $14,513,185 as the Fund 60 revenue budget. ^[5][7][6]

The Community Reinvestment Agency of Magna reports through Fund 64. The unaudited management report shows $3,649,454 in tax revenue in fiscal 2026 across three project areas: $1,563,644 for Magna Main, $726,931 for housing and $1,358,879 for Arbor Park. The fund balance on Aug. 31, 2026 was $2,918,334.76. ^[6]

What the series covers

Stories in the series cover Main Street landscaping charged to the redevelopment fund, the draft audit's capital-asset correction and control findings, a proposed road agreement for the 2810 South and 8000 West realignment, and the two versions of the fiscal 2027 budget.

What the Ledger could not read

The approved June 9, 2026 council minutes on the Utah Public Notice Website are a scanned image the Ledger could not read, and the posted copy of Ordinance 2026-O-10 is a scan in which the roll-call vote is not legible. Votes recorded only in those documents are left out. Magna's city website blocked automated access, so the series cites copies on the Utah Public Notice Website.