Auditing Mapleton: what the city's audit and budget records show

The Utah Ledger's Auditing Mapleton series reports what Mapleton's own financial records say, drawing on the city's audited annual financial statements, its adopted budgets and City Council minutes. ^[1][7]

This first look summarizes the city's finances. Later stories in the series cover the budget for the city's fiber internet utility, the $6 million internal loan that helped finish the network, and the city's sewer notes to Spanish Fork.

The general fund in fiscal 2025

The general fund, which pays for most day-to-day city services, reported $12,638,086 in revenue and $8,801,444 in expenditures in fiscal 2025, which ended June 30, 2025. After transfers, its balance rose by $1,174,057. ^[3]

The fund ended the year with a $7,201,031 balance. Of that, $3,887,407 was unassigned and $3,101,891 was restricted for Class C and other road projects. ^[2]

The separate City Projects capital fund ended the year with $14,850,849, including $7,299,940 assigned to future capital projects. Its assets included a $6 million internal note receivable from the city's Community Network fund. ^[2]

Net position

Counting all governmental and utility activities, the audit reports total net position of $174,184,606, up $16,486,179 during the year. Of that, $95,568,742 was net investment in capital assets, and $58,301,607 was unrestricted. ^[1]

Developer contributions during the year totaled $7,531,301, made up of $4,251,570 for roads and land and $3,279,731 for utility systems infrastructure. ^[9]

Debt

The audit reports $43,002,841 in outstanding debt at June 30, 2025, up $4,827,031 during the year. ^[4]

That total includes $19,990,000 in sales tax revenue bonds issued for the city's fiber network, $284,423 in unamortized bond premium, $863,000 in water revenue refunding bonds and $21,865,418 in notes payable to Spanish Fork for sewer capacity and construction. ^[4]

The audit says Mapleton maintained an "A+" rating from Standard & Poor's for general obligation debt. ^[4]

Audit results

HBME LLC of Bountiful audited the fiscal 2025 statements. Its Dec. 18, 2025 report says the statements "present fairly, in all material respects," the city's financial position. ^[5]

In its report on internal control over financial reporting, the firm said it did not identify any deficiencies it considered material weaknesses, and its compliance tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance required to be reported. The report notes that its review of internal control was limited and that material weaknesses may exist that were not identified. ^[10]

In a separate state compliance report, the firm said Mapleton complied in all material respects with the state requirements it tested, covering budgetary compliance, fund balance, justice courts, fraud risk assessment, restricted taxes, governmental fees and the Open and Public Meetings Act. It identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control over compliance. ^[6]

The audit also discloses that the mayor was a part-owner of two companies that performed services for the city during fiscal 2025 totaling $3,480. It says the council and management were fully aware of the relationship and that all transactions were appropriately authorized. The note does not name the companies. ^[11]

The fiscal 2027 budget

On June 3, 2026, the council adopted the fiscal 2027 budget, position list and fee schedule 5-0 as Resolution 2026-32. Fiscal 2027 runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. ^[8]

The final budget lists $14,566,521 in general fund revenues and expenditures, up 6.2% from the fiscal 2026 budget. ^[7]

The budget overview projects $12,796,521 in total governmental fund revenues, including $3,600,000 in property tax and $2,950,000 in sales tax. It budgets utility billing revenue of $2,900,000 for culinary water, $3,928,000 for sewer, $2,963,250 for the Mapleton City Network fiber utility and $1,750,000 for pressurized irrigation. ^[12]