Auditing Salt Lake City: what the records show about the capital's finances
A records-only review of Salt Lake City's budgets, audits, debt and redevelopment agency, drawn from the city's annual financial reports, its independent auditor, a state legislative audit and Salt Lake County.
Continuing story: Auditing Salt Lake City
The Utah Ledger's Auditing series reads a city government's public financial records and reports what they say. This edition covers Salt Lake City, using the city's annual comprehensive financial reports, the reports of its independent auditor, a state legislative audit and Salt Lake County records. [1][2][5][6]
The budget
The City Council adopted a $2.1 billion budget for fiscal 2026-27 on June 16, 2026, including a general fund of about $498.2 million for daily operations. [3]
That budget included a $13.5 million proposed property tax increase, and the council approved the final rate after a Truth in Taxation hearing on Aug. 11, 2026. [3][4]
The latest audited year is fiscal 2025, which ended June 30, 2025. General fund revenue that year was $449.6 million and general fund spending was $416.3 million. [1]
After $73.1 million in transfers to other funds, the general fund balance fell by $30.0 million, to $142.9 million. [1]
The auditors
Eide Bailly LLP audits the city. Its report on the fiscal 2025 statements, dated Dec. 31, 2025, gave unmodified opinions. [1]
The same audit reported a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting and a significant deficiency, and found no state compliance findings. [2]
In September 2026 the Legislature's auditor general published a performance audit of the city's Department of Public Utilities. [5]
In June 2026 the Salt Lake County Auditor published a performance audit of the agreement under which the county district attorney's office prosecutes cases for the city. It found the fee structure covered identified operating costs during the audit period and that the agreement's fee adjustment provisions had not been formally used since 2018. [8]
Debt and redevelopment
The city reported $4.33 billion in bonded debt at June 30, 2025, of which $125.1 million was general obligation debt backed by its full faith and credit. [1]
Its Community Reinvestment Agency, which the City Council governs as its board, reported net position of $337.1 million at June 30, 2025. [7][3]
Salt Lake County's tax-year 2025 report lists $55.9 million in tax increment due to the agency from 12 project areas. [6]
Sources
- Salt Lake City · FY2025 annual comprehensive financial report
- Federal Audit Clearinghouse · Salt Lake City FY2025 single audit and state compliance report
- Salt Lake City Council · Council adopts FY 2026-27 budget (June 16, 2026)
- Salt Lake City Council · FY27 budget page
- Office of the Legislative Auditor General · A Performance Audit of Salt Lake City Public Utilities (Sept. 15, 2026)
- Salt Lake County Auditor · Report on Community Reinvestment Agency Act project areas, tax year 2025
- Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency · Financial statements, June 30, 2025
- Salt Lake County Auditor · Performance audit of the District Attorney–Salt Lake City interlocal agreement (June 11, 2026)
Background explainer by The Utah Ledger. AI-assisted reporting, checked against the sources above.