Auditing Saratoga Springs: What the city's budget and audit show

Auditing Saratoga Springs is a Utah Ledger series that reads the city's own financial records: its budgets, its annual audited report, council packets and meeting minutes. Each story links the public records it relies on. This first piece sets out the main numbers. ^[1][2]

The figures come from two documents covering different years. The city's latest audited report covers the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. Its adopted budget covers the year that began July 1, 2026. ^[1][2]

The budget

The adopted 2026-27 budget lists $156,361,759 in total revenue across all city funds. The General Fund, which pays for day-to-day services, is budgeted at $64,166,534 in revenue and the same amount in spending. ^[1]

The budget says the city "enacted its first property tax increase since 2008" this year and that the change raises an additional $3.1 million. A separate story in this series covers that increase. ^[1]

The last audit

Gilbert & Stewart, CPA PC, of Provo issued an unmodified opinion on the city's fiscal 2025 financial statements in a report dated Dec. 18, 2025. ^[2]

In fiscal 2025, the General Fund reported $45,951,469 in revenue and $31,359,241 in expenditures. It ended the year with $12,936,978 in unassigned fund balance. All of the city's governmental funds together ended the year with $74,738,475. ^[2]

The city's statement of net position reports total net position of $540,257,105 at June 30, 2025. ^[2]

Debt

The audited report lists $53,865,000 in bonds payable for governmental activities at June 30, 2025. Its management discussion says governmental long-term debt rose by $5.8 million during the year because of the 2024 lease revenue bond. ^[2]

The adopted budget says "The City currently has no property tax debt as of FY 2026-27." It names bonds that include 2011 and 2017 sales tax revenue bonds, water and sewer bonds, a 2012 special assessment bond and a 2024 bond for a new City Hall/Library. ^[1]

Two entities inside the city's books

The audited report includes two blended component units governed by the mayor and City Council. The Municipal Building Authority was created in fiscal 2024 and uses lease revenue bond proceeds to acquire capital assets for the city. The bonds are to be retired through the city's lease payments. ^[2]

The Saratoga Springs Community Development Agency is described as a financing tool that lets the city allocate sales tax collected in the city to provide incentives for incoming businesses within a designated project area. ^[2]

Other stories in this series look at the property tax increase, the City Hall/library financing, the development agency's fund and figures in the audited report that differ from each other. ^[1][2]