Auditing Tremonton: what the city's own books show

Auditing Tremonton is a Utah Ledger series that reads Tremonton's own financial records: its audited statements, budgets, redevelopment reports and meeting minutes. Every figure links to the public record it comes from.

Tremonton is in Box Elder County. Its government activities include general administration, public safety, streets, parks, recreation and a library. It also runs water, sewer, wastewater treatment, storm drain and solid waste utilities. ^[12]

The budget

The City Council adopted the fiscal 2026-27 budget on June 16, 2026. Four members voted yes and one was absent. ^[9]

The budget document filed with the state was printed the same day. It lists $42,103,535 in revenue and $42,103,535 in spending across all city funds. Its final column is labeled "proposed." ^[8]

The general fund pays for most day-to-day services. Its budget is $10,503,235, which is $59,735 more than the tentative budget. ^[7] The finance director told the council that higher property tax revenue came from new growth, not a tax increase. ^[9]

The audit

Squire & Company audited the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. Its report is dated Jan. 13, 2026, and says the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the city's financial position. ^[1]

In their internal control and compliance report, the auditors did not identify any deficiencies they considered material weaknesses. Their tests found no instances of noncompliance required to be reported. They wrote that undetected weaknesses could still exist. ^[6]

A separate opinion found that the city complied in all material respects with the state requirements tested, including budgetary compliance, fund balance, restricted taxes and impact fees. ^[6]

Results and reserves

In fiscal 2025, the general fund took in $10,802,238 and spent $7,360,308. It then sent $3,447,500 to other city funds through transfers and a capital contribution. ^[2]

The general fund ended the year with a $3,478,844 unassigned fund balance. ^[3] Across all activities, the city's assets and deferred outflows exceeded its liabilities and deferred inflows by $75,573,626. ^[11]

Debt

The audit says that at the end of fiscal 2025, the city's governmental activities had no long-term debt other than compensated absences, meaning employee leave. ^[4]

The water fund owed $5,695,000 on two water revenue bond issues. The bonds were issued in 2019 and 2021 for a secondary water system and water rights, and mature in 2034 and 2036. ^[4]

Tremonton also pledges sales tax revenue toward UTOPIA's bonds, subject to an annual maximum. The city paid about $412,000 under that pledge in fiscal 2025. ^[10] The audit does not list UTOPIA's bonds as city debt.

Redevelopment

Tremonton's downtown redevelopment fund, RDA #2, carries the Tremont Center reimbursements. ^[13] In fiscal 2025 it collected $596,131 in tax increment and reported $596,131 in site improvement spending. ^[5]

A separate redevelopment fund, RDA #3, held $2,375,951 restricted for low-income housing at June 30, 2025. ^[5]

Stories in this series look at the Tremont Center reimbursements and the agency's latest report, the Rocket Road contract, the UTOPIA pledge and the housing fund.