Auditing Washington Terrace: a clean audit, a $5.2 million budget, redevelopment on hold

Washington Terrace, a Weber County city, received a clean opinion on its financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025. Auditors K&C, CPAs of Woods Cross wrote in a report dated Dec. 3, 2025 that the statements present fairly, in all material respects, the city's financial position. ^[1]

This series, Auditing Washington Terrace, follows what has happened since: how money from a redevelopment property sale is being handled, what higher police costs mean for the property-tax levy, and how recent contracts were approved. Each story relies on the city's and redevelopment agency's public records.

What the auditors found

In their report on internal control and compliance, the auditors said they did not identify any deficiencies they consider material weaknesses, and their tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. They did not give an opinion on the effectiveness of the city's internal control. ^[2]

In a separate report required by the state, the auditors said the city complied, in all material respects, with state requirements tested in eight areas: budgetary compliance, fund balance, restricted taxes, fraud risk assessment, governmental fees, justice court, impact fees and Utah Retirement Systems. They did not identify material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control over compliance. ^[3]

The money

The General Fund, which pays for day-to-day services, reported $5,274,397 in revenue and $3,910,618 in spending in fiscal 2025, and transferred $1,477,022 out to other funds. Its balance ended the year at $2,110,232, of which $1,798,493 was unassigned. ^[4][5]

All of the city's governmental funds together reported $18,565,883 in fund balance at June 30, 2025, including $11,508,681 in capital project funds and $4,946,159 in the redevelopment agency fund. These amounts are restricted, committed or assigned to different purposes. ^[5]

The city's total long-term liabilities were $4,993,548, down 6.6% from 2024, and the city issued no new debt that year. The largest item was a 2017 utility revenue bond with $3,260,000 outstanding. ^[6]

For fiscal 2027, the final budget adopted under Resolution 26-11 lists $5,218,572 in General Fund revenue and the same amount in spending. The council approved it 5-0 on Aug. 18, 2026. ^[8][9]

Redevelopment

The city's redevelopment agency, whose board is the mayor and City Council, collected $817,340 in tax increment in fiscal 2025, all from the Southeast project area, and spent $74,802. ^[7]

At June 30, 2025, the agency's fund also held $650,000 in restricted cash, matched by $650,000 in unearned revenue, a liability. ^[5] A separate story in this series traces a $650,000 property sale the agency approved in 2024.