A road transfer left St. George's Tech Ridge redevelopment fund $5.8 million lower in 2025
St. George's fiscal 2025 financial report says the Tech Ridge community development area fund's balance fell by $5,793,632 after a transfer for the development's east access road, financed by a loan from another city fund.
Continuing story: Auditing St. George
St. George's Tech Ridge community development area fund ended fiscal 2025 with a lower balance after a transfer to build a road, according to the city's annual comprehensive financial report. [1]
"The Tech Ridge CDA Fund Balance decreased by $5,793,632 as a result of a transfer to the Public Works Capital Projects Fund for construction of the East Access Road from Tech Ridge," the report's management discussion says. [1]
A loan between city funds
The report says there is a loan agreement between the city's Transportation Improvement Fund and the Tech Ridge CDA fund, and that the Tech Ridge fund "will pay off this loan over the next 10 years." [1]
Separately, the report says $7,487,669 was spent on Tech Ridge infrastructure projects in the public works capital projects fund in fiscal 2025. [1]
The city's report describes Tech Ridge as a mixed-use development anticipated to be valued at $1 billion at build-out. The report also says the City Council approved a Tech Ridge Public Infrastructure District, which it describes as a separate legal entity. [1]
Negative balances in two funds
The report's financial highlights say the unassigned fund balance for all governmental funds was $28,443,722: the general fund's $34 million, "less the negative fund balances in two CDA funds, which total $6.1 million." [1]
The governmental funds balance sheet shows those negative balances combined within the other governmental funds column, as an unassigned deficit of $6,121,489. [1]
The auditor's opinion on the city's financial statements for the year was unmodified. [1]
What comes next
The fiscal 2027 budget lists a combined redevelopment agency budget of $1,082,851 across its project areas. The pages of the budget The Ledger could retrieve do not include the Tech Ridge fund's own detail. [2]
The Ledger has not asked the city about the loan or the deficit and will update this story with the fiscal 2026 audit when it is published.
A transfer between city funds moves money already held by the city; it is not a loss or a payment outside the city. No record reviewed establishes misconduct.
Sources
- St. George City · FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, MD&A
- St. George City · FY2027 Adopted Budget, Redevelopment Agency
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.