Tooele moved $3 million more from general fund balance to capital projects in December
A budget amendment the Tooele City Council approved Dec. 17, 2025 raised the general fund's planned transfer to the capital projects fund by $3,000,000, to $5,292,500, with a matching $3,000,000 appropriation from general fund balance. The general fund had ended fiscal 2025 with $13.2 million unassigned.
Continuing story: Auditing Tooele
The Tooele City Council approved budget amendments for fiscal 2026 on Dec. 17, 2025 that included moving $3,000,000 more from the general fund to the capital projects fund. [1][2]
The amendment
Exhibit A of Resolution 2025-94 raises the general fund line "Transfer - Capital Projects Fund (41)" by $3,000,000, from $2,292,500 to $5,292,500. [1]
A general fund line labeled appropriation from fund balance changes by $3,000,000 in the same item, and the capital projects fund's "Transfer from General Fund (10)" line rises by $3,000,000 to $5,282,500. The exhibit gives no written explanation for the $3,000,000 lines. [1]
The resolution's recitals say the council wants to reopen the fiscal 2026 budget "to more efficiently utilize funds to be received." [1]
The vote
Draft minutes of the Dec. 17 meeting, included in the council's Jan. 7, 2026 packet, record that Finance Director Shannon Wimmer said the amendments were for the second quarter of the year. No member of the public spoke at the hearing. [2]
Councilman Hansen moved to approve, Councilwoman Manzione seconded, and the resolution passed 5-0, with McCall, Hansen, Gochis, Manzione and Chairman Brady voting aye. [2]
The starting balance
The general fund ended fiscal 2025 on June 30, 2025 with a fund balance of $13,661,635, of which $13,215,709 was unassigned and $445,926 was restricted for debt service. [3]
General fund revenue that year was $33,063,584, $2,481,056 above the final budget. The fund transferred $3,819,501 to other funds, matching the final budget, and the capital projects fund recorded $2,700,000 in transfers in. [3]
A budget amendment is permission to move money, not a record that it moved. The records reviewed do not show the transfers actually posted in fiscal 2026. [1][3]
Fund balance is an accounting measure, not cash. An amended budget authorizes a transfer; it does not show that the transfer occurred.
Sources
- Tooele City Council · Dec. 17, 2025 business meeting packet: Resolution 2025-94, Exhibit A
- Tooele City Council · Jan. 7, 2026 packet with draft Dec. 17, 2025 minutes
- Tooele City Corporation · Financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 (Larson & Company)
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.