Washington City's audit narrative repeats last year's debt total

The management's discussion and analysis in Washington City's fiscal 2025 audited financial statements says, "At fiscal year-end, the City had $32,313,649 in outstanding debt (excluding net pension liability and compensated absences)—a decrease of 9.21% over the last fiscal year." ^[1]

The table that follows shows $32,313,649 in its 2024 column and $29,336,402 in its 2025 column. The 9.21% decrease matches the change from the 2024 figure to the 2025 figure. ^[1]

What the table shows

At June 30, 2025, the table lists $14,769,156 for governmental activities and $14,567,246 for business-type activities, the city's utility funds. ^[1]

Governmental debt included $2,185,000 in general obligation bonds, $3,710,000 in lease revenue bonds, $8,247,000 in sales and excise tax revenue bonds, $383,144 in subscription liabilities and $108,583 in notes payable, along with $135,429 in deferred issuance premium. ^[1]

Utility debt included $13,719,000 in revenue bonds, $193,036 in notes payable and $655,210 in deferred issuance premium. ^[1]

Every bond category in the table declined from 2024 to 2025. General obligation bonds fell from $2,895,000, lease revenue bonds from $4,389,000, sales and excise tax revenue bonds from $8,839,000 and utility revenue bonds from $14,484,000. ^[1]

What the total leaves out

Both figures exclude net pension liability and compensated absences, according to the narrative. The report says more detailed information on long-term debt and other long-term liabilities is in the notes to the financial statements. ^[1]