Auditing South Ogden
The Ledger's review of South Ogden's budgets, audits, debt and redevelopment money.
The full audit section: stories by subject, key figures and records →
Background
Auditing South Ogden: the budget, reserves, debt and audit findings, from the city's own records
South Ogden, a separate city from Ogden, adopted a fiscal 2027 General Fund budget of about $19.9 million in August that includes a 10.3% increase in the city's portion of property taxes. Its latest audit gave the financial statements a clean opinion and reported four control and compliance findings. This series follows those records.
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- Politics
South Ogden approves a fire engine staff expects to take four and a half years to build, plus a $332,948 ambulance
The South Ogden City Council voted 4–0 on Aug. 18, 2026, to approve an agreement with Siddons-Martin for a replacement Station 82 fire engine that staff said would take about four and a half years to build. In July it approved a $332,948 Siddons-Martin ambulance.
- Politics
South Ogden moves $850,000 from its sewer and storm drain funds into the Water Fund
In June, the South Ogden City Council voted 5–0 to amend the FY2026 budget to add $450,000 in transfers from the Storm Drain Fund and $400,000 from the Sewer Fund to the Water Fund. Staff said the aim was to keep water rates from increasing excessively.
- Politics
South Ogden raises its share of property taxes 10.3%, listing a fire engine first among the uses
The South Ogden City Council voted 5–0 on Aug. 4, 2026, to adopt a FY2027 budget that includes a 10.3% increase in the city's portion of property taxes, expected to raise $476,331. The minutes list a new fire engine, sidewalks, parks operations and police cars as the uses.
- Politics
South Ogden's last two audits cite spending above the budget, the earlier one as a repeat finding
South Ogden's fiscal 2025 audit says the South Ogden Days event fund spent $33,167 more than its budget, a violation of state budget law. The fiscal 2024 audit cited a $47,901 overrun in the Road Improvement Fee Fund as a repeat of a fiscal 2023 finding. In June 2026, the council amended the event fund's budget for the following year.
- Politics
South Ogden's FY2025 audit: clean opinion, a repeat weakness in closing the books and a lowered fraud-risk score
The auditor gave South Ogden's fiscal 2025 financial statements a clean opinion but reported a material weakness in year-end close procedures for the second year in a row, cut the city's fraud risk self-assessment from 'very low' to 'moderate' risk and found justice court trust accounts were not reconciled monthly.