Moab: payment coding, developer deposits and insurance costs

The Ledger's review of Moab's budgets, audits, debt and redevelopment money. Every story in the series, sorted by subject, with the figures the records show and links to the official documents.

Follow it as a continuing story →

Start here

Auditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money

A facts-only look at Moab's finances: the $23.98 million general fund budget the City Council adopted for fiscal 2027, the fiscal 2025 audit's unmodified opinion and one internal control finding, the city's bonded debt, and the reserves it drew down for construction.

Read the explainer →

Key figures

$23.98 millionFY2027 adopted general fund budgetAuditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money →
$23.5 millionWater and sewer revenue bonds outstanding, June 30, 2025Auditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money →
$5.1 millionGeneral fund balance, June 30, 2025Auditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money →
1Significant deficiency in FY2025 internal control (item 2025-1)Moab's fiscal 2025 audit: payment coding changed after approval without an audit trail →
$112,970Developer deposits reported as 2024 revenue, correctedMoab corrected $112,970 in developer deposits it had recorded as 2024 revenue →
$645,000FY2027 general insurance budget lineMoab's general insurance line rises to $645,000 in the fiscal 2027 budget →
$2.83 millionPaid to KILGORE COMPANIES LLC, the city's largest payee in FY2026, as reported to the stateTransparent Utah: Moab City highest-paid vendors FY2026 →

Each figure is as stated in the linked story, which cites its source.

Budgets, reserves and taxes

Moab's general insurance line rises to $645,000 in the fiscal 2027 budget
The general fund budget Moab adopted for fiscal 2027 sets aside $645,000 for general insurance. The same line shows $1,424 in actual spending in fiscal 2024 and $259,804 in fiscal 2025.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026

Contracts and spending

No story in the series on this yet.

Audits and compliance

Moab's fiscal 2025 audit: payment coding changed after approval without an audit trail
Moab's auditors reported a significant deficiency in fiscal 2025: some payments were recoded in the general ledger after they had been approved, with no audit trail. Management said it would add procedures.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026
Moab corrected $112,970 in developer deposits it had recorded as 2024 revenue
Moab's fiscal 2025 audit restates the city's starting balances after the city found that $112,970 in deposits collected from a developer had been reported as revenue in 2024. The money was repaid in 2025.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026

Follow the money

Contracts and spendingContracts, bid awards and change orders recorded in the council meetings written up
Development and road trackerZoning, annexation and public projects
City council minutesCouncil meetings and work sessions written up, with official minutes
City meetingsCouncil and planning commission, item by item

Council and planning commission records written up so far: 1 meeting from October 13, 2026 to October 13, 2026. Not every meeting in that span may be included.

Budget and finances

FY2027 final budget, Resolution 04-2026 (copy filed with the state)From the city
FY2025 annual financial report (copy filed with the state)Read the report for its fiscal year, auditor's opinion, findings and any draft designation.
State Auditor: local government financial reportsEvery budget and financial report Moab has filed with the state; search for "Moab"

Trace a decision to the money

Proposal: find the agenda item and staff packet. A proposal is not an approval.
Decision: check the minutes for the motion, vote, conditions and any later amendment. Draft minutes can change.
Agreement: look for the signed contract and change orders. An award does not prove a contract was executed.
Payment: compare invoices or payment records with the contract. An authorized amount is not the amount paid.
Year-end result: compare actual spending with the amended budget and read the audit findings and management response for the same entity and fiscal year.

Missing documents leave that step unconfirmed. Our audit series is reporting on public records; it is separate from the independent auditor's financial-statement opinion.

The records

Official documents the stories cite, from the city, the county and the state.

Council minutes and agenda packets

Moab City Council · May 12, 2026 meeting minutesCited in Auditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money; Moab's general insurance line rises to $645,000 in the fiscal 2027 budget

Reading audit findings

An unmodified opinion addresses the financial statements. A material weakness concerns controls and does not by itself establish fraud. Compare the same fiscal year and accounting basis; restated balances replace, but do not erase, originally reported figures.

How this works

Each story is filed under one subject when it is published. Where a record states something, the story says so and links it; where a story draws a conclusion or asks a question, it says that too.

Auditing Moab: what the city's audit and budget records say about its money

Key figures

Budgets, reserves and taxes

Moab's general insurance line rises to $645,000 in the fiscal 2027 budget

Contracts and spending

Audits and compliance

Moab's fiscal 2025 audit: payment coding changed after approval without an audit trail

Moab corrected $112,970 in developer deposits it had recorded as 2024 revenue