Wellsville: property tax proposal, water bond and sewer fund

The Ledger's review of Wellsville'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.

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Auditing Wellsville: what the city's audit, budget and tax records show

The Ledger is reviewing Wellsville City's public financial records, starting with its audited financial statements for fiscal 2025. The auditor issued an unmodified opinion and reported no findings. The city's only bond debt was $1,710,000 in water revenue bonds. Every figure comes from a linked public record.

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Key figures

$3.1 millionGeneral Fund balance at June 30, 2025Auditing Wellsville: what the city's audit, budget and tax records show →
$1.7 millionTotal bond debt at June 30, 2025, all water revenue bondsAuditing Wellsville: what the city's audit, budget and tax records show →
$2.54Proposed yearly increase in city tax on a $578,000 homeWellsville's proposed 2026 property tax increase: $2.54 a year on a $578,000 home →
$3,703Added property tax revenue per year stated in the July noticeWellsville's proposed 2026 property tax increase: $2.54 a year on a $578,000 home →
$1.7 millionOwed at June 30, 2025 on a $3.2 million state drinking water bondWellsville drew $1.7 million of a $3.2 million state water bond in fiscal 2025 →
$320,810Sewer fund operating loss in fiscal 2025Wellsville's sewer fund ended fiscal 2025 with $9,491 in cash and a $190,000 advance →

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

Debt and bonds

Wellsville drew $1.7 million of a $3.2 million state water bond in fiscal 2025
Wellsville's fiscal 2025 audit reports $1,700,000 owed on a $3,200,000 water revenue bond from the State of Utah Division of Drinking Water, at 2.4% interest through 2045. The city's management said the ongoing water project would need additional draws.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026

Budgets, reserves and taxes

Wellsville's sewer fund ended fiscal 2025 with $9,491 in cash and a $190,000 advance
Wellsville's Wastewater Collection Fund reported a $320,810 operating loss in fiscal 2025 and ended the year with $9,491 in cash and a $190,000 cash advance owed to the Storm Water Fund. Grants and developer contributions lifted its net position by $347,432.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026
Wellsville's proposed 2026 property tax increase: $2.54 a year on a $578,000 home
Wellsville noticed a 1.04% property tax revenue increase, excluding new growth, and held a hearing Aug. 19. The July notice says $3,703 a year, the agenda says about $4,060, and the county's Sept. 24 report lists $3,703 at a 0.000810 rate.
Published October 17, 2026 · Records checked October 17, 2026

Contracts and spending

No story in the series on this yet.

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 meetingsCouncil and planning commission, item by item

Budget and finances

FY2025 audited financial statements (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 Wellsville has filed with the state; search for "Wellsville"

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.

Budgets and financial documents

Wellsville City Council · Notice of public hearing on final 2026/2027 budgets, Sept. 16, 2026Cited in Auditing Wellsville: what the city's audit, budget and tax records show; Wellsville's sewer fund ended fiscal 2025 with $9,491 in cash and a $190,000 advance; Wellsville's proposed 2026 property tax increase: $2.54 a year on a $578,000 home

Council minutes and agenda packets

Other city records

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 Wellsville: what the city's audit, budget and tax records show

Key figures

Debt and bonds

Wellsville drew $1.7 million of a $3.2 million state water bond in fiscal 2025

Budgets, reserves and taxes

Wellsville's sewer fund ended fiscal 2025 with $9,491 in cash and a $190,000 advance

Wellsville's proposed 2026 property tax increase: $2.54 a year on a $578,000 home

Contracts and spending