Auditor gives Bluffdale an unmodified opinion; general fund unassigned balance $2.9M

Bluffdale — City auditors presented their draft financial statements to the City Council on Dec. 10 and said they would issue an unmodified (clean) opinion on the city’s fiscal-year 2025 financials.

At the meeting the auditor said, "the city's assets and deferred outflows of resources exceeded the liabilities and deferred inflows by $246,000,000," and noted the net position increased by about $17.2 million from fiscal 2024 to 2025. The auditor reported the general fund's unassigned fund balance was $2.9 million, representing roughly 26% of general fund expenditures for the year, and explained that transfers to the public safety and capital project funds influenced year-to-year comparisons.

The audit team said it had no findings of noncompliance in the areas tested, including budgetary compliance, the justice court restricted taxes, fraud risk assessment, enterprise fund services and the Open and Public Meetings Act. The city was also subject to federal single-audit requirements for the first time because ARPA funds pushed federal spending above the $750,000 threshold; the auditors said the modified single-audit procedures found no instances of noncompliance.

The auditor recommended the council review management’s discussion and analysis and consider whether additional accounting staff will be needed as the city grows. The audit was presented as a draft; the auditors asked the council to review and provide final approval once management adjustments are completed.

What’s next: staff will circulate the final audit for council acceptance at a subsequent meeting and follow up on any internal staffing recommendations contained in the audit report.