Levan work session amends 2025 budget to correct overstated revenue; gas fund and benefits drive changes

Levan staff told the council June 26 that they must amend the town’s 2025 budget after actual revenues exceeded the amounts the town had reported. Christine, the budget presenter, said the state will not accept a budget with "more than a 100% revenue" figure based on actual rather than budgeted numbers, so the town reallocated and removed several items to rebalance the accounts.

The amendment moves some money from the general fund into the capital fund and removes several planned or anticipated items the town did not receive. Christine said the budget was adjusted to remove an expected $100,000 parks grant and an approximately $50,000 grant for an aquifer recharge/water project after those grants were not received during the fiscal year. She also removed a $225,000 capital outlay line the town had set aside for a potential garbage truck purchase because the truck was not bought in FY2025.

The gas enterprise fund required its own amendment after depreciation was applied. Christine reported that "actual numbers on operating expenses for gas are 318,437," exceeding the $316,000 figure previously submitted to the state; she said, "the new amended budget is 326" (as stated in the record). To cover the gap, staff discussed either transferring excess from the general fund or a small rate adjustment for gas customers; Christine said she will analyze three years of gigatherm usage and the additional pay period before recommending a change so the town does not raise rates more than necessary.

Personnel costs also pushed the totals higher. Christine said she applied at least a 13.5% increase in some categories and noted benefits for specific employees "went up, like, 14.4%," which added roughly $16,000–$17,000 to the bottom line across benefit and wage-related categories.

Council members asked about cemetery lot revenues and infrastructure. Christine said she did not change revenue or expense estimates for cemetery lots because the council has not set new prices; she warned that higher prices could reduce sales and that any unexpected plot sales would be treated as extra revenue and handled in a later amendment. Members also flagged deteriorating cemetery roads and asked staff to compare fees with neighboring towns (Nephi and Mona) to guide future decisions.

Staff described improvements to event accounting: donations and Fourth of July receipts will be recorded in separate subaccounts so sponsorships, ticket sales, and donations are easier to track. Christine cited a recent donation from Joel Wynn for the baseball field as an example of a contributor the town will recognize.

The presenter said she had submitted an initial report to the state auditor and recounted earlier findings where the auditor had questioned prior years’ transfers that appeared to “juggle” funds; she said the auditor walked staff through cleaning up transfers and removing confusing cross-fund entries.

The work session ended without any formal vote on the budget amendment during the meeting; a motion to close the session passed unanimously and the session adjourned. Staff said the amended numbers will be transferred to the state budget report and submitted to the state auditor for review. The council asked for additional analysis on the gas fund and asked staff to bring price comparisons and recommendations about cemetery lot fees to a future agenda.