State auditor warns 'super districts' can wield municipal powers, urges transparency

Tina Cannon, Utah state auditor, told a Davis County Conservatives forum that her office’s remit is oversight, not policymaking, and described a class of public infrastructure entities that have evolved into what she called “super districts.” She said those entities can exercise municipal‑style powers — including tax lines, tax‑increment financing and project sales taxes — and in some cases act ahead of local planning bodies.

"They actually have more authority than your local — they can supersede local government's planning and zoning," Cannon said, arguing that statutory language has allowed some authorities to operate with municipal powers. She emphasized auditors follow national accounting standards (GASB) and that disputes over component‑unit status are technical, standards‑based issues rather than matters of personal opinion.

Cannon also described steps her office has taken to surface information for taxpayers. TransparentUtah.gov now includes a project map, legislative history, organization charts and a 'key powers' tab that lists the authorities available to each project area, she said. "So that you could know what we know," she told the audience, urging residents to use the site to follow revenues, expenditures and contracts.

Why it matters: Cannon framed the issue as a mixture of finance, governance and public accountability: when development is facilitated with public financing, the public should be able to see who benefits and how the obligations are structured. She warned that unwinding entrenched projects would be legally and politically difficult and urged citizen engagement and ethics reforms as part of the remedy.

Cannon answered audience questions about disbanding authorities and legislative oversight, saying a forensic audit would be resource‑intensive and that her office has limited staff and budget for such work. She recommended public pressure and legislative reform to improve accountability.