- Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities faces $600M debt after large infrastructure projects.
- Audit suggests cost-cutting and exploring property taxes to manage future needs.
- City is looking at new billing system while seeking federal funds to reduce financial burdens.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s capital city has prepared for the future by investing in major infrastructure improvements and planning for future capital needs, legislative auditors say.
However, while they found no evidence that any “enterprise funds were used inappropriately,” auditors say that the previous way to pay for these projects also left its public utilities department with massive debt and those who rely on the department for water, sewage and other utilities paying much more.
Those were some of the key findings from a report that the Office of the Legislative Auditor General released on Tuesday. State leaders appeared surprised by some of the findings, urging the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities to find ways to trim costs amid concerns about affordability in Utah and across the country…