South Salt Lake's public works campus: a $40.7 million bond for a $38 million project
South Salt Lake financed its new public works campus with Series 2024 sales tax revenue bonds of $40,665,000 in principal. The audited report puts the project's projected cost at about $38 million, and a February 2026 update set completion for June 2027.
Continuing story: Auditing South Salt Lake
South Salt Lake is building a new public works campus with money from sales tax revenue bonds, according to the city's audited fiscal 2025 report. The report says planning began in fiscal 2023 and that the campus has a projected cost of approximately $38 million. [1]
The Series 2024 bonds carry an aggregate principal amount of $40,665,000 and an aggregate purchase price of $45,226,363. They are repayable over 30 years, with a 5% coupon and an all-inclusive interest rate of 4.19%, according to the report. [1]
The sections of the report The Ledger reviewed don't explain the difference between the bond principal and the projected project cost. [1]
Construction
The report says construction began in the spring of 2025 and will continue for two to three years. Capital assets added in fiscal 2025 included $1,806,327 for continuing design and construction of the campus. [1]
A Feb. 11, 2026 update to the City Council showed phase one finishing in June 2026, phase two starting in July 2026 and the project finishing in June 2027. [2]
The fiscal 2027 budget hearing on June 10, 2026 covered a separate Public Works Campus Construction Fund. [3]
The city's May 2026 newsletter says phase one of the campus is complete. It describes phase one as the North Building, which houses a wash bay, maintenance and the Streets Division, along with a vactor truck cleanout and drying pad. Phase two, which has begun, covers administrative offices, salt storage, the Water Division and the public Water Tower Plaza on Oakland Avenue, and the newsletter says it is expected to finish in late 2027. [5]
Other uses of the bond
A presentation in the May 27, 2026 council packet on an interlocal agreement with Salt Lake County for the Water Tower Plaza estimated that project at $2,500,000, with an $825,000 grant, and listed the city's match as coming from the Public Works bond and parks impact fees. [4]
Bond principal is not the same as the project's total cost, and the $45,226,363 purchase price is not the total cost of repaying the bonds.
Sources
- City of South Salt Lake · FY2025 annual comprehensive financial report (attached to Jan. 28, 2026 council notice)
- South Salt Lake City Council · Feb. 11, 2026 regular meeting packet
- South Salt Lake City Council · June 10, 2026 budget hearing notice
- South Salt Lake City Council · May 27, 2026 regular meeting packet
- South Salt Lake City · On the Move newsletter, May 2026, page 4
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.