The Salt Lake County Council has implemented the majority of recommendations following an audit of its travel expenses, according to a preliminary follow-up report published September 25.
Of the eight recommendations issued in a May 2025 audit, six have been implemented, while one remains in progress and one could not be tested.
The audit, conducted by Salt Lake County Auditor Chris Harding, reviewed actions taken between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. The original audit identified five findings and eight recommendations, primarily focused on travel packets reaching Mayor’s Finance without sufficient documentation to verify reimbursements.
To address these issues, Council staff developed and adopted an Internal Travel Guide that became effective June 25, 2025. This guide includes two specific tools: a Documentation Checklist used by the Travel Coordinator before submitting packets, and an Annual Travel Tracking Spreadsheet to log travel occurrences, forms used, and outstanding documentation.
The report noted that one recommendation remains in progress regarding a requirement for Council staff to submit travel documentation to the Travel Coordinator within 30 days of returning from travel. During the review, three of the four tested packets met this timeframe, though one packet lacked a hotel folio when the review began on June 10, 2026.
A second recommendation could not be tested because, while the Council established a policy for handling hotel-room upgrades, none of the packets tested during this period involved an upgrade.
The Auditor's report found no countywide policy violations in the transactions tested. The report noted that Council staff provided prompt access to travel packets, the Internal Travel Guide, and tracking records, and cooperated by answering questions directly.
The audit was conducted under the authority of Utah Code Title 17, Chapter 69, Part 3, and in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards.
