According to a report from Deseret News, the state of Utah spent more than $6.7 billion in federal funds in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This number has State Auditor John Dougall concerned about the future reliance Utah could have on federal subsidies. Dougall said the magnitude of the “ongoing federal subsidy is troubling, due to Congress’ complete disregard for any sense of fiscal responsibility.” He also noted that some of the coronavirus relief money may have been distributed to nonessential sources due to a lack of proper oversight on local spending.
According to Dougall, auditors are predicting the state of Utah will “experience increased dependency on federal money for the next five or 10 years as federal stimulus money continues to be sent to the state for multiple programs.”
Auditors a part of Dougall’s office said the lack of monitoring and oversight “has resulted in and may continue to result in material amounts of funding paying for nonessential expenditures.”
