The Money: Why Transparency Is Demand #1
The problem isn't only missing money. The most recent audit (published June 2026, covering 2024) found no fraud and no material weaknesses, and gave TRL a clean opinion on the cash basis it reports on. But a clean audit only confirms the cash-basis books add up — it doesn't speak to the quality of management, which has been shoddy. The deeper problem is structural: reserves have already fallen sharply, and by the district's own projection the General Fund runs into the red. The charts below come straight from TRL's audited reports and its own April 2026 projections.
Reserves have already fallen — fast
And TRL projects the reserve going negative
By the numbers
−$2.7M projected General Fund balance by 2030 — down from $5.8M at the start of 2026.
- $4.3M operating deficit in 2024 (audited); reserves (all funds) down roughly $5.3M over two years.
- The balance fails the mandatory 30% reserve in every projected year, and would need to rise $12.1M by 2030 to meet it.
- About 94% of TRL's funding is local property tax, capped at 1% annual growth — so costs rise faster than revenue can.
What the State Auditor did — and didn't — find
The audit gave TRL a clean, unmodified opinion on its cash-basis financial statements, with no material weaknesses and no fraud. The deeper financial trouble shows up in TRL's own budget and projections, not in an audit finding. A separate concern about competitive bidding on vehicle purchases has been raised but is not part of these financial reports.
Go deeper
For the full fiscal analysis — 13 exhibits built from audited budgets and 280 board meetings — read Anatomy of a Financial Crisis, researched and maintained by coalition volunteer Eric Wilson.