City Council minutes 5-17-22

TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 17, 2022

Members Present:
Connie Archibald
Wes Estep
Bret Rohde
Rick Seamons
Lyle Vance
Lyle Holmgren, Mayor
Shawn Warnke, City Manager
Marc Christensen, Assistant City Manager
Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Mayor Holmgren called the May 17, 2022 City Council Workshop to order at 6:02 p.m. The meeting was held in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix (arrived at 6:25 p.m.), Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, and Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett.

1. Discussion on annexation and growth in outlying areas that lack City utilities

Manager Warnke said the State requires us to have an Annexation Policy Plan, which has been an ongoing conversation. Cities are required to go through a planning process and evaluate what areas make sense to annex. We should consider updating our Annexation Policy Plan and review the criteria in the State Code, which has become more specific and rigorous. He then reviewed all the services that Tremonton provides. This shows land and property within our corporate limits, as well as areas that are worth looking at. Before we finalize annexation, we enter into a pre-annexation agreement to work out some of the details associated with providing services. We can negotiate pre-annexation agreements to work with developers to construct what is needed. We exact improvements that are required as a condition of approving the permit to offset the impact of their development, but it has to be roughly proportionate. This study is specific in what we should be looking at, the need for services in developed and undeveloped areas, a plan for extension, and how they would be financed, as well as estimated tax consequences to residents within the boundaries and expansion areas. As the County develops property within our declared boundaries, they need to give notice to the City for an opportunity to comment and work through issues. We did that recently and went to a County Commission meeting and spoke with them about coordinating our plans. The County agrees we need to work through the transportation corridor on Commerce Way (Iowa String all the way up to Main Street extended on I-84). The Planning Commission is also part of this process and can help us consider additional land and a timeline for residential, industrial, and commercial development. We want to do our best to make sure we are not overlapping boundaries, and are eliminating islands and peninsulas.

Manager Warnke said in 2016, the City amended our ordnance to allow, on a small scale, the subdivision of property with septic tanks. This allowed larger lots with one dwelling unit per four acres to have septic tanks. We were trying to strike a balance between the City’s obligation to provide service and someone who is within the City, but outside where services are to allow them to develop their property. This is for low density developments where impacts are minor. Our ordinance discusses how sanitary sewer is required with subdivisions and a gravity fed sewer system is easier for maintenance. There are investments that need to occur to get to the plant. Areas south of I-84 need to be pumped and will require a lift station. City Engineer Breinholt and Director Fulgham are working on the standards for that. Other areas do not have any sewer and there are barriers to providing services. My concern is leap frogging development because, in my mind, it becomes the City’s responsibility to extend sewer lines. Those should be exacted by development. Otherwise, existing residents pay the cost through sewer fees.

Councilmember Archibald said there is a need for individuals who want more land. Developer Gary Madsen wanted to annex his land in and that did not happen because we did not have the ability to bring those services. I think we would like to have larger lots for people who want that. Right now, we are dense. Councilmember Rohde said if we cannot give them the services, we cannot put a barrier in front of them to stop them. That stops us from annexing them and taking care of that subdivision. If it was designed with the right septic systems, they could use that until we get out there. We need to find ways to make it work. We have growth going on all around us and we are not going to be able to keep up with expansion. There are opportunities we will miss out on and it will be that much harder to annex them in once we get it built. Councilmember Vance said there are ways we can still maintain control of the subdivision even though we cannot get sewer to them. We could control what level of septic tanks and how many they have. We could annex them in if they engineer it to our standards. Then when we put in a lift station it is affordable and we could add them in while maintaining what is going on around Tremonton. Mayor Holmgren said there needs to be something more than just a hard rule. We need to look at each individual situation and work out the best solution. We need to be more open minded about it. Director Fulgham said I do not have issues with septic tanks, I have issues with the density of septic tanks. Who builds the road in the future or do we do away with curb, gutter, and sidewalk in rural areas?

Manager Warnke said we have a lot of growth going on in the City and we have to be vigilant about our services. We need to be careful about how we grow. The Annexation Policy Plan is a methodical approach to evaluate what services we can provide, when we can provide them, who would provide them, and who is going to pay for them. Annexations are the time you have leverage because people want City services. To give away our services for nothing in return is not attractive. Some of these larger lots are really intensive for providing services. They have long distances to serve very few people, so very few taxes. It is not an efficient way to develop. These are consequences we need to be thinking about and be aware that it could really undermine us. I am not sure who would extend these lines if we do not require people to develop as we go. Councilmember Vance said if the County and Health Department are helping us monitor them then it is okay. If they are doing it all right there should not be a need to hook up even once we run a line past them. If there are not too many and it has been monitored then we have control from the beginning.

Manager Warnke said secondary water is another big deal. We need to have secondary water to extend our culinary system. By allowing some of these fringed developments to have our water we are undermining everyone else within the City who is paying taxes and contributing in some way. Councilmember Rohde said unless they have a well or water rights to water their own property. Manager Warnke said but they would have the ability to water with culinary outside. Mayor Holmgren said we would have to have something in place to monitor and then charge them for more than the indoor use. Manager Warnke said I appreciate you allowing me to express my opinion, I do have strong opinions about it. You as a City Council make the rules, but how do you define that in an ordinance—where do you divide the line. I am just trying to share my insights to the issues. Councilmember Rohde said we could bounce this to the Planning Commission and let them discuss this. Councilmember Vance said there are cities doing what we are talking about. I am not sure who to contact and how to create that network to see how others are doing it, but we need to try.

Councilmember Archibald asked if Jordan Mathis from the Bear River Health Department would educate them a bit. Director Mathis said I have dealt with this issue in other areas. Roosevelt is similar to Tremonton—a growing community that has county development right on the edge of it. In regards to septic, I understand the issues you are facing. In Roosevelt there were issues with septic systems that required a sewer as a solution. Since it was developed in the county they did not require storm drain and it created issues around the septic systems. Everyone went to the city for the solution, which put them in a hard spot. Trying to reach that threshold after the fact created a lot of issues. There are ways we as a health department can work with municipalities to work toward solutions. We could set the rules in our approval process to make sure it meets City Code. The biggest hurdles after the fact are the cost to the resident for both a connection fee and digging up and taking care of the septic system since you have to have that decommissioned. I would love for the health department to be involved so we can be supportive of the decision the Council makes. I can tell you it is a lot easier to fix it up front than after the fact. Trying to get it right is not easy, but it is worth it.

2. Discussion of the FY 2023 Budget

3. Review of the agenda items identified on 7:00 p.m. City Council Agenda

4. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session held at this time.

a. Strategy session to discuss the purchase of real property when public discussion of the transaction would disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under consideration or prevent the public body from completing the transaction on the best possible terms; and/or
b. Strategy session to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of an individual; and/or
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; and/or
d. Discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems

The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. by consensus of the Council.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Holmgren called the May 17, 2022 City Council Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Tremonton City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Those in attendance were Mayor Holmgren, Councilmembers Archibald, Estep, Rohde, Seamons, and Vance, City Manager Warnke, Assistant City Manager Christensen, and City Recorder Nessen. The following Department Heads were also present: Fire Chief Robert LaCroix, Public Works Director Paul Fulgham, Interim Police Chief Brian Crockett, and Parks and Recreation Director Zach LeFevre.

1. Opening Ceremony:

Mayor Holmgren informed the audience that he had received no written or oral request to participate in the Opening Ceremony. He asked anyone who may be offended by listening to a prayer to step out into the lobby for this portion of the meeting. The prayer was offered by Councilmember Seamons and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Assistant City Manager Christensen.

2. Introduction of guests:

Mayor Holmgren welcomed those in attendance, including the Youth City Council.

3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest:

Councilmember Estep declared a conflict with the budget since he is a City employee.

4. Approval of Agenda:

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to approve the agenda of May 17, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

5. Approval of minutes – May 3, 2022 & May 9, 2022

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the minutes of May 3, 2022 & May 9, 2022. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

6. Swearing in of the Youth City Council Executive Board by Recorder Nessen.

7. Presentations:

a. Bear River Health Department Annual Report – Jordan Mathis

Mr. Mathis said I appreciate the opportunity to be here. It is our statutory obligation to report to all the counties and municipalities annually. Zoning and planning are in place to protect public health. So much work of public health happens outside our scope and we appreciate and view you as a critical partner. If there is anything we can do to support you please reach out. In 2021 the Health Department turned 50 years old. In 1971 the counties formed the Bear River Health Department to serve Box Elder, Rich and Cache counties. There are board members and each County has an elected official. In some ways they are a legislative board that can enact public health ordinances.

Mr. Mathis also talked about how the department is funded. We stay relatively the same, but we did have a big infusion of $2.4 million federal dollars in response to COVID. Revenues are received through contracts from State agencies, fees we collect from the public (permit or service fees), and from each county through the taxes they collect. The rest of the report is based around our strategic goals. We want the healthiest people in the State. We have developed a plan and positioned ourselves with a team that focuses on health strategy. Everything we do is data driven. Our goal is to have a healthy population and tie it back to evidence and data. Heart disease is the leading cause of death. As we improve the quality of health people get older and their hearts eventually give out. A better indicator is the year’s life lost. If I die prematurely then how many lives were lost as someone who lived a good life and dies of heart disease? We have a lower rate than the rest of the State on chronic lower respiratory disease. Our second goal is to be a great organization so we have to have great people. Recently the Health Department became nationally accredited under the Public Health Accreditation Board. We meet certain standards of service and expertise. We know we cannot improve public health alone. Our fourth goal is to increase access to services. We are looking to see how our permits grow and how to keep up with that through staffing. It is important we provide good service that improves people’s health. It is not enough just to provide good service we have to couple it with our mission to have good health.

8. Years of Service:

b. Tyler Bell, Police Officer III – 5 years
c. Judge Kevin Christensen, Justice Court – 25 years

Mayor Holmgren and the Council thanked them for their years of service.

9. Public comments:

Candace Scoffield said I am married to Rusty Scoffield and he has worked for the City for 27 years while I have worked for Autoliv for 27 years. He has always asked me never to talk since he works for the City, but we have watched a few of these and I am pretty upset with how people treat these guys. They work really hard for the City. There have been many holidays where my husband is out pushing snow and my kids have waited. Many times, he has come home and his hands are hurting from digging because they do not have people to back fill so he has to step up and work harder. People keep saying they are overpaid, but they are not. You can go to Autoliv and make over $20 starting out and I am in an air-conditioned building. Some have said well we have benefits, but I have better benefits than he does. I have a 401K, pension, and profit sharing. I have a health clinic to go to for $10. The benefits are not there, but he loves the City. It is not asking a lot for these people to pay a little more property tax. It has to come from there because it is guaranteed, you are not guaranteed everything else. People do not appreciate what they do for them every single day for this City. They go out of their way and work hard. People call my husband and chew him out because their water was shut off or the streets were not plowed right and he cannot say anything. I have to watch these people be rude and ignorant to him and he just takes it. It is not okay. I am upset as his wife to have to listen to that. Someone needs to stand up for these guys and say it is fair to pay them a wage they are worth. They are not asking for a high number they are asking to be fair. Why would anyone come and dig a hole and work in the heat and rain and cold and be out all hours? They have to be on-call and do not make at least $19 an hour starting out. My husband has dedicated 27 years of his life and he tells me sometimes I am done. If you had these people walk out, you have no City running. Someone needs to stand up for these people and say they are worth it. Everyone is so worried about property taxes. People have just come here and they say I do not want to pay for this, but they want a sidewalk. All this stuff costs money and someone has to do it. They put the water in, all this stuff and people do not appreciate it. I am here to say you guys need to stand up for this City. It might cost you $20 more, but it is worth it. Do you like having water? Do you like having a toilet? People do not see it because they are not the ones out there doing it. They do it because they love their job. My husband loves being outside. He takes a lot of pride in the cemetery and it is beautiful. He puts a lot of hours into it. We are supposed to be going camping next weekend, but he is coming back to make sure there is sod on the graves so it will look good. I said we are going camping, but he said no this needs to be done because he loves his job, this City, and he takes a lot of pride in it. I take a lot of pride in my husband. Every one of these guys are worth what they need to be paid. You guys have got to figure it out. Sorry to get upset, but I am passionate and someone needs to stand up and say this. You need to take this into consideration. People are going to be mad about property taxes, but it has to happen. These police officers go to school and the police academy, they should get paid for what they do. They put their lives on the line every single day. There was an accident last weekend involving my son’s best friend and he was hurt severely. I was thankful these people showed up to take care of him. A lot of these people donate their time and others are underpaid. Thank heavens someone was there to save that boy’s life. If we end up not having these people because they are not getting paid, we are the ones who are going to get hurt. I really want you to consider this.

Hunter Elliott said I conducted a survey over the weekend and want to give you the results. I have lived here for about 12 years. I was into skate boarding, but there was nowhere for me to do it. I went to the skate park and everything was really big and intimidated me. So, for 12 years I put off my dream of being able to skate. I went to Provo and they had many places for me to learn. I realized our skate park is not beginner friendly. I had a lot of people take a survey to see what they thought about it. Over the course of five days about 81 people took the survey. We found that over 50% of the skate park users are under 18. Of our riders more than one third have less than two years of experience. 76% of our riders said they would have started earlier if they had a better place to learn. This is good recreation for me and got me out of the house. You hear lots of people say why are kids not playing outside these days and I think if we had a better place to do it we would be out more often. I wanted to read a comment or two. Someone said as an advanced skate boarder it is scary to watch beginners take on the Tremonton Skate Park. The transition is very steep and everything is big. Some smaller obstacles would be much more welcoming to beginners and not be as intimidating. Advanced skate boarders like me would also benefit greatly from new smaller to medium obstacles. It is harder to learn new tricks, but when we have these smaller obstacles, it is easier. He then asked all those who were in attendance in support of the skate to raise hand their hand (which included several). We are advocating for the skate park to be bigger and beginner friendly. Thank you.

Briler Morgan said I have been skate boarding for 13 years and am pretty advanced. I can skate on most of the obstacles here in the Tremonton Skate Park, but I have been to tons and tons of other skate parks and have come to realize this one here in Tremonton really is intimidating. Our ramps are really steep. I have younger siblings I take there and it is kind of scary to watch them. The ramps transition from 45 degrees straight to a 90. It is pretty scary to learn on. I have been skate boarding for so long, but I still get scared to try new stuff there. Any little ramps we would greatly appreciated.

Xander Anglesey said I have watched kids take some slams. Little kids too. If we had something smaller it would be more welcoming to just about everyone. If it was bigger more kids would go there. It would keep kids out of trouble and make it easier on our police officers not to deal with kids getting in trouble all the time. It would give us something to do. It keeps us in one spot and allows us to dedicate ourselves to really doing something. I feel like if we did get some money put toward our skate park it would benefit us greatly. Mayor Holmgren suggested they get with Parks and Recreation Director LeFevre to come up with some ideas.

Jeff Hoedt said being a retired government person myself, I understand the concern from one of the spouses, as well as from the employees. Typically pay raises are not equitable like with a lot of other private industries. I would stress a concern about the property tax issue that has been a concern with the rapid growth of our population here and projected infrastructure that will have to be enhanced. Ultimately the fear of my wife and I is we will get taxed out of here. It is common with retirees and seniors to have that occur. The City is seeing a lot of income increases already so I would hope those are being utilized for things like this to compensate employees. The sales tax has gone up for a number of years. The property tax is rising rapidly already as new assessments come out on properties and everything else. I would ask you to be frugal as you look for the revenue sources for this and to look at the income you have already been receiving for a number of years. With the carry over balance, you have a significant balance every year. You might be able to fulfill this pay raise from other sources opposed to property taxes. As a retired person our income went up less than one percent this year. I am retired state and federal and that is what I got. Less than one percent of our overall income so when I hear about other increases that are more significant and I am seeing the cost go up on so many things, as you all are and everybody else is from the inflationary factors, it concerns us. We have drastically altered our budget to get through, we are doing fine, but we are not doing things we used to do and we will not see our kids back east as often. I am concerned about that. Utah is not the conservative State when it comes to taxes. For those who may remember I did a letter to the editor a while back about that. Most of our surrounding states do not tax social security or they do not have an income tax at all, but Utah does. As that impacts us and we see other increases coming it makes me nervous.

Rusty Scoffield said I am 63 days shy of being here 27 years as an employee. After hearing my wife talk, I figured I would have to get up here. There are a few things that concern me and it is not my wage. This is our future. There are young men who started three months ago that cannot move to this town because they cannot afford the rent because they do not make enough money. My wife and I both work. We enjoy our time and make the most of it, but I do not know how these young kids are going to make it. We have to watch out for them and help them. If we do not bring them in, Tremonton does not have a future. This is not just a labor job anymore. When I started, if you were willing to pick up a shovel up and jump in a dirt hole you were okay. It is not that way anymore. Certifications have driven it. You have to be educated and have a CDL. They made that harder. You cannot just go and get a CDL anymore you have to go through a 10-week course for $3,000. How does a kid making $16 an hour afford that when their job requires it. I do not care about me. My time is about done, but I do care about them. I care about the future of this town. I have lived here my entire life. This is the first Council meeting I have stood up and talked. I have always voted you guys in and stood by your decisions. I feel like we have great people who lead this City and you guys look at every avenue and every possibility out there. I know that. I see that day in and day out and always had faith in our City Council and our leaders, including Paul Fulgham, the fire chief, and police chief. I have a lot of respect for every one of them. They all worry about this City and that is what scares me is the future for my kids. I want them to be able to have the same beautiful town and community I grew up in. That is going to require the workforce to cover the things that need to happen. Just like my wife said I pay property taxes I have a house in town and when the water rate goes up I pay that rate. It affects me just as much as it affects anyone else. It affects my wage just as much as everyone else. I have heard so many complaints comparing other cities. We are not dealing with other cities here. We are dealing with corporations. They are walking in and stealing our employees because they need them. That is part of what we are dealing with. We are competing with what they are paying. Why do this for $16 when I can go and do that for $20. I am on call every two to three weeks. I have to do snow regardless of the day or what holiday it may be. That is what we are asking of these guys. Rain, snow, it does not matter if there is a water break get in the hole and get it fixed. We try our hardest. I want each and every one of you to know I voted for you because I have faith in you as my City Council to make the proper decision. Thank you for your time.

Jeff Wikstrom said I started working for the City in 2008. I have been here about 14 years. My wife started at a financial institution in April and when she got her check on Friday she realized she makes 11 cents more an hour than I do. I am in a different situation. I have three adult children who live with me. I am very lucky. My water heater went out and my oldest son bought it for me. I had problems with my central air unit and he paid for that also. Two of my children bring home groceries all the time so I am in a different situation than a lot of other people. I am very lucky for that. I just want the City Council to please think about wages. Last week I was reading the Ogden Standard and it said the mayor of Ogden increased property tax by $2.8 million. That is a lot of money. If there are other ways you can figure out how to make my wage higher, I am game. I would like to have more money. It would be nice to be able to buy a trailer and go camping and ride a four-wheeler with my wife. There are three different slots, one is for the wage, one is for benefits and one is for the total. I do not do social media so I have no clue what is going on, which I am thankful for, but I have heard a lot of people saying these employees make this much money and they are skipping those two parts and going right to the total. They are seeing that wage and I look at that and my W2 at my house and there is a huge gap. I wanted to come again and tell you how I felt.

Dylan Bailey said you guys know Jeff Reese. He is my grandpa. There are a few things I wanted to say about the skate park situation. These guys are very experienced, I am not. It is really hard to start off with those hills and I have fallen more times than I have succeeded. I still fall. It is insane. Going to skate parks opens your eyes on certain things we could add to our skate park. I also want to say I am thankful we have a skate park because I have been to cities that do not. That is a good thing. We could improve it a little more. Thank you.

Tyler Barfuss said I am also here about the skate park. A big topic are the hills. I did not go down one until late last year and I have been skating for almost four years. It is pretty hard to get started on such big hills and then the bowls. I feel like our skate park is built for more advanced people. The skate boarding community is growing and with the City growing there are a lot of skate boarders who are getting into it, but they do not have a great place to start because of the massive hills. It is scary so I feel if we added onto that and added some littler obstacles like rails and two stairs or just even a bigger flat area to practice flat ground tricks, we could really benefit from that. Thank you. Councilmember Rohde said thank you guys, I had no clue. This is why it is so important that people come and share their opinions with us because it really gives us the knowledge we need. This is awesome that you are sharing your opinions.

Justin Nielsen said I have hopped the fence to the golf course to use their bathroom and I know others who have since there are no restrooms at the skate park. There is also a drinking fountain there, but it does not work and has not for a while. Other places have trees to make the wind not as bad. I agree with all they have said. As part of his survey, he quizzed people on what features they want to add. These guys have expressed my other interests. Thank you for your time.

Elsie Crockett said I want to advocate for a tax hike. It has to happen. The City has had only one in 40 years. We get it from the County and school district, but maybe it is time we say we have to take care of our own. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that we have a full-time fire department. I work downtown and cannot tell you how many times a day the fire truck goes out during my eight-hour shift. And who knows how many times it goes out after hours. I am thankful that was put in place. Now think about everything else we need. A couple months ago an old lady thought she had a pipe burst on her road it ended up being a sprinkler pipe, but Jeff Wikstrom was there in his personal clothing after hours. We drove by and he was there fixing it even after he realized it was a personal thing and he did it on his own time. He went above and beyond the City issued job. It is very important we have these people in place as our City grows. Whether we like it or not, it is growing. People are here because we have low taxes and a great environment because we have great people. That is why we have this great city. Our community is what makes this place great and if we do not treat our employees the way they need to be treated we are not going to have them. It is hard to find employees right now. I know, I own a business in town. It is important we give them a living wage. My husband is a City employee and I have always had to work. This is not a new fight. The pandemic has changed our lives and the way things are now. We need to make sure we keep up and that things are taken care of. When we bought a truck in 2019 the dealership told us we have the lowest sales taxes in the state and that is why people come to Tremonton to buy a truck from Crump Reese. I do not think our taxes are that bad. If you have a big home your taxes might be a little higher, but I have a fairly new home that is fairly big. I know $5 a month is not going to kill anyone to have a secure City with a good work force and good public safety. Thank you.

Kristie Bowcutt said I was impressed at the youth. You guys are intimidating and for these youth to say that I was impressed. The taxes are a hot topic, a hard topic especially for those of us who are retired. I cannot go to Uncle Sam and say by the way I want 5% to 10% more. It is hard for everybody. I appreciate our employees because without them we would be up a creek. I just think we need to look at as many avenues as we can before this decision is made. Inflation has hit everyone not just City employees. I had some older people call me this week and they are scared because their property taxes are going up again. It is something that people on set incomes have a hard time with. Explore all the options before you come to us.

Paul Fowler said there are lots of emotion and things to think about. I have to buck the trend with the feeling that we have a gun to our heads and that the only way to take care of our employees is to raise property tax. I am sorry, but I push back on that 100%. That makes me say there is another way. One of the things I thought about as I sat in this meeting is every time we build a house or business you have an increase in revenue. Every time our County assessor goes out and that assessment changes you have a revenue increase. A new business, a new apartment, a new house, you have a new increase. Every time we open a new business and start collecting sales tax, you have a revenue increase. Every time those businesses do more because there are more people here, you have a revenue increase. I vocally and loudly say please no taxes. My home that I have lived in since I have been here has already increased 50% not because I have made it fancy or added onto it or changed anything to it, it has just gone up so I would assume it has for many of you. From a business point of view, you already have a windfall of funds. My question is where are the funds and what are we using them for? As a business guy I cannot help but say we have to scrutinize that more. I echo almost everything that has been said here tonight by everyone. You know I support more money being spent on parks and I have a scout troop who could use money. When I bought my business, it was about $1,800 a year for property tax, it is now $3,000 and I have only had that building for five years. I wish my business could do that kind of an increase. Everyone who is elected and serves here is to some degree a servant. Whether you are a City employee or on the Council we are in the public eye and to some degree are public servants. I am not against anyone getting a wage I want to make that clear, but trying to chase it down to where everyone is paid the highest wage will never keep them here. If we are not here for some other reason we will not be here anyway. There is no end to trying to out pay someone. I am involved in five different businesses and there is no way you can out pay all of your people to keep them. Not to say they do not deserve the increases, but I am saying that is not the only answer. There has to be a better way.

Mayor Holmgren said it is great to see young people express their concerns. Thank you everyone who has expressed a concern about our budget and what we are going through here.

10. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving Ordinance No. 22-05 adopting restrictions on the use of fireworks within certain areas of Tremonton City

Chief LaCroix said this is the same ordinance we have had the last two years. We pass it so it will go to the State Fire Marshal to be put on their website. This restricts where we can do fireworks (the river bottoms and Radio Hill). There are no fireworks within 100 feet of the zoned areas. We can restrict areas that are high risk, but we cannot restrict the whole City.

Motion by Councilmember Vance to approve the ordinance. Motion seconded by Councilmembers Rohde and Archibald. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

b. Discussion and consideration of adopting Resolution No. 22-23 appointing temporary justice court judges for the Tremonton City Justice Court

Manager Warnke said the City Council appoints the judge, but on occasion, issues arise where the Judge will be absent for professional or personal reasons. The State Code recognizes that and so our Judge has recommended three additional judges or colleagues to be considered and available for appointment. Not only are they qualified, but they are exceptional judges as it relates to their recommendations to be retained.

Motion by Councilmember Archibald to adopt the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Seamons. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

c. Continuation of the FY 2023 Budget discussion from the workshop (if needed)

Assistant City Manager Christensen said this is what we are seeing as a management team for employees. You heard the public comments and the economic pressures we are seeing are greater than usual. The inflation rate is hurting us in wages, as well as the cost of providing fuel and goods to operate and maintain the City. We reached out to Zions Bank and they said in the mountain region of Utah, according to the consumer price index, we are seeing a 10.4% inflation rate. Prices of homes have gone up almost by 30% this year. There is a 5.6% average hourly earnings increase. He then reviewed the current compensation plan for the public works and police departments and what neighboring cities wages are starting at. We have lost some employees to Willard City within the last month and also to private industries. He then reviewed what those types of businesses are offering employees. When it comes to the Public Works, we have good leads in our departments. Two of those three could retire in the next three years. We are looking to hire qualified individuals or those who show promise, to keep them on so we do not have a constant rotating door. In the future, half of the Public Works Department could be turned over (7 out of 13). He then went over all those numbers with the police department. We have great officers, but it takes a lot of training to become that.

Assistant City Manager Christensen said over the past few years our cost-of-living adjustments has stayed consistent at 2% with a 1% merit increase. This year we are proposing for these salaries to go toward cost-of-living increases. That raises the minimums and maximums of the pay grades and helps with recruitment and takes into account the inflation. There is about a 7% increase is what we are seeing other cities doing. It is a statewide issue to recruit and retain police officers and public works employees. This year we are proposing a 5% increase for cost-of-living. This is moving toward all the other employees in the City. The police and public works are selective salary, which is different than the COLA. The police and public works selective salary increases equates to about a $400,000 increase in employee salaries and benefits. The other employees with the 5% adjustment is about $155,000 for salaries and benefits. Councilmember Archibald said several have decided to leave. Since training costs so much I would love to have those guys back if possible. We have invested so much into them over the years. In my mind the employees are essential to the safety in our community.

Assistant City Manager Christensen then reviewed the different funds within the City explaining where the money goes and how this wage increase could affect those. Everyone is seeing the effects of inflation and adjusting their budgets. It is hard to operate and maintain the City when we see that. We have amended our budget due to an increase in fuel cost and the price of construction costs going up. If we are using all the money we have to pay for those increases it puts us behind for future capital projects. The Council asked about sales tax and Manager Warnke said sales tax is capped and we have adopted all the sales tax we can. Additional sales tax is optional and voted in by citizens. Mayor Holmgren said we have had a good year with sales tax, but we need to be mindful of the fact that it is volatile revenue. It can go up and down. When talking about employee wages that is a long-term commitment so we need a stable source of revenue and the most stable source is property tax. Councilmember Rohde said any business has risk. Sales tax is more volatile, but there are things we can do to make sure it is not so volatile.

Manager Warnke said we have talked about budgeting efficiencies. In 2023 we identified a few. There is about $125,000 in Transportation Impact Fees, which is new. We adopted it last year. It has the potential, over time, to payback the City $850,000 in road improvements. The Corridor Preservation Fund is where we take advantage of grants through the County revenues derived from registering motor vehicles. Over the years we have been successful in getting those funds and putting them to good use. If we move forward with the retrofit to fund electrical upgrades there will be a savings of $25,000 annually. It would take three years to overcome the initial investment, but thereafter would be beneficial. There is also the transient room tax that continues to grow. About $260,000 has been collected since its inception. Another $152,000 was attributed due to the Council move off medical insurance last year. Your participation made the difference and allowed us to move to a community rated product. We reached out and negotiated with the County to increase their contribution to the Senior Center and solicited other entities to also participate. We have seen some partnerships there, which we appreciate. We can continue to reach out to our counterparts and look for ways to have them be integrated. They need to understand the value in providing aging services. We also have worked on ways to improve safety and ways to increase contributions. When Darlene left Recorder Nessen and Deputy Recorder Nelson essentially lost 1.5 employees. We do have a contract employee we use for minutes, but do not pay benefits so it has really worked out well. I have been grateful and impressed that those two individuals have carried the load. We also want to recognize Fire Chief LaCroix. He continues to get grants. In the year and a half he has been here he has brought in $306,000 through grants. Over the years there has been $130,000 in planning grants as well. We will continue to be vigilant in pursing all the revenue sources we can in an effort to be efficient.

Manager Warnke said State legislature has rules we have to follow and the purpose of sales tax is to create a revenue stream to finance capital outlay requirements and service bond indebtedness. Some of our funds do increase as we grow, but demands will also grow with the City as will our obligation to provide services. He then reviewed some of the anticipated projects in the near future and how inflation will affect those engineer’s estimates. As the City continues to grow we will need to figure out how we sure-up planning. Once our population hits 10,000 we will become a city of the fourth class and will have more stringent permitting requirements associated with storm water and treatment. Property tax does not increase with inflation. The certified tax rate by the County auditor will provide us with the same amount of revenue we had last year. It does capture new growth, but not inflation. Increasing property taxes every year is the only revenue you have that you can completely control. You say what you need in order to operate the City. Property taxes could help us meet some of our obligations.

Councilmember Rohde said 10.4% inflation rate is horrible, but a large portion of us do not get a raise every year. When you add all this other stuff like property tax on there then we have to start giving up things. For those who have jobs and are getting raises they can afford that, but there is a good portion of the population who cannot. I think you are being over conservative on sales tax and utility tax. I think we need to relook at those. We usually have more than what we budget and that could be enough to make up this difference. I am not for raising property taxes at this point. I would ask you to look at other methods and reevaluate things. A 10% growth is an added $500,000 in taxes and that covers it. I think we are ahead of the game right now. I am in total support of getting their wages where they need to be. We just need to find the funding. I hope that message is very clear. Mayor Holmgren said our employees are so very important. This City does not function without them. Councilmember Vance said we need to figure out how to do this, but there has to be other sources. I think we are too conservative on the sales tax. Mayor Holmgren said remember that money is going into capital projects. It is possible to use some of that money for this, but by doing that we are giving up something down the road.

Manager Warnke said we will continue to work on the budget. The other issue we need to start looking at is the water rate and what the long-term health of the water fund is. We have a lot of fixed expenses. We adopted a water rate last time and did it at the lowest amount to cover the bonds knowing we might have to adjust it sooner rather than later.

11. Calendar Items and Previous Assignment

a. Review of calendar:

The Library is having a summer reading kickoff party on Friday, June 3, from 5-7 p.m. The second Farmers Market will be held on Saturday, June 4, as will the annual Mugs and Bananas Cruise night.

b. Unfinished Business/Action Items: None.

12. Reports & Comments:

a. City Manager Reports and Comments: None.
b. Development Review Committee Report and Comments: None.
c. City Department Head Reports and Comments

1. Report on the tour of the city’s water wells and springs

Director Fulgham said I give you a report every month. Our water use is down. People are being more conservative, but that is also our revenue. We were down eight million gallons, which equates to $9,000 of revenue we are down. Those are things we have to look at when being able to pay back our bonds. Conservation is a two-edge sword. I will start tracking the wastewater now that we lose some revenue from Garland going off our system. The Wastewater Fund is healthy and helping us out. The road is open to the south and we do have an issue in the cemetery with not having enough water from the sky or ground. We can pump for about 40 minutes. The ground water has not come back yet.

d. Council Reports and Comments

Mayor Holmgren said the flower pots should be out next week. We planted 82 in one hour and they turned out really good.

13. CLOSED SESSIONS: No closed session held at this time.

14. Adjournment

Motion by Councilmember Vance to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Vote: Councilmember Archibald – aye, Councilmember Estep – aye, Councilmember Rohde – aye, Councilmember Seamons – aye, Councilmember Vance – aye. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes for the City Council Meeting held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Jessica Tanner.

Dated this 7th day of June, 2022.

Linsey Nessen, City Recorder

Follow-up items for the Council and City Staff

City Staff will continue their efforts on the budget and finding efficiencies and sources of revenue. Manager Warnke will provide the Council with an overview on the Senior Center services, as well as what the City’s financial obligation is and the shortfall. City Staff will continue working on partnerships to help fund this resource.

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