TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025

Members Present:
Wes Estep
Beau Lewis
Bret Rohde
Brandon Vonk
Blair Westergard
Lyle Holmgren, Mayor
Linsey Nessen, Assistant City Manager
Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder – excused

SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA

Mayor Holmgren called the September 9, 2025 City Council Workshop to order at 7:24 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 Estep, Lewis, Rohde, Vonk, and Westergard, and Assistant City Manager Nessen. Police Chief Dustin Cordova was also in attendance. City Recorder Nelson was excused.

1. Approval of agenda

Motion by Councilmember Estep to approve the agenda of September 9, 2025. Motion seconded by Councilmember Rohde. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vonk – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

2. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: None

3. New Council Business:

a. Discussion and consideration of approving Resolution No. 25-46 adopting the revised Compensation and Classification Plan

Mayor Holmgren said we have asked our police chief to present the proposal to the Council for discussion. Assistant City Manager Nessen showed the change in pay scale. Everything else is the same. Chief Cordova said we have discussed getting our guys in line with other departments for a couple years. Now we are at a critical point where we need to do that. We would like to attract lateral officers with experience. That is really a deficit we have. We have pulled numbers from comparative agencies and created the pay step scale. Our proposal tonight, is not the ideal solution. It would require us to drop an officer position to compensate fairly. We are just not getting the type of applicants we need. We are sponsoring people with no experience through the academy, which costs about $100,000 and takes over a year. If we did drop a position, we would be pretty low staffed by our standards in Box Elder County (one officer for 873 citizens). However, having four open spots I cannot fill is worse than going down one position and attracting people we want. If we go any further, we are going to have to start cutting services. I would rather just cut one and then reassess in the future. As we grow, we are going to have to contend with that staffing challenge. Our call volume will continue to go up, especially as we get bigger developments. Councilmember Rohde said how much more would you need to keep the other officer? Assistant City Manager Nessen said $225,000 includes the retention bonuses so it would just be the $153,000 per year, because the bonus is one time. Councilmember Rohde said I would like to find a way to maintain that other officer. Can we absorb that or do we really need to lose an officer? Councilmember Lewis said you would do that to stay inside the budget allocation? Chief Cordova said correct. That is the fundamental objective of cutting that position. I would prefer not to cut any positions. We are growing and need them all. This would get us through this budget year. Councilmember Vonk said I would love to remain whole too. But if there are efficiencies to be gained, we have to be looking at that. Are there still things we could do with some mid-shifts or there might be guys that would rather have overtime. If you were to be totally staffed up, would that actually financially hurt your guys? Chief Cordova said I think it is a good plan with our growth and based on the staffing metrics. That would put us in a good position for the future with incoming developments. Otherwise we will be behind the eight ball. If we do adopt this, we really have to honor it. It is a golden standard on all law enforcement agencies. You want to choose an organization that will show you that if you stick with them you will eventually work your way up. Retention is really smart financially, because it costs so much to lose people. I would almost be inclined to run one deficit so we can guarantee in the future years that we can fund this. My primary concern is our reputation as a department. We need to honor a scale once we establish it. Assistant City Manager Nessen said we have the money in the General Gund, but you could be borrowing from savings to pay these operating costs in the short term. Mayor Holmgren said then we are going to have to start looking at a funding source for the long-term health of what we are trying to do. It is good for the public to be aware that this long-term decision, may require other sources of revenue, include Truth in Taxation. We have to have a steady source of revenue to fund this in the long term. In the short term, I think we are good. However, if we approve this step scale, we will lock ourselves into honoring that.

Chief Cordova said for the first time since I have been here this will catch us up to paying equal to our surrounding competitors. We will be caught up, but there is that COLA increase, which is given each year. Officer Gailey said we cannot determine what other agencies do as far as market adjustments down the road. Brigham City has been one we have been chasing for a long time. Chief Cordova said for the record we do not set the scale. We are just trying to compete and stay in a fair range. We will choose our hard. Do we want to run short staffed with people who have very little experience dealing with some very dangerous calls or do we want to be properly staffed and feel safe? One thing we have got by on for a long time is the fact that people work here because it is a small town and with no big crimes. That illusion is gone. It was never true, but now we know it is not true. We need to adapt to that market. Cops are very much a commodity right now and they have options. They want to go where they are treated right. I can offer that, but they also want to be compensated fairly. That matters a lot. I do not think we lose somebody over a buck or two. Once they get to know our culture, we have some pretty loyal people. But, if they can go down the street and make $5 an hour more, they are going to do it. We can spend money in training, or we can spend a bit more and retain those with experience. I would rather cut a position to take care of funding for this year, and next year figure out additional funding. We do not want to lose the officers we have or our good reputation.

The Council agreed the step scale is necessary, but debate continued on if they cut a position or not. Chief Cordova that is the big question for the Council. Do we retain our current number of allocations or cut a position? That bill is going to come due at some point. The Council has to make that decision. As long as we honor the scale for the foreseeable future, I can make either work. There may be another conversation next year adding those positions back or even increasing as population grows. We need to stay on top of that because at some point, we start falling behind on call volumes and are not giving the service people need. That then becomes a safety issue. With our current estimates in population, we are behind already. This will put us a little more behind, but I think we can handle it. It is something we need to consider as developments continue. The reality is we are going to fall further behind because we have a lot of developments coming in and increasing population. Mayor Holmgren said I think we are stretched about as thin as we can be stretched and still have a safe community. Chief Cordova said when we talk of efficiency, even if we did try to match that golden standard (one officer per 500 residents), I would recommend against that because based on our call volume and proactive activity, we can get away with a little bit less because we are not saturated with crime. We have done a good job of creating long-term solutions to crime problems, which has helped us with our staffing. The other thing I would offer is in my time as a department head. I have brought in over $3 million in equipment grant funding and I would put that against any other department in Box Elder County. We are efficient in bringing in revenues. That goes far, but it does not go the full length and that is when we need the Council’s support. I look at police funding as a top priority. One of the things we owe our citizens is safety. We need to be careful because a single development can change our call volume. We just have to plan accordingly. It would help to know all the developments coming in and then I can create projections for the future. That way we have plenty of time to plan accordingly. One officer for every 650 residents is a good standard for Box Elder County. It would be low for other areas like Salt Lake, but we do not have the same kind of problems.

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to approve the resolution. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Roll Call Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vonk – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

Motion by Councilmember Lewis to move into closed meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vonk – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council moved into a closed meeting at 7:55 p.m.

4. CLOSED MEETING:

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

Motion by Councilmember Estep to return to open meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westergard. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vonk – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The Council returned to open session at 8:15 p.m.

5. Adjournment

Motion by Councilmember Rohde to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Estep. Vote: Councilmember Estep – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rohde – yes, Councilmember Vonk – yes, Councilmember Westergard – yes. Motion approved.

The meeting adjourned at 8:16 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 October, 2025.

Cynthia Nelson, City Recorder