By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
In the finale of a series of budget-dominated meetings that have engulfed the Price City Council, the body was able to find success in passing not one, not two, but three line items pertaining to the 25-26 fiscal year.
Opening the meeting was Council member Amy Knott-Jespersen, who provided the city’s safety seconds. “Last week was really, really hot. We’ve had it cool down the last few days, but it will heat up again. Some things to remember: Watch for signs of confusion, fainting and seizures, as these are signs of heat stroke. Cool, moist skin, heavy sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting and weakness are signs of heat exhaustion.” She added,” Stay hydrated, eat healthy meals, take breaks, dress appropriately and watch for symptoms.”
Moving to the agenda, the council first considered a donation from Utah Power & Light Credit Union for a statue of energy icon Reddy Kilowatt to be placed next to the retired turbine displayed at city hall. Being a donation, the city would not face any cost for the statue. The council unanimously approved this donation.
Following this, the council moved into the meat of the agenda, starting with a public hearing to examine the multiyear Capitol Improvement Plan for the city. Public Works Director Miles Nelson took the podium to share some of the finer details regarding the plan. “Annually, we go through this capital improvement plan,” explained Nelson. “A lot of hours and preparation goes into putting this together. This is our future fiscal year this coming July plan, plus up to 20 years out.”
Included within this plan are infrastructure projects, such as road stripping and repainting, traffic sign replacement, drinking water line replacements and sewer line maintenance. For the citizens, this plan includes proposed upgrades to the city’s parks, including the addition of more pickleball courts in Washington Park.
When the motion was made, the council approved the plan.
Next was the approval of revisions to the 24-25 budget. Overall, the city’s budget shrank by approximately $3.3 million. Financial Director Lisa Richens explained that this drop occurred for a variety of reasons, including declining revenues and budgeted grants not materializing. However, the city’s expenses also decreased. The body passed these revisions to the budget.
After this, the council revisited the approval of an ordinance establishing the compensation of Price City elective officers, statutory officers and manager-level employees. This raise – which was a heavily discussed topic in the council’s previous meeting – serves as the yearly cost-of-living adjustment received by each city employee. State code mandates officials hold a public hearing before passing such an ordinance. Having been tabled weeks before, the council made the motion to approve this ordinance and pass it before the July 1 deadline.
The budget items continued to come for the council, with the following line item being the approval of the 2025 certified tax rate for the city. This rate will not increase property taxes and guarantees that the city will see an equal amount of revenue as it did the previous year. Again, without controversy, the item was passed.
The council then held another public hearing to discuss the proposed transfer from the Electric Fund to the General Fund, as included in the FY2025-2026 tentative budget. Richens explained that state code required a public hearing to be held whenever a transfer like this occurred. Within this hearing, an enterprise accounting date is presented. This data encompasses all financial information used to track, analyze, and manage a company’s financial health, including transactions, balances, and performance metrics.
No one from the public commented on the hearing, allowing the council to approve the transfer unanimously.
The final item of the meeting also served as the most important: the approval of the 25-26 budget for the city. At the previous meeting, the tentative budget was set at $54,814,986. The final rendition sits at $54,853,131. This increase in the budget came from several sources, with groups like dispatch holding their budget meetings after the tentative budget is approved. After reviewing the changes made, the council approved the budget for the fiscal year.
The next meeting of the Price City Council will be held on Wednesday, July 9, starting at 5 p.m. in Price City Hall. For those unable to attend in person, a video stream of the meeting will be available on YouTube at KOAL-Castle Country Focus.