City Council 6-Jun-2017: Annexation, New Veterinary Office Permit, 2017-18 Budget Approval, and Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan

Sixteen residents attended the meeting; three were candidates, the rest had items of concern on the agenda or were there for scouting. We were done in less than an hour – most likely a record for an annual budget meeting. We were able to get through the budget “quickly” because of the discussions that we had in prior council meetings/work sessions, staff’s thoroughness in preparation and the mayor who moved things along.

APPEARANCES

• None.

CONSENT

1. MOTION: Approval of Meeting Minutes for the City Council Regular Session – May 16, 2017. Click here to view the minutes. Approved unanimously with minor changes.

ACTION ITEMS

2. PUBLIC HEARING/ORDINANCE: Annexation of 10.05 Acres of Real Property located at approximately 10400 North 6000 West - Day Annexation. Click here to view background info from the agenda. This parcel of land was included in the city’s 2002 annexation plan. In April of this yearthe council approved an intent to annex notice and scheduled a public hearing for this meeting. No comments were provided during the public hearing and the council voted unanimously to approve the annexation.
   

3. PUBLIC HEARING / MOTION: Request for a Conditional Use Permit for South Mountain Pet Care-Highland located at 11250 North Highland Blvd. - Requested by Carl Pew. Click here to view background info from the agenda. Prior to the public hearing there staff reviewed the proposal with the council and the applicant answered a couple of questions. During the public hearing the owner of the building south of the proposed veterinary office siad he originally had some concerns but they had been resolved and he was OK with the project. There were no other public comments. The project was unanimously approved by the council.
    
   

4. PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION: Approval of a Resolution Enacting and Administering the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Highland City Annual Budget. Click here to view background info from the agenda. Staff reviewed the overall budget with us and highlighted changes since our last discussion. During the public hearing a business owner expressed concern that the culinary water fund expense was greater than its revenue for next year. We pointed out that utility rates were increased last year to help cover the costs of upcoming projects. We noted that all enterprise funds (sewer, water …) had been reviewed through 2030 as part of the exercise to determine the adjusted rates. The project costs he was looking at were factored in when the rates were revised. After a brief discussion that included a confirmation that the public safety budget increase was less than 2% the budget was approved unanimously.
   
   Below are assumptions that the budget was based on:

   • 3% Potential Salary Merit Increase
   • Dental Costs Up 1% (actual)
   • Medical Costs Up 9.5% (actual)
   • No road fee (note, we will need to amend the budget to include the now approved road fee)
   • $90K Carryover for Salt Storage facility which we are required to build.
   • $20K Carryover for Econ. Dev. study
   • $147K Carryover for Road Projects that will be completed later this summer.
   • Liability and Workers Comp. Insurance premiums down $7K
   • $25K transferred from Open Space to Capital Parks for Beacon Hills trail
   • B&C Road Funds, $650,000
   • Total tax collections up .5 to 1%
   • License and Permits, revenue down $10K
   • Fees and Services revenue flat
   Here are the budget charts which were shown at the meeting. Note, a Google spreadsheet version of the 2017-18 budget along with historical numbers, charts, graphs, and summaries can be seen by clicking here.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. RESOLUTION: Approval of an Ordinance adopting 2017 Mountainland Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan. Click here to view background info from the agenda. The plan is fairly comprehensive. It outlines the disaster preparedness responsibilities for each municipality in the Utah County. It covers preparedness activities relative to: fire, flood, earthquake, dam failure … . I asked who on staff was responsible for reviewing the plan and ensuring that any items that required funding were included in our annual budget. The finance director was given this responsibility. Note, if you click on the link above you can review the plan. It is actually interesting and has good information.
   

MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL & STAFF COMMUNICATION ITEMS

• Election & Referendum Update – Jody Bates / Tim Merrill. Jody shared with the council an Interlocal Agreement that the county had provided her for services this years election. Council members were asked to review the document and sent feedback to Jody. The county will be running the election because of Jason Chaffetz’s resignation. Of special interest is that both the primary and general elections will be vote-by-mail only. This means every registered voter will receive a ballot via the mail that they will need to return by the specified date. The ballot can be either mailed or taken to the city and put in a drop box.
  

Links:

• Council agenda with my rough notes
• Staff presentation
• Google spreadsheet version of budget with summaries, charts, and graphs.