City Council - Regular Meeting

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Welcome. Good to see so many folks here tonight. Appreciate your attendance. We need to start with a roll call. Ms. Harris, will you help us with that? Excellent. Thank you. We have an agenda before us. Is there any changes that we need to consider to that agenda before we move on? If there are not, I'll entertain a motion to approve the agenda. I'll make that motion, Your Honor. Mr. Willing with a motion. Is there a second? Second it, Your Honor. Mr. Schmidt, second it. Any discussion? If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

It will be opposed. We have an agenda. We have the minutes for the June 2nd meeting as well as the work session of June 9th. Any concern regarding those minutes? If not, we will acknowledge both of them and we will go on to... The bills. We've got a warrant register with today's date on it. Any questions on the bills? Is there a motion to approve the bills? I'll make that motion.

I'll second it, Your Honor.

Mr. Lynn? Mr. Perks? Seconding? Discussion? There's no discussion. All in favor say aye.

Aye. Are there any opposed?

That is approved. Council comments. Let's start at the other end of the table. Ms. Hageman, let's start with you tonight. What's on your mind?

The Pony Express. Pony Express is coming through town on this Saturday. They still need some volunteers. It is the Pony Express Rewride. And if you haven't seen it or taken part in it, It is one of the coolest things you will witness of our nation's history. They pass the Makila. The riders ride for two miles at a time in breakneck speed. It goes from Michigan to Sacramento and back. And I can... Honestly tell you, even if you're not into horses or history, it is one of the coolest things you can witness to see how things got done in this nation back in the day and what made us who we are today. And it doesn't matter what time they're going to be around the state hospital at around midnight. Saturday, Sunday. So, and those are the beleaguered hours of the riders, you know, where they don't get a lot of support. So they'll be doing handoffs at the state hospital and then they ride two miles over City View and come down onto Cheyenne where there's a handoff and then they ride into down Yellow Creek. So, so cool. So if you're up Or even if you're not, set the alarm and go watch and cheer on these riders because it is something. Last year I saw a mom, a dad, and looked to be about a 10-year-old son going down Yellow Creek Road. It was just so cool. So grab a red, white, or blue glow stick and go cheer them on.

I just want to give a shout out to Good to Grow Farms. Barb and Leanne started their pickups this week and it's always a good time and that means Farmer Market's getting ready to start and I'm really looking forward to that and I'm looking for a really good season and just thanks for Barb and Leanne for all they do for us.

Just amen to that, too, but also the rodeo series started last weekend and had a great turnout. People from all over Utah and Wyoming were there, and it's a good turnout. So good job to the rodeo series people, and they have two more weekends of rodeos coming up, so let's get out and support them, too. Excellent. Thank you. Mr. Perks.

The only thing I've noticed is that we've had our police department, thank you, patrol on Highway 89 and Highway 150. But, man, in these neighborhoods where we live, slow down. You know, my neighborhood, you know, we ought to put a checkered flag out there some days. But, yeah, just slow down. There's kids out there playing.

Mr. Lind. Summer's in full swing. So this is what makes this place so great. So go enjoy farmer markets, the racetrack, you name it. There's so much stuff going on. So go check it out.

The only thing I have is Father's Day is coming up and remind everybody that. to honor your fathers and get downtown. And tomorrow, I believe, is the last day to win the toolbox full of gift cards. So if you don't have a candidate, here I am. Let's just throw that out there. Thank you.

I was going to say, I'm hoping my kids are hearing and listening. Excellent. Thank you. I'll just say amen to all of that. And say I agree. We will just move on. We need to go to our public hearings or special orders. We do have a public hearing regarding the amending the 2025-2026 budget. Ms. Lim. Oh, please. I'm sorry.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Trudy Lim, City Treasurer. The proposed amendment pertains to this current fiscal year for 25-26. It addresses adjustments necessary for operations. One of the adjustments is the dispatch fees and I think most of you are aware that this year they increased our fees and we had some discussions about that. We do need to do an increase to cover that cost that we have paid to them. uh... also we are allocating extra funds to the motor vehicle fund which has also called the internal service fund which is just for internal operations like copy charges postage charges things like that and we need to add some money to that fund we also need to add some additional funds to the cemetery uh... just to cover operating expenses cemetery is one that's hard to to stay afloat i guess you could say

Okay. I don't think so. It seems to be at the end of every budget year we have this budget amendment. We need to make some adjustments here or there as we approach the end of the fiscal year, so if it's a common occurrence.

Do you know, Trudy, what the amount is, the total amount of the adjustment?

The amount for the dispatch fees is $136,145. That's for this current year. The motor vehicle or internal service fund, we are supplementing $25,000. And then the cemetery fund, we will be allocating $500,000. Thank you.

Hey, Chief, did we win the baseball game I thought we were going to have against them for these dispatch fees? No.

Okay. I have some questions. On the total for the dispatch, so we're increasing by 136,145, is that correct? Yes. And that brings the total to 551,145? For this fiscal year, yes. Yes. Do we have a contract? Do we have a signed contract between the police and the sheriff's department? I know we've been working on a handshake deal for years, but that doesn't actually meet the law requirements of procedure. And we're spending over half a million dollars and like to know that that was finally resolved. I'm assuming you have.

Mr. Mayor, Council Member Hagerman, I believe right now this is just the correction of the line items. So we have the funds in place. We have not signed the contract yet, but there is no transfer of money yet until we're just allocating the money into a line item so it's there to be utilized.

This is not for the new budget year.

But we can't authorize without a signature. We're not.

What we're doing is we're putting the money in the can. We're loading the gun. We're not shooting it yet. We're just having the money there so it's ready to go because we're getting so late in the budget year.

And when is the contract supposed to be signed?

We have sent the contract to the county attorney. We're waiting for a contract.

Okay.

I would assume, and I know assume is not a good word, but in this case it applies, is if the county would like their money, I'm sure the contract would get signed.

That's a great way to put it. It's a little hard, though, to, you know, I understand what you're saying, but on the other hand, things can happen between... We authorize that money, we need to have that.

So, Mr. Mayor, Council Member Hagman, it's my understanding that everything contractual has to come from City Council. You will be presented with the contract. And also, all the money spent has to come up in front of warrants for City Council approval. So this is not the final say that Council will have on this matter.

Okay. The other question I had was over the golf fund. We're transferring, I understand that this, or excuse me, the cemetery fund. So the cemetery fund, obviously the clients there can't continue paying, so it always runs in a deficit. We're moving $500,000. It was $50,000. Where are my notes? Can you just break that down for us? Because we're 100 and something. I can pull up, if I can read my writing. We were 167 something thousand over, as I recall. Oh, here it is. So we were running a $302,682 deficit. We're transferring half a million, which is $197,318 more. Can you clarify? Well, for one thing, the year has not ended yet.

There's still another, basically another month to go. The report you have is probably ending in April, so it may not even have the May numbers. It's just a little bit of cushion, so we don't have to come back and do this again. It's a fund that we typically have, the general fund has to help subsidize. I mean, we can change that number, but then I may be back again for another amendment.

So to track numbers accurately coming before council and with another amendment isn't that that's just part of the job.

This simply puts some money in a position where we can spend it. Any expenditure down the road, you would also be before you for approval as the city council. So it's just a matter of putting the money, similar to what Chief Vranich just said. We're putting some money in a position where we can utilize it. We haven't spent anything yet of that $500,000, but obviously we will need to at some point. To what extent remains to be seen. But there again, it's just a... A budget amendment to to allocate the funds and the actual expenditure of the funds or approval of the expenditure of the funds would be made at some future point. We haven't spent anything yet. You'll you'll get another chance to approve any expenditure. Mr. I guess we're.

So, Trudy, so is the money in the general fund already to transfer all this, or is this reserved?

Yes, we have the funds to transfer this amount of money, yes.

At the end of the day, we're just trying to make the cemetery fund whole. Yes, exactly. That's what I understand. Okay.

Is that all the questions I have? Thank you, sir. Now we need another public hearing regarding the proposed fiscal year 26, 27. Mr. Harris. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

The purpose of the hearing is for the City Council to hear and receive public input, comments, and concerns regarding the options for the City of Evanston in the year ending June 30, 2027.

Mayor Williams, City Council members, and citizens of Evanston, this evening the governing body will vote on the proposed budget for fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027. Department heads submitted their budget request and all information has been provided to the City Council. Additionally, a public hearing notice regarding the budget was published in the Uintah County Herald on Thursday, June 4th, as well as Thursday, June 11th, 2026. Thank you. The City of Evanston's budget functions as a comprehensive financial roadmap for the fiscal year. It details both projected revenues and anticipated expenditures, providing guidance for responsible fiscal management. Upon approval of the budget, every dollar of revenue received is verified for accuracy. Expenditures are initially approved by the appropriate department head. Once approved, these expenditures are forwarded to the treasurer's office. where at that point they are entered into the financial system and reviewed by staff members. Subsequently, the expenditures are reviewed again by myself, signed off by the Mayor, and then finally presented to the City Council for formal approval during a City Council meeting. In addition to these internal checks and balances, the city's revenue and expenditures undergo an annual audit conducted by a third party independent accounting firm. This process ensures transparency, accountability, and adherence to financial best practices throughout the fiscal year. Our budget is organized into five funds. The general fund, water fund, wastewater fund, environmental services, or it's also called sanitation, and the golf fund. Additional special funds include the cemetery, the lodging tax, and the economic development fund. the general fund is primarily supported through a diverse array of taxes and fees approximately thirty two percent of our total revenues are generated from the four percent statewide sales and use tax as well as vehicle and gasoline taxes An additional 29% of revenue comes from other sources, including taxes and royalties, such as tobacco, severance, federal mineral, lottery sales, historic horse racing, wagering, and skill-based games. These taxes are controlled by the Wyoming legislature. The city also receives additional state funding. The legislature recently implemented a new formula for this funding, resulting in a more stable annual distribution for the city. The local 1% additional sales tax constitutes about 21% of our overall budget. Sales tax represents a primary source of revenue for the community. Collections are handed directly handled directly by the state government, which then distributes the funds among the state, counties, and individual cities. Any increase in local sales tax rates requires a formal vote by the citizens, meaning changes to the rate are subject to public approval and reinforce the role of the community members in local fiscal decisions. Additionally, a significant portion of sales taxes are paid by visitors and those passing through Evanston, not just residents. The broad contribution means revenue benefits the community without placing the entire burden solely on local residents. The latest report from the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group reveals that sales and use tax distributions exceed expectations. Collections are running 3.8% ahead of forecast through March of 26. This strong performance highlights positive trends in revenue generation and contributes to overall financial stability of the general fund. In the current fiscal year, In the enterprise funds in the current fiscal year, there is one planned change to the fee structure. A modest increase in the per gallon water usage rate for customers whose consumption exceeds 10,000 gallons. The base rates and per gallon fees for usage below 10,000 will remain unchanged. No other fee adjustments are expected for this period. The golf fund did receive adjustments to its fee structure, and these increases were put into effect earlier in the golf season. These changes are reflected in the fund's revenue, ensuring that the fees collected are aligned with the operational needs and maintenance requirements of the golf facilities. The updated fee schedule was designed to provide adequate support for ongoing activities, improvements, and services offered to golfers during the season. The cemetery fund during the current fiscal year, an increase in the cemetery fees has become necessary to maintain sustainability. The budget amendment we just approved, or the public hearing we just had, I shouldn't say we just approved, highlights that need of the funds for the cemetery. This reliance on additional funding stresses the importance of adjusting the fee structure to better support ongoing cemetery operations. Despite the planned increase, cemetery costs in our area remain fairly low. Capital projects. The city continues its commitment to improving infrastructure, community amenities by actively seeking grants to fund capital projects when possible. Alongside these efforts, reserves are being carefully managed to ensure essential repairs and improvements are adequately financed. Several projects are scheduled for implementation this year, demonstrating a focus on both maintenance and progress across city operations. The following projects have been talked about. Continued work on the city master plan. Acquisition of police and other city vehicles and equipment. Installation of a new sound system in city hall in the council chambers slash courtroom. Upgrading landscaping at the roundhouse and rail yards. Ongoing repairs and improvements at the recreation center. Enhancements to irrigation controllers and filtration systems at parks, cemeteries, and the golf course. Additional upgrades and maintenance to the water and wastewater systems. We also have projects that are contingent upon the availability of revenues and grant funding. Some of these include a tap ground application for sidewalk improvements near Aspen Elementary, upgrading the downtown sound system, repairs to the Bear River Bridge, roofing for the E-Hill water tank and other improvements to the water plant, and continued work on the city ditch. The City of Evanston also employs 84 full-time staff members. The average tenure among these employees is currently just under 12 years, reflecting a workforce that is both experienced and committed. Many staff members are lifelong residents of Evanston, further demonstrating their dedication to serving the community and its citizens. In December 2024, the City conducted an update to its classification plan, which subsequently was approved unanimously. Due to the salary increases from this updated plan, there was no cost of living increase during the fiscal year of 2025-2026. However, to maintain the integrity of the plan and to ensure salaries remain competitive with the market values, a cost of living increase of 3.4% for all full-time city employees has been determined for implementation. Many surrounding agencies in Evanston, as well as throughout the state, are taking steps to raise employee compensation. These increases are designed to ensure that salaries remain competitive with current market standards. During the current fiscal year, health insurance premiums for employees and council members increased by 5%. The city of Evanston continues its commitment to supporting employee health coverage by covering 91.8% of premiums while employees are responsible for 8.2. In addition to health insurance, the city maintains full contribution to the Wyoming Retirement Program. In summary, the city's budget proposed for fiscal year 2026 totals $36,991,021. This amount reflects a decrease of approximately 2% compared to the previous budget year. The proposed figure encompasses all operation costs, personnel expenses, and capital projects planned for the coming year. By ensuring these components are included, the City aims to maintain consistent operation and continue investing in necessary improvements, all while upholding principles of financial responsibility in the management of public funds. Thank you. Thank you.

Questions?

I guess not.

Kathy Cook, 912 Main. I just wanted to ask if we're collecting money from Shades and it's in our revenue. I was going to say, I still believe we are, yeah.

It's in the budget.

Okay, thank you.

Cynthia Dubinsky, 813 U in the Street. Is the amount collected from Shades going to be reflected as a credit in the budget? Like a line item, you know, money in, money out. Okay, so I know what you're talking about. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll go on to our consent agenda. Extensive. We've got a long, long list. We've got several activities there that are kind of common in nature, or at least yearly in nature. Looks like a couple anywhere, a few of those. Is there anyone here that would like to say anything about our consent agenda items before we move on, before we move forward with this? I hear from this. Yeah, I'd like to hear. Yeah, tell us. Callis, tell us. She's still looking for puffers out here.

Hello, council members and mayor. I'm Michelle Callis from the Uintah County Library Children's Department, and we are here to ask for some road closures for our 250th red, white, and blue color run we're holding in front of the library down to First Bank across the back of the library and back into the parking lot. If you have any questions or concerns, we're really excited about this, and it's going to be a lot of fun. I have some flyers, so if anyone wants to take flyers to hang on their businesses, it's a family fun run and walk.

I'll take a flyer. Okay. And are you still looking for puffers?

We're looking for puffers. Anyone who wants to come and support people with colored cornstarch? I don't know, what do you call those people that do that? Puffers. Puffers, okay, we're looking for puffers. So like, Mike, we really could use someone there by your house there, you and your wife. And half of the road's going to be for serious runners and walkers, and the other side of the road's gonna have like obstacle course, for the kids and the strollers.

And then bubbles at the end?

And then we've got two big, huge bubble cannons we're going to do in the library parking lot.

So it'll be a lot of fun. And I better have a flyer to make sure I have it on my calendar.

It does cost a dollar.

I felt like if I asked people to pay a dollar, then they would show up.

Because if I say it's free, then people just don't come. And I've told 25 people we were full. So it does cost a dollar. You need to register at the library in advance beforehand. It would be nice. One thing I would like to say about Evanston, though.

Go ahead.

People never sign up in advance. We are terrible about that. Our community's terrible. So for everyone listening, if you can sign up in advance, that really helps people who are putting on any kind of production. You know, I know it's not just the library. I know all businesses and places. If you sign up in advance, that really helps, not just showing up that morning. Though we want you to come that morning if you haven't signed up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Before we move on with this, I just have a question. Chief Vance, or maybe from some of our fire folks here, we've got several street closure permits. Are there any concerns? I think most of them, there might be a couple of new ones there. Is there any concern with those? Are you comfortable? Have you read what all those are about? Are you comfortable with all that?

As long as they don't utilize the vehicle to block their street, they need to understand we need to be able to get a fire truck or emergency vehicle in there. And inevitably, if you park your truck there, block the street, when it happens, we may not find that person. So just please contact the city about getting some kind of movable barricade, maybe even garbage cans on your street, some kind of barricade that we can get out of the way in a hurry.

It can be movable. I appreciate that information. I kind of assumed that, and I think these kinds of community or neighborhood events are kind of cool, and so I hate to squash that or pour hot water on it necessarily. Of course, it's the Fourth of July, so a little water wouldn't hurt anything.

I think they're valuable, too, and I got no objection. Just please don't block the street with a solid obstacle.

wise counsel thank you and I'm assuming we're gonna address these all together you got brothers that way anybody want to pull anything out please John Dubois 201 Washington

First of all, I'm not a party pooper, please understand that. Fourth of July has been the highlight of our year every year because I call it the war zone. I invite my friends in Utah, my kids that live in elsewhere to come here because it is a show and we enjoy it. However, There's one street closure permit that's being requested on Washington Avenue between Grant and Elm Street. That's where I live. It's one it's not a neighborhood party. My recommendation, because one, I've got three great grandchildren that live with me and they typically are in bed at 8.30. They don't get to bed at 8.30 this night. There's a lot of fireworks that's going on. There's also a fire hazard. There's an orchard that's right across the street. uh... my concern is a fire hazard the other thing is i spent hours the next day picking up all of the fireworks from from this particular neighborhood party which it's not i pick up fireworks in my own yard i don't mind that but it's a hassle so mike my concern is that on maybe on this specific one or any other, that I recommend that you change policy that anytime they wanna have a street closure, that the individual who wants to have it needs to get some signatures from the neighborhood, get some buy-in from the neighborhood, and then submit it to the city and the city council for approval. And then the other thing too is these forms that were filled out by the individual, nothing's signed, dates are incomplete, That's all I have. Thank you.

I appreciate that. I appreciate that. We're kind of probably a little late in the year to gaining too many signatures just yet, sir, but I appreciate the information. And maybe there's an opportunity here to just remind folks that receive these street closure permits to be mindful. Be mindful of your neighbors. Be mindful of the trash left behind. I've seen that. I know that the concerns that you have, sir, are community-wide. I think everybody feels to that extent the same thing. I know that in my neighborhood, it's always kind of a mess at the end of the day, and that's unfortunate. I think if we're going to do these street closures or request these street closures and have fun, I think that's great, but I think there's also a stewardship that needs to be involved in that to clean up after ourselves and clean up the mess that we produce and be mindful be mindful of our neighbors. I know that 4th of July is what it is, and as you mentioned, it's certainly been a big deal for our community for as long as I can remember, and I anticipate that it will probably be well into the future, and so sleep is impacted greatly by these kinds of events, but I appreciate the input. There again, does anybody want to pull anything out?

Your Honor, I think we should pull this one out. The people that are requesting this is my son-in-law and daughter, and I don't feel comfortable voting on it now that we have a suggestion or complaint on it. So we need to pull that one out so I can abstain.

Okay. So we will pull out the one for Washington Avenue, Mr. Kerrigan. Correct.

Okay.

Anything else we need to remove? Anybody got any?

No, I just want to make a comment. I know Mr. Gardner's here, and I drive around the next day, and he has a big party, but it's cleaned up, and I appreciate that. That's down in our neighborhood, and you do a wonderful job. Most of these people do a wonderful job cleaning up, but especially I know Dale, he's out there cracking whip on a couple teenagers, it looks like, sometimes, and having them do community service. I don't know what they're doing, but they're cleaning up well, so thank you. Good for you. Yeah, and I think the one in front of Councilman Perk's house also is well cleaned up. Always. I just, I think these are fun events as long as the neighborhood's involved and the neighbors are notified. So...

So I have people come in and use some of my lots to, a lot of fireworks. I kind of keep a mental note of it. And if they're not cleaned up, I have no problem knocking on a door and saying, you know, this isn't okay. I don't do this. I didn't create the mess. I shouldn't have to clean it up. And most of the time, they're pretty good about coming down and getting their stuff cleaned back up.

I think a lot of the main purpose of these street closures is trying to instill some safety. Right, man. Absolutely. They're going to be out there lighting fireworks. They're going to be playing out in the street, doing all those things. So in the name of safety and not getting kids run over and stuff like that, I like when they request a street closure if they can, if they're going to have a party. So I think that's a good due diligence on their part.

entertain a motion to approve our consent agenda item our consent agenda with the exception of the Kerrigan request I'll make that motion mr. Sellers motion is there a second I'll second it welling seconding any discussion there's no discussion on favor say aye aye aye are there any pose That's approved. Now with regard to the request by Mr. Kerrigan, is there anyone here else that would like to speak regarding this particular?

And you're going to abstain, Mr. Pertz.

I'll entertain a motion to approve the street closure request by Mr. Kerrigan for Washington Avenue.

I'll make that motion now.

Mr. Schmidt with a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Seller is seconding. Any discussion?

I guess I'm not super familiar with this area. Which ward is that in?

That would be in the elementary cemetery, just this side of the cemetery a little ways.

Okay. So I'm just one of the councilman's folks who's going to talk to his family. Okay. I didn't have my mic on. So I'm just wondering if Councilman Perks is willing to say I could be taking some heat over this if it doesn't get cleaned up. I'm just staying out of it one way or another.

I do think it's worth mentioning to say that... This one and all of them, all these closures, we need to be, again, we need to be mindful of our neighbors, be mindful of what we've got. It's a dry year. Thankfully, we've had a little bit more moisture here more recently, but it's a dry year. It's always a concern. And it's a fun time of year. It's a fun day. Nobody questions that, but we do need to be mindful of our neighbors and mindful of the situation. And be careful.

I have a quick question. Go ahead, sir. In the application, does it specify anything about the cleanup and about the care afterwards?

I'm not aware, but Chief, do you want to help us with that one? I'm not aware.

Mr. Mayor, we only have one dot from industry closures.

The one thing that we could certainly do is if if that was to be a problem And if down the road if they were to ask again in essence next year, we could we could fall back and say we had a problem Last year and yeah I think it'd be nice if we added have you notified your neighbors?

You're shutting your street down Because there's one here I've noticed that the neighbors weren't notified last year, and they weren't notified again this year. But the people I talk to aren't going to be home, so they don't care.

This allows us room for improvement. Yeah, absolutely. We'll see what we can do about improving it.

Any further discussion? If there is none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? I oppose. Mr. Welling opposing. Okay. Thank you. We have no unfinished business. We start with our new business and consider a motion to issue a letter of support for Gateway West Development. Mr. O'Neill, tell us what we're considering here.

Let's see.

Okay.

Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, Rocco O'Neill, City of Evanston Community Development. The Gateway team reached out to us while we were actually at the WAM conference, and they're seeking development partners for their project that they titled Gateway West on the west end of town. They just want to be able to show potential partners that the city in general supports their vision for the property and that we're pro-business and pro-development, so... Nothing more than that, just simply a letter of support.

Thank you. I'm assuming everybody has a copy of this letter. Is there any concerns with it? Is there a motion to approve the...

I'll make that motion, Your Honor.

I'll second it. Well, I'm seconding. Any discussion?

I thought it was a great project. I hope they find their partners and...

We could use that. We do. Absolutely. If there's no further discussion, all in favor say aye.

Aye. Aye.

Are there any opposed? That's approved. I'll get that signed for you. Thank you very much. We will go on to Resolution 2621. Mr. Harris, will you read that title for us, please?

Thank you, Mayor. Resolution 2621. Resolution 2621. Thank you. Mr. Queen.

Mr. Mayor and Council, Eric Quinney, Chief Administrative Officer for U.S. County Fire and Ambulance. Last week I was here and talked to you about the six penny tax is what is commonly referred to for emergency vehicles and equipment in the amount of 13 million dollars to be placed on the general election ballot in November. This process requires that half of the municipalities and the county agree to place this on the ballot. So far, the town of Bear River unanimously passed the resolution. The town of Lyman unanimously passed the resolution last night, and this afternoon, the county commission passed the resolution to place this question in front of the. the voters. Last week I spoke in depth about the revenue issues and how we've been able to support fire and EMS in Uintah County over the years on our oil and gas mineral revenues in the county, which have come to a significant decline within inflation factored in, we're about 65% revenue decrease from where we were back in 2009. So we have the needs to replace fire trucks and equipment and a radio system, but in the end, the voters need to decide. I'm not asking the council to spend any money. I'm asking you to forward this question on to the voters so that we can then educate the voters and the public about our needs here in Uintah County and let them ultimately make the decision on November the 3rd. So I ask for your favorable consideration of this resolution to forward this question on to the voters of Uintah County. Any questions?

Thank you. Is there an introduction on this for purposes of discussion? Is there an introduction on this resolution? I'll introduce the motion to pass. Mr. Welling, with a motion, is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Lins, seconding. Discussion?

You know... I'm not opposed to this one cent tax. In fact, I wish we had it in place all the time for different projects. I think if the citizens seeing what we could do with that, it would really, really be renewed every time a project was finished. On this though, I think you're probably picking the wrong year. Talking to the people out there, they just, know we got other taxes on that ballot uh this year and from what the feeling i get they're going to turn them all down yeah and and so what i'm saying to you and it's too late i would have thought that two years or four years down the road if this 50 tax doesn't get approved they would really see a need why you needed this. Right now, I think it's more of a want than a need, and I think two to four years down the road, it's going to be a real need. So I guess maybe I feel like you're putting it –

A little quick for what I think. Part of my problems, Councilman Perks, Mr. Mayor, and I tend to agree with you. Part of my problem is if I order a fire truck tomorrow, I'm five years on delivery for that fire truck. Five years delivery time frame for fire trucks coming off from manufacturers. So if I punt this down the road for another four years to collect the taxes and then place an order tomorrow, hopefully that that time frame of delivery of five years still close i'm looking at nine years uh... for delivery of the fire truck coming and aren't in our newest fire engine uh... you know i'm hearing twenty years old uh... already in in the city of evanston so now i'm looking at thirty years old before thirty years old before i'm pumping that out to to hilliard or other areas of the county I agree with you. I need to make the case to the public that the need is now because this stuff is not going to start showing up for another five years. And that's part of the problem is some of the delivery timeframes on these emergency vehicles and the radio system replacement is going to take time. And we don't have that time to wait necessarily.

Well, it sounds like it really doesn't matter what I say because three out of five of the government entities have already passed this. Is that correct? That's correct. So this is going to go on the November ballot regardless of what we vote.

And I would like to have all five out of five because all five are members of the Joint Powers Board. And like I said last week, everybody has an inherent interest in the Joint Powers Board succeeding. Because, you know, the City of Evanston pays $370,000 to the Joint Powers Board for fire protection. And if the Joint Powers Board didn't exist to be able to collect some of that revenue from the mineral royalty, the City of Evanston would pay more than $370,000 a year for your fire protection. So everyone benefits from the Joint Powers Board arrangement, and it's just we're to a point now where we don't have the ability to replace the equipment. And looking down the future, we're going to need a new fire station on the west end of town. And those are things that need to come up, but we've got to take care of our immediate needs before we can even address those long-term future needs.

Well, I hope you can convince the public that if they don't vote for this, it's really going to be difficult.

And all I can say is that I'm trying. when I retire seven eight years down the road and That I tried to leave this in a better spot that I found it obviously I don't have any personal benefit from this I'm just trying to make sure that you in a county and our citizens are taken care of and ultimately the voters can decide that So I just want to make a plug just a little bit and I know your focus is with the fire engines and stuff with what you're saying, but

being in healthcare, all the years I was working here in healthcare, to understand the cost of what it would be if we're not able to maintain an ambulance service in our community, and this money would allow us to be able to do that. The cost difference of every time you need to be transferred to Utah to have a A helicopter ride is huge compared to an ambulance service. Or if we don't have an ambulance service, be contracting with Gold Cross out of Utah. Doubling those miles will increase those costs tremendously. So I agree we need to keep our fire service were up to par but that part's near and dear to me about no absolutely because because getting people transferred is life-saving it is it is You know, our hospital does a tremendous job of stabilizing the sickest of the sickest and getting them where they need to be for the higher level of care. And with, you know, the golden hour is a term we use in healthcare. You guys use it to maximize that time to get those people stabilized. It's life and death difference. think it's important and I'm hoping that people will see that I think that needs to go the borders but I'm hoping they see the need over this isn't just a little tiny one it is something we need to survive as a community I agree thank you your honor Eric will you for those that are here and those on social media

Will you talk about the ambulance service, how it's not a tax collecting entity? It solely survives on the money collected and a lot of calls, we don't get paid for those calls. And how much is an ambulance nowadays?

Yeah, very good. So yeah, so the ambulance service runs a lot like a water fund, right? It's like self-sustaining. And we do, so any of the tax, property tax and mineral revenues that I've talked about is strictly on the fire side. The ambulance side, like I said, we operate solely on what we collect from Medicaid, Medicare and insurance reimbursements. and what we charge for some standby events at the Downs and those types of things. But we can only bill people when we transport them, right? Out of the 2,300 calls we ran last year in 2025, we transported about 1,300 people to the hospital. And on our collection rates from the bills that we do send out, we collect about 52% of the bills that we send out. And then the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement amounts, they pay us pennies on the dollar. If I bill a transfer to Salt Lake City to a private insurance that might be $3,000, Medicare is giving me $700. And you're running diesel fuel to Salt Lake and back and paying labor. You're barely covering your cost on some of these calls. So both fire and EMS, we have 101 volunteers in the county who fire and EMS. That saves the taxpayers millions of dollars, because if we had to pay all those people full time wages and benefits, we would be spending millions of dollars to accomplish that. But the ambulance, the ambulance service itself, a lot of counties are subsidizing their ambulance service to keep the doors open. The crazy thing is if we were to close the ambulance service doors tomorrow, there's no law saying that anybody has to provide it. Not the city, not the county, not the state. EMS is not an essential service in Wyoming. And it's kind of crazy to think about it, because I think when people call 911 and they want an ambulance, They expect it to come, and they feel like it's essential, but it's not. There's nothing in law that says anybody has to provide those. So things like we can do like this to help, and I said the cost of a fully equipped ambulance now, we're nearing $450,000. And we spend many calls out on I-80 helping people. They don't spend it. any property tax, they're not taxpayers in Uintah County. The nice thing about the six penny tax is that at least we can recuperate some of that money from people traveling through that we do provide services through. And we expect this tax to last only about two years to collect the $13 million and then it would drop off. And hopefully people can see the benefit of that. And, like, I agree with councilman perks if we could continually keep that 6 penny on to to continually fund projects in our community in our county. To to help thrive, I think would be a great thing.

Thank you chief. I'm not personally, I'm not opposed to this going on the ballot for everyone to to vote on. What I am opposed to is another tax. It seems like every time we turn around, there's another tax. So that's the only opposition I have. If the people want this, I agree. It's a service that we need to provide. but I worry about the tax again, another tax.

I totally agree with you. As a taxpayer myself, I just don't know otherwise where that money comes from to provide the services that we do. When we talk about residential property tax reduction at the state level, I appreciate the tax break, but I also appreciate, like I said, when I dial 911, that the police department comes or my road gets plowed. And so the money has to come from somewhere on some of this stuff. And so if we continually reduce property tax, then I'm grateful we don't have to pay an income tax here in the state of Wyoming. And I hope it doesn't ever come to that. But in the end, all I'm asking you to do tonight is pass this question on to the voters, right? Let the voters of Uintah County decide.

I'm always fine with letting the voters decide. If you want to put it on there, that doesn't bother me a bit. I wish you the best of luck, though.

I think this is an incredibly hard year you're facing, battling an economy. And I think putting it before the voters is the smart thing to do. And now the hard work begins for you to plead your case to them.

Absolutely. And I just think that I'd be negligent in my job if I didn't put it to the voters and try. I'll do everything I can to try. And in the end, if the voters decide they want a certain level of service and equipment, then that's what it will be. But we are trying to provide the best services that we can to our citizens. And let's let them decide, right, in the end.

It was shocking to find out from you that the services are not required by Wyoming.

For EMS. Fire is required. That's a state law that the city provides fire protection, but it is not a state law that anybody provides EMS services.

I would lead with that when you're pleading your case.

You know, I guess this is, along with Council Member Perks, this is one that has kind of weighed on my mind over the last couple of weeks pretty heavily. And I'm trying to decide exactly where I feel about this. And I need to come clean and just simply say that I... I have spent the better part of the last three decades involved with emergency medical services, more particularly the ambulance service. I've been the beneficiary, I guess, of some of the equipment that we have as a county. I think we are lucky to have what we have. I think we're lucky to have the people, for the most part, speaking collectively and not individually, but for what we have. I do think there's value in what Mr. Perks also said, that this is a way to get this kind of kind of get the feel of it, in essence, for other projects. I agree with Mr. Schmidt. I don't like additional taxes. I don't like the taxes that we have right now. But the more I weigh this in my own mind, the more I realize that this would not impose a tax. This would allow the community as a whole to make that decision for themselves, and we all would have the ability to vote yes or no in November. whether or not we would willingly accept that tax or not. And so I think for that reason, I think I can support it, though I do have some reservations that when we're talking about we went from $3 million ask for what we did a couple years back to $13 million. And I understand. I mean, we've talked. about that increase. And so I was disappointed, to be honest. I wanted to see the tax involved in the aquatic center last go around. I was hopeful for that. I think that would have been a good benefit to the community. But unfortunately, that didn't pass. This obviously would also be a benefit. And I guess as long as we're looking at it from that way, I guess I can support it. based on the fact that, again, we're not imposing this tax. We're letting the community decide for themselves if they like it or not.

Eric? Correct me if I'm wrong. Was it Bayhorn Basin had to drop their ambulance service? There was somewhere up north...

Yeah, there's several places around Wyoming that... So Burns, Wyoming, closed up shop, so they have to wait for ambulances to come out of Cheyenne. Washakie County in Worland ended up having to... kind of contract with Cody Regional Health out of Cody, and so they closed up their county ambulance service. And the way that we operate here with the volunteer model is going away. Our volunteerism is declining, and that's just nationwide. But yeah, it's a problem, because the cost of doing business is super. There's one address in Evanston that we've been to almost 80 times since January 1. and and and have very little billable opportunities through that we provide a lot of services that we don't get reimbursed for and um so everybody else has to shoulder that burden and like i said if we can start capturing some of this um money from people that are spending money in our town that aren't from here that we provide services to it helps shoulder the burden instead of just to the property tax owner property owner

I was told last week that Lincoln County, Kimber, they don't have enough volunteers, so everyone's being flown from South Lincoln now.

On the ambulance side.

Any further discussion?

If there's no further discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed?

I'm opposed, and I'll probably get beat up by my EMT wife when I go home.

I don't think you will. I appreciate your standing up for them, Mr. Perks. I appreciate the nobleness. That is passed. Thank you, sir. Resolution 2622. Mr. Harris, please.

Thank you, Mayor. Resolution 2622 is a resolution authorizing adjustments to the budget of the City of Edmonds, Wyoming for fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and allocating such fund expenditures among the funds and partners...

I really don't have anything to add from the public hearing but this is relative to our this is the amendment right the amendment that our first public hearing when we first opened the meeting correct yes is there introduction on this resolution I'll introduce with the motion to pass your honor perks the motion is there a second I'll second it mr. Welling seconding discussion Discussion? If there's no discussion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? Aye. We have one opposed. Thank you. That is approved. We'll go now to Resolution 2623. Mr. Harris, read that title for us, please.

Mr. Mayor, Resolution 2623 is a resolution of the City of Phoenix, Wyoming.

Thank you, sir. Ms. Lim.

And again, I don't have any additional information to offer from what I said at the public hearing.

Okay. Is there an introduction on this resolution? I'll introduce the motion to pass, Your Honor. Mr. Welling with a motion. Is there a second?

I'll second it, Your Honor.

Perk seconding. Discussion?

Yeah, I have a few things I'd like to say.

Go ahead.

Um... I'd like to clarify a few things because I think there's a few rumors going around me that think that I don't want to give the coal a raise. I don't want to take care of our employees or I want to fire people or whatever else. I need to clear up some of that. I brought up about three weeks ago when it was brought up, can we afford this? That was the question I asked. So I said, hey, can we afford it? Let's look at our finances. Let's dive in and let's see what's going on. We had the auditor show up at a work session to help clarify some of the things that I was pointing out. We went into reserves in the 24-25 year. Looking at our numbers right now for the 25-26 year, we're looking like we're behind about $200,000 plus. We're talking about a 3.4% COLA raise for employees. That COLA raise is based off inflation. So we're saying that there's 3.4% inflation and that we need to pass on and give these wage increases to employees. That 3.4% also affects everything else we do. It's not just wages, it affects goods and services as well. So I said, can we afford it? We're looking at a 5% increase in our health insurance. We're looking at another 200,000 increase in dispatching fees. And that inflation affects all of our stuff too. Pave a road, put a roof on a water tank, do everything we have infrastructure-wise. So if we're factoring in a 3.4% COLA raise for employees, we also need to factor in that 3.4% inflation that adds to our budget. So if you were to factor in our $36 million, $36,991,021, if you were to try and save, you need to put 1.2 million into your reserves to factor in inflation to consider our infrastructure and our assets as well. So if we're gonna go into reserves, what's that saying is that we're not only going into reserves, but we're also falling behind. So just like I believe Perks and Welling said, we can't fall behind on our wages for our employees. I am 100% believe in that. I 100% we need to take care of our employees. But as a body, we are not that is not the only thing we have to look at. We have to look at our infrastructure. We have to look at our assets. We have maintenance. We have all kinds of things we need to look at. And I just want to make that very clear that that's what I'm trying to point out when I say, can we afford it? Okay, if you look at it and you say, hey, this year we dipped into reserves, the next year we dipped into reserves, the next year we dipped into reserves, then we look like the county. And then you're in a financial bind. Our whole goal is that we go ahead and put money in toward these enterprise funds, which have been going down for the last five years other than one fund. Okay. Our general fund has been growing though. So I'm not saying it's doom and gloom. I'm not saying it's bad, good or indifferent. I'm just saying, hey, let's pump the brakes a little bit. Let's look at our finances. Since I said that, we've taken the original budget and we've cut a lot of expenses out of it, which is great. That's what we need to do. We can't be continuing going into reserves. But I also look at our sales tax numbers and I truly said they look good. Almost all of them are down from the previous year. Our lodging numbers are flat or down from the previous quarter of the year before. So our major revenue sources are either flat or not going up, but our expenses are going up. So I just wanted to maybe sound the alarm to say, hey, let's look at these things, because they're worth looking at. Our whole job up here as a body is to take care of our finances. We can't be going into reserves all the time. It's okay every once in a while, but to go into reserves, I'm fine if it's a capital project. Let's say the water treatment plant breaks down and we need to do something there or our major infrastructure needs fixed. I'm good with that. That's what the reserves are there for. But the same year we passed a massive wage study increase, This is the first year we've went into reserves in 10 years. Is that a coincidence or just a bad timing? You guys can make that up on your own. But looking at our finances, looking at our economy, looking at everything, not just the coal arrays, but all of our expenses across the board, we need to pump the brakes a little bit. We need to take a serious look at them and we need to plan for the future a little bit better. Those enterprise funds need to be made whole. We need to take care of the roundhouse that we've got millions of dollars into now. I just want us to pump the brakes and look at our finances. That's all I was trying to propose when I was asking questions. That wasn't an attack on anybody, and it wasn't to say I don't care about the employees. Obviously, we do. We passed massive raises about 18 months ago, and they got the best benefits you could ever ask for when it comes to health insurance and retirement. So for all those employees or city people or anybody that has started the rumor or heard the rumor, I'm out to get employees, I'm not. I'm saying let's look at our finances and be fiscally responsible.

Okay.

Thank you. Any other? Just have a question. I called Trudy earlier today just to clarify something. So what we're looking at on this budget is the $36,991,021. And the anticipated for 2026, the number you gave me was $37,571,855. Why has it dropped over what we anticipated last year? Because...

With the department heads, we went through each line item and tried to cut out things that were not necessary. And like I said, this is a budget. These are not actual expenses. And they just felt that they could cut in certain places. Also, there's probably not as many capital projects as a year before. That makes a huge difference in our budget. But it is, it fluctuates from year to year. One year it might be 39 million, one year it might be 32 million. just really kind of depends on a lot on capital projects.

Thank you. Capital projects are fluctuating kick from year to year and can when we pass the coal arrays that's passed that's there that's not going away so that's a fixed cost that we're adding on top of all the other expenses we have so I'm just saying think about it because we got to think about what our numbers are going to look like so.

So I don't see inflation going away. I wish it would. I had a lot of hopes that different administration and stuff. But I looked it up. The last 18 months since December of 2024, inflation in southwest Wyoming, they don't do it by the county, they just do it by region, is between 4.7 and 5.2. And I agree with Mr. Lin. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place because we have people all our employees who buy eggs and milk and bread and are paying the higher prices and we're all filling it. But we also have a responsibility for the citizens to make sure that every single penny is accounted for and paid. So I'm still torn between making sure I feel a responsibility to our employees and as a person who used to fight for wages and for people tooth and nail and somebody who manages budgets that other people money, I feel really torn. I want to make sure we're doing the right thing for the whole circle.

I know last meeting we discussed the rate increases and so on, and I know that the county has looked at a 5% increase in their wages. I believe it was 5% that they passed. And I know that Lincoln County has increased theirs by 6%. So I don't believe it's unreasonable for the 3.4%, but I also have to agree with Mr. Lynn that we have to be careful on how we're spending overall on all of the projects.

We need to think about that. Did they pass a wage study? The county hasn't given huge raises in I don't know how long, I don't think. So, I mean, it's not 25 years that I know of. Yeah, you would know. So I just want to point out that we 18 months ago, we did pass some really significant wage increases for our employees. So we have taken care of them. Some of these entities you're mentioning have have not done that in quite some time. So, yeah.

Yeah, the wage for 2024, we actually did above the average. We actually went up a little bit above, which helped us for the 2025, but it's a balance.

I'd like to point out some of the numbers that the taxpayers don't see when it comes to we you know we publish all the employee salaries in the paper by law That's not the whole picture. So if you add our benefits package and Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Wyoming retirement, all of the things that are, some things employees can opt out of, some things are mandatory by the state, but what it rounds out to is when you see $1 in a salary, you can comfortably tack on 49 to 65 cents. And why that varies is because health insurance if the person takes it for a field enterprise job. We pay more, and justifiably so, for our police health insurance, obviously, by the provider. So rough numbers to do in your head just to make it easy. On a $100,000 salary you see in the paper, you can... comfortably say that you're paying, because it's your money, around $155,000 for that employee. So we have incredible benefits. And for instance, for all of us that sit on council, not all of us take health insurance. I don't think you do, but I do. And so our, besides the mayor, we all get, you pay us $7,200 a year to be here. But because I take insurance... That baseline, you pay me about $30,000 to be here because I make so little in a base salary that the benefits just super exceed for all of us what it would be. So that's what it costs. So wanted to put those numbers out there. because that's fair you have to know what you're spending and uh... those are some of the things we don't talk about which is we put them in a lump sum but breaking it down so uh... as far as employees go there are many employees here and i look through the salaries and i feel they do deserve a raise and some of them deserve a much bigger raise than they received. And some of them don't. And raises are something especially to be to understand we should be seeing a line item per employee so we know exactly how much percent that person is getting and also for the public to keep in mind when we pass a 3.4 that continues on that you continue paying for that in retirement that all adds up so even when that employee is gone they may have been you're continuing to pay those things So, sharing some of the information I learned, passing it on to everyone to consider. Thank you.

I guess I would just say from my, I don't think I'll find any argument here and I appreciate what has been said and I agree with Maybe all of it. Certainly most of it, if not all of it. It's long been my feeling that the greatest asset that the city has is our people. And I have been mayor now long enough to recognize the value that our city employees have. bring to the city to the efforts of the city to the operation of the city i have been uh impressed with their uh with their skills with their abilities with their frugality uh and i and i and i think by and large that most of if not all i'm assuming all of our city employees feel some ownership in their employment and fill some ownership in the city of Emerson. And I respect that. I appreciate that. I think that is part of what makes this community what it is. And I think you mentioned, Ms. Lim, the longevity that we've had. I can remember recognizing employees who have been with the city in excess of 40 years. And I think that's so cool when that happens. I do think there's an absolute need to be conservative. I think there's a need to be mindful of what we do with city resources. But I, from my own perspective, I think this is an appropriate thing to do. And I'm in favor of it. And I just expressed some, you know, and obviously I'm not on a ballot. I've got, I've had my turn. But I have, I have been impressed right out of the gate of the city employees that we have, every single one. And quite honestly, everyone is worth far more than they're being paid right now. And too bad that we don't have the resources to address that a little more appropriately. I do recognize that we need to be careful. I do think that we overall, I think we've gone into reserves once in the last, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, Ms. Lim, once in the last 10 years, 11, 12 years. In the general fund, yes. In the general fund, yeah. Which is... Pretty impressive when you think about, in my mind, the purposes of all the different funds and the revenue that creates those funds and that generates those funds. I think that's something to be...

comfortable with I guess maybe them for lack of better term any further discussion I have a question please so on these impact fees the seven hundred and eighty five thousand did we have that in the budget last year or is that a new is that a new I don't think we budgeted that last year that's the impact assistance funds we are receiving from TerraPower we receive sixty five thousand a month approximately but there was a couple that we had talked about So are those other funds going to be coming in? Because there was the there was the industrial and there was the the new sort of ash mine and then the tap. So are we going to see more?

Please. They were actually supposed to start construction for TerraPower. And it ended up the terror power started construction. After our budget was adopted last. June, so they, so those things were profile in the budget, because we didn't know when you were going to start construction. Conversely, what you thought the 2, so. Projects which started, we were told. That they, they have to lay smartly and tell.

So we don't fortify.

That makes sense, but there's 2 ways of fixing a budget, increasing revenue or decreasing expense. And so that's that's wise. I'm. What I'm looking for is other areas that we're going to see. a big hit because, and I agree with, I look at the numbers that Trudy sent out today with the sales tax revenue and I follow it and I go down, down, down, and it's worrisome. And then I look at the cars coming through town and I look at license plates to see how many are coming from different places when they're pulling in. That worries me too, that we don't see, I mean, gas prices have kept people home. And so I just wanna, so I don't, if we have a year, help people and to get things right we have a year but this would be a second year if we dip into reserves a little bit it's like but somewhere it becomes a pattern so somewhere along the line if it's not this council it could be the next council next year saying we don't have a choice we on that balance so

Well, if you look at it, too, yeah, it's the first time in 10 years we've dipped into reserves in the general fund. But those enterprise funds, other than one, have been going down for the last five years. So there's some trends that I don't like to see, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I just... You know, the sales tax is huge for us. And the numbers looks like we're about $1.2 million short. We got two months left to catch up with those 1.2 just to catch last year. So I just don't like the way the numbers are trending. And it makes me worry. And we're adding a lot of expenses right on top of...

I think the legislators fixed a lot of our tax revenue problem when they changed the tax structure. And we're not going to see that starting until July, correct? Right. It would be great if Trudy had a crystal ball and could say, this is what we're going to make. And it's easier to budget. We don't know month to month how to budget. So these are just some guidelines. Yeah, we're responsible to taxpayers. But every one of these city employees are a taxpayer, and they're voters, and they deserve to be treated with that respect. There's been a lot of crap on the internet about how terrible this city is, and people are getting overpaid. That's a bunch of bull crap. Look what the county's paying. When I left my position with the county, a starting deputy makes what I was making. Now they're making twice as much, and that's only been since 2021. So the county's been giving raises, maybe to the right people, I don't know, but we've got to remember that. And I'm in favor of this budget, and I think it's good. I think Trudy's worked her tail off to get it where we need to be. You know, if we can't do a project, we don't do a project. And that's the way it's always been, the whole time I've been on this council. Right. We're very conservative with our budget. We don't spend it unless we have it. And those enterprise funds, sometimes, you know, we enjoy some of the lowest rates in the Indian Mountain area. our enterprise funds and if and if you we've spent some money because we've had to spend money out of those enterprise funds but that's why we have them so we can spend the money so we don't have to go to bond so we don't have to ask for the six penny tax for these projects we've we've been able to save so we can spend into these You know, if we want to make them whole, I guess we increase water rates. We increase sewer rates. You know, I'm not a fan of that at all because a lot of your senior citizens are on fixed incomes, and they don't need that yet.

We don't, you know.

So I'm in favor of this budget, and that's all I've got to say.

Thank you, sir. Those are some of the tough decisions that will probably have to be made in the future if we continue to go under reserve. I hate to pass that on. Nobody's going to disagree with what Mr. Williams or what you just said. We all care about our employees. They are the best asset we've got. But we're also supposed to be stewards of this budget. And if we're at least not cognizant. Because we're going to pass a budget tonight. Because that's our obligation to. But if we're not aware of these things and we're not having the conversations about these things and we're not bringing them up, then we're not doing our job.

Correct. And I think we work on our legislators to continue to fix the tax. It still bothers me that whatever percentage they take and we get, they still take 1% out of our percentage for their administrative fees. I think that's the most... I can't say it, but that's the most idiotic thing in the world. And why that's never been challenged, I don't know.

You know, and the last thing I got to say is going through all this, the one thing that impressed me is the amount of interest. And these two guys, me and you, are on that investment committee. I've got to agree with Jesse. It would be nice if we could make those enterprise funds whole. And granted, we have done projects like the double lineup to Twin Ridge tank, and we get some stuff done, but we've made a ton of money just on interest, and we're using that money in our budget that's probably carrying us over, but we probably ought to be putting a lot of that interest back in those funds too. Because I think those tough calls are common.

Well, there's different ways to make those enterprise funds whole We just made the cemetery fund whole so you pull it from general you can raise rates You can take that interest roll back in there's several different ways that we can do that I was just three weeks ago I was hoping that everybody would kind of come together and have a really good conversation about it That's all I was ever trying to do so Any further discussion

If there is none, all in favor of Resolution 2623, say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? Aye. One opposition.

May I make a comment? Why? Well, go ahead. I'm not going to approve this budget because I cannot see everything. And an appropriation is spending authority. Money can be spent without coming before Council. And I cannot, on behalf of my constituents, approve $36,991,021 without being able to account for every penny that is yours it is your money and that is why i just have one more comment there i uh you know i've spent the last two months

Trudy and with other members of our employees going over this budget line item by line item by line item, trying to understand the funding and trying to understand all of the funds that we have and trying to, you know, meet the needs of not only our employees but our Voters and everything, and I appreciate the time that they've spent with me, making me better understand some of this. I may not disagree with or disagree with some of it, but overall, the time I've spent, I better understand. where the money's coming from and where the money's going. So I just want to say, you know, if you spend the time, which I've spent a number of hours on all of this stuff, to try to better understand. It doesn't mean I understand all of it yet, but I'm getting closer to it. So I appreciate it.

You deserve a couple days off after this, Trudy. Yeah.

comments from departments we're done with everything ruby everything more the only other thing i want to say is that i feel that every dime is accounted for because every every bill that we have is approved through the city council every two weeks so i just want to add that and besides that thank you and that's it thanks for all your hard work

Let's see. Mr. O'Neill, do you have anything more for us tonight, sir?

Just want to say thank you to Trudy. She works her butt off and makes the process really simple for the department and her staff. Really great people.

Excellent. Thank you. Who's Larson?

Thank you, and it's a pleasure to say any time I'll be able to answer any questions that you might have when you make the bill. I'm happy to do it.

Thank you. Chief Ranish.

Sir, thank you. Yes, we don't have anybody from public works as we by missing anybody I

That's okay. I just didn't want to exclude anybody. Thank you. Thank you all. Public participation. Is there anyone here that would like to address the council for any reason tonight?

Mr. Mayor and council people, my name is Betty Smith. I live at 624 Uinta. Concern goes around in a circle, and it has to do with you guys and the police department and the Parks and Rec. Everybody's concerned. It's 6th Street, the street in front of the ballpark field and the skateboard park and the Boys and Girls Club. It's posted, no parking. The people park there. And I, my idea is to put another sign, Council has already approved no parking sign. Put another sign under the no parking sign that says violators will be towed.

And you've probably noticed a bigger influence this last weekend with all the people here for the tournament. That's kind of a nightmare, I know.

I know that the police department is doing their best, and they have only a certain amount to work with. So they need more money to provide more services. in that area because 6th Street, if there was an emergency at, say, Front Street and 6th, and somebody needed to get to the hospital, forget it.

Tough, wouldn't it? It's kind of a catch-22 thing. We want the folks here that have come. We want them here. We want them to come, but we don't want them parking where they're not supposed to park.

Saturday morning, I went out at 7 o'clock in the morning, and somebody from Utah... I'm assuming they were for the baseball, softball tournament. They were parked in my parking spot at 7 o'clock in the morning. And that was private property. The police can't do anything about it if they don't have the manpower to do it, and they don't have the manpower to do it if it's not in the budget. So it is a catch-22, and it's a big circle.

We hear you.

And that's... We need to do something about the traffic. Well, all the time traffic on 6th Street. And people don't pay attention to the flashing signs. They say speed limit 20 miles an hour. You see people going 26. That's kind of pushing it a little bit. I've seen them doing 36.

Some of them try to speed and break the sign.

Why have a law that you can't implement? Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?

Please.

I've noticed today we're chopping down some trees on Main Street and I'd like to know how much it's costing the city to remove the large dead trees downtown and how much it's going to cost to replace those. I would also like to know why the property owners and the tenants are not being involved in this process. While I understand the city plants the trees and they put around the new trees, they put that little green thing that holds water. It doesn't seem like the big trees are getting any water at all. And it's really upsetting to see these large trees coming down and I have an idea. We could charge the property owner and the tenant for the new tree and make some sort of agreement that they have to take care of these trees because you're just going to plant new ones and in the future they're just going to die anyway. That's all I have to say. Excellent.

Thank you. I don't know if we have any questions or any answers for you right now. I assume that's just an ongoing maintenance thing, whatever it is relative to the tree. So I can't answer what it costs or what it's going to cost to replace them.

It looks like it's expensive today. I saw the big truck.

Might very well be. Yes, could be. But I don't know.

If you'll consider it in the future, thanks.

Thank you.

Go ahead. I'm not sure regarding today if that was this, but there are trees downtown that we're helping pick out dead ones and we're planting new ones, and that's just parks and rec. So doing our own work.

That's part of the tree program, isn't it?

It's part of the tree program. Yeah. Six new trees and we're just replenishing them. Hopefully we bought those bags of water. They're supposed to help get these trees established better so they don't die. Because it is hard for some tenants to water them every day because they don't have to sweep it outside. So we're trying to improve that with these tree bags.

Yeah. Brock, do you have anything to add?

Mika and her downtown group identify spots and tree bits or needs replaced.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Good evening. Greg Wilson, 104 Broken Circle Drive. Mr. Mayor Williams and Mr. Perks, I would like to respectfully disagree with you regarding the extra tax for the ambulance service. After a career in physical therapy, I would like to tell you There's a huge, huge difference, blunt difference between people who get quick and early service for strokes and heart attacks and those who don't. It's the difference between being able to stand up and walk and spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair with an IV and a feeding tube. It's crucially important. And if we have to wait for the need, There will be people who are living either as vegetables or they're dead. It's that blunt. It's one cent. I see it as really a big bang for the penny, not the buck, but it's really worth it. That's really important, and I see no need to wait for the need. By that time, it's too late. I hope you understand.

No, you're fine. My no vote against that is more symbolic than anything because three other entities in this county has already passed it. So it was going to you as the voter before I said yes or no. But I appreciate what you're saying. I don't have to agree with you, but I do appreciate it. Yeah, yeah.

Well, it's... No such thing as a free lunch, right? That's right. Yeah, and this is something we're doing for everybody, especially those of us who get older. I'm a beneficiary of that. December of 2022, our friend Mr. Bodine and his son took me to Salt Lake. The weather was too bad to fly. I had all the signs and symptoms of a stroke. It works.

But it turned out the way it did.

So that's just what I wanted to say. Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you. Anyone else? With that, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

I'll make that motion, Your Honor. Mr. Welling.

Mr. Sutter, seconding. All in favor?

Aye.

We are adjourned. Thank you, everyone.