City Council - public_hearing

Okay, welcome.

It is Wednesday, August 19th, 2026. It is 7 p.m. The Tooele City Council is holding a public hearing regarding truth in taxation during our business meeting. At Tooele City Hall in the council chambers located in 90 North Main Street in Tooele, Utah. We're also streaming this electronically on our Tooele City YouTube channel. And for the Truth in Taxation public hearing, the public may make oral comments by participating in either in person at Tooele City Hall or electronically via a Microsoft Teams link at TooeleCity.gov. That has been posted on our website. And then the comments will be limited to no more than three minutes per person. We will start with the Pledge of Allegiance. If you'll please rise and repeat after me.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for

Thank you. Our second item is a roll call. Councilman Gossett. Present. Councilwoman Gochis. Present. Councilman Hanson. Present. Councilman McCall. Present. And Councilman Brady, and I'm also present. Item three is a presentation of the proposed property tax increase. It's Tooele City's proposed tax rate increase will generate an additional $238,092 in property tax revenue per year as a result of this increase. And the additional property tax revenue will be used to fund $138,092 towards the judgment levy, bond payments increase, and $100,000 for the fire department to fund stipends for volunteers, as well as an administrative assistant for the department. And then we'll have a presentation by Shannon Wimmer, the finance director.

Good evening, Council. Chairman Brady, you just did my presentation for me on this item, so I appreciate that. This item is strictly just to make sure that the public is aware what the purpose of the meeting is tonight and how we intend to use these additional funds that we're asking for for the increase of the certified tax rate. So this agenda item was just to read those statements. So I appreciate that.

You're welcome. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to read it or you, so... Okay, perfect. We'll move on to item four, which is a property tax impact schedule for fiscal year 2026 through 2027, presented by Shannon Wimmer, the finance director.

And this property tax impact schedule, there are hard copies available here tonight. It's also on our website if anybody would like to review this. But this is just a document prepared for the public, again, just to try and make it clear to them what the city is asking for with this tax increase and where the funds will go, how much the funds will be, and how much this will impact our residents. So as you can see from this table, our certified tax rate was calculated to be .002527. Tooele City is asking for a rate of .002590. That would increase our revenue that we will be given through property tax by $238,092. If we take a median value for Tooele City, our median value right now in the city for a residential property is $382,162. So in one year, this will increase their taxes $13.24. or $1.10 per month. That is a 2.49% increase. On a commercial property, they don't have the 55% tax exemption, so the median value right now for a commercial property within Tooele City is $513,900. So this would be an increase per year of $1,331 or $32.38 per year on those properties. So that is the impact to the taxpayer. And how we intend to use those funds, we intend to use those funds, $138,092 to pay the increased payment on the judgment levy on that bond that we have. And then an additional $100,000 will go towards funding the additional funds for the fire department, which they intend to use to implement some stipends for these volunteers. and also to hire an administrative assistant for the department, as we all are aware of the increase that they are experiencing as a department. We feel like this is the least we can do to keep them as a volunteer fire department and help out with what they need. So that's where the property taxes will come from and where they will go. And that's all I had on that line, unless anybody has any questions.

Okay. Are there any questions or comments? Okay, we will move on to item five, which is a public hearing and motion on resolution 2026-61, a resolution of the Tooele City Council adopting the final tax rate for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. This is presented by Shannon Wimmer, the finance director.

And again, this is just a resolution that says that we will adopt the tax rate of .002590, which is an increase over the certified tax rate of 2.49%.

Okay. Thank you, Shannon. Okay. This item has a public hearing. So since we have people here in the building and people online, we'll start with the people in the building. So I'm opening up the public hearing. We ask that you state your name into the microphone. You keep your comments to three minutes or less. And then there's a paper by Shiloh that you'll have to sign. The time is now the public's. Seeing no one come forward at City Hall, I will open it up to anyone on Teams. You're welcome to raise your hand on the Teams meeting, and then Shiloh will have to unmute you. So the time is now the public's on the Teams meeting as well. Okay. Seeing no one raise their hand on that, on Microsoft Teams, I will close the public hearing and I will entertain a motion.

Mr. Chair, I make a motion. We approve Resolutions 2026-61, a resolution to the City Council adopting the final tax rate for fiscal year 2026 and 2027.

Second. We have a motion from Councilman Hanson and a second from Councilman McCall. We'll take it to a vote. Councilman McCall. Aye. Councilman Hanson. Aye. Councilwoman Gochis. Aye. Councilman Gossett. Aye. I'm Councilman Brady and I vote aye. That passes 5-0. And item six is a public hearing and motion on resolution 2026-62, a resolution of the Tooele City Council adopting the final budget for Tooele City for fiscal year 2026 through 2027, presented by Shannon Wimmer, the finance director.

Tonight I just have a brief presentation. We have done public presentations on the budget. When we first presented the tentative budget on May 6th, we then had a more in-depth budget presentation on June 17th. So hopefully the public has been able to review those and had time to... ask us any questions that they might have on the budget. I would also just like to point out that there are hard copies of the budget here on the back table if anybody would like to look through that document. It is also on our website, so I would encourage the public to review the public budget. They've made it very easy to read through and learn about where your funds are going, and we're always happy to answer questions. So I would encourage anybody who has any questions to contact me, and I'm happy to discuss anything they would like. on the budget. We also have a copy of the combined tax ad, which is here on the table as well. That's just a required document by the state that will show every entity in Tooele County that is raising your taxes this year and how much they are and when their public hearings are. So I just want to point out that that's also available here. So tonight I just kind of have a brief presentation for the public's benefit, and I apologize if they've seen this before, but this will just kind of give you some highlights about what this budget contains, what its goals are, what it accomplishes, so that the public can have that information before the comment period for the public hearing. SO THE FIRST THING IN THE BUDGET IS ALWAYS THE MAYOR'S BUDGET MESSAGE. SO JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS THAT ARE WITHIN THAT MESSAGE IS IT DESCRIBES TULA CITY'S FINANCIAL POLICIES. OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES CONTINUE TO EMPHASIZE FISCAL DISCIPLINE, CAREFUL EVALUATION OF EXPENDITURES, MAINTAINING SERVICE LEVELS AND PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO BROADEN THE TAX BASE AND REDUCE THE BURDEN ON RESIDENTS. Some of the key features of the budget that you'll see in that document is to address the rising costs due to inflation, funding for the volunteer fire department and the police, maintain critical infrastructure to ensure reliable service, and avoiding more costly repairs in the future. Some of the changes from the previous year, we do have additions for increased service demands, which includes an ordnance enforcement position, public safety staffing, increased investment in infrastructure maintenance, and critical improvements and community projects. Are any financial policy changes? We don't really have any changes, but we prioritize conservative budgeting practices, maintain stable tax rates where possible, invest in essential infrastructure, and to support economic development efforts. And then this is just a chart to kind of show how new growth and how we collect property taxes. So each year, the way the property tax works, it doesn't account for inflation or any other factors. We get the exact same amount of money each year, plus any additional new developments. An individual taxpayer's rate may change if the value of their home changes, or that's how they set the rate. So just as rough numbers, if we received a million dollars last year, this year they would say, okay, you receive a million dollars, and so what does the tax rate need to be? And then they... figure out the tax rate and how that affects each homeowner. But Tooele City does not get any additional growth. That's why the certified tax rate is calculated by the state, and it can go up and down. That rate is just to ensure that we don't receive any additional funds that is not new growth without going through the truth and taxation process. So if we need any additional funds, such as this $238,000 that we are asking for tonight, the only way to do that is through this public process to involve the public and let them know what we're asking for, where we intend to spend it, and how it will impact our taxpayers based on their home value. So while some homeowners may see a change without Truth in Taxation, the city doesn't see any change. So hopefully that makes sense. It is really confusing. We always have a hard time explaining that, but that's the way the growth works. SO WE HAVE OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES. WE WANT TO FUND ONGOING EXPENSES SUCH AS PERSONNEL OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE AND DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS TO PROVIDE OUR CITY SERVICES. SO RIGHT NOW INCLUDED IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET WE HAVE INCREASES IN SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR STEP INCREASES AND COLA ADJUSTMENT. WE ALSO ADDED THOSE THREE NEW POSITIONS WHICH IS INCLUDING AN ADDITIONAL OFFICER AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND A POSITION IN THE I.T. DEPARTMENT. This includes stipends for the fire department to address the growing demands on the volunteer fire department and to try and maintain that volunteer status. We have increases in the operating budget mainly to address just increased costs due to fuel and inflationary costs. And then the second part of the budget, we have the capital projects and equipment. YES, SORRY. SO WE HAVE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND EQUIPMENT. THESE ARE JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE MORE THAN THIS, BUT SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT THE PUBLIC CAN LOOK FORWARD TO, WE'RE GETTING SOME OVERHEAD LIGHTING IN THE PROUD AQUATIC CENTER. ARE ALREADY WORKING ON. I'M NOT EVEN SURE IT MIGHT ALREADY BE DONE, BUT THE NET AND THE DRIVING RANGE REPAIR AT THE PUMP STATION AT THE GOLF. WE HAVE SOME MUSEUM AND PARK UPGRADES. WE NEED A CHILLER REPLACEMENT AT THE LIBRARY. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL BE GETTING A DIGITAL FORENSICS TOOL AND SOME TASER SOFTWARE. WE NEED AN AERIAL LIFT FOR THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS. AND THEN, OF COURSE, JUST OUR REGULAR REPLACEMENT OF AUTOS AND TRUCKS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS TO KEEP THEM RUNNING FOR THEIR DAILY USE. That's that's what I have on the budget. So I'll leave the rest of is there any questions before we start the public hearing?

Any questions or comments? Okay, thanks Shannon, thank you Okay, this item also has a public hearing we will open the time up to the public We ask that you state your name into the microphone You keep your comments to three minutes or less and then then sign the paper by Shiloh. The time is now the public's and Seeing no one come forward. I will offer the same amount of time to those attending on team So if you're on teams and you'd like to make a public comment then just raise your hand and Shiloh will unmute you Okay, it looks like we do have someone on the teams and So if you'll just state your name once you're unmuted and then keep your comments to three minutes or less. The time is now yours.

My name is Lynn. I do not have a comment for what was just talked about. The online audio is fading in and out and I can't hear anything that your speakers are saying. I can hear everybody sitting next to you. But you can't hear anything from your other speakers. So whatever they said just faded in and out, crackled, and I have no idea what they were just talking about.

Okay, thank you. Can you hear me when I'm speaking? It was just the presentation you couldn't hear?

Just the presentation. I heard everybody's vote say aye on the passing of the, yeah, I can hear everybody but the speaker.

Okay. Okay. Okay. The presentation's also on YouTube. I don't know if we... Is there a way that we can show it on Teams, or is it... Well, I guess, can they see the screen on there? On Teams?

Yes.

Okay, but you probably can't see the screen very well, right?

It's faded. It says there's two minutes and four seconds left. I can read the screen behind you, and I can see all of you sitting there.

Okay. Shiloh, our city recorder, is saying that the presentations are available on YouTube. We're streaming this also on YouTube. And we don't believe there was any issues on the YouTube channel. Is it doing the mic?

No. Turn the podium.

Okay. Did someone in the back, did you want to make a public comment? You have to come to the mic and it's the only way for us to get it on the audio. And you'll have to state your name.

Okay, my name is Bella Martinez. Okay, I just have a question. As I look at the budgets and look at the different areas, I'm confused. So, for example, the police department, I don't understand why the benefits are decreased. It seems to me, I know we don't want our budget to go up, the cost to go up, but it seems to me that benefits would increase. Now, they do increase for the fire department from the budget of 2026, 181,000. And for 2027, the recommendation is 301,000. But almost every other department, it's decreased. So could you just explain that to me?

Yeah, so let us finish the public comment period, and then we'll address your question, okay?

Okay, thank you.

Oh, sorry, ma'am, you'll have to sign the paper by Shiloh over here. Okay, seeing no one else come forward for the public hearing, I'm going to close the public hearing and then we'll turn the time back over to the council and Shannon to address this question. I don't know if you know off the top of your head, Shannon, if... If you can answer that question. I don't have it in front of me. I'm trying to find it. Yes.

So generally the benefits can fluctuate quite a bit. The vast majority of the changes in that account is based on rather or not we have employees that take family medical leave or excuse me, family insurance or single insurance. And so that's, as you know, insurance is one of our biggest benefit costs. And so if we have a few officers that have switched from family coverage to single, as some officers leave and new officers come on, we also, if we have open positions, we always budget that they will take family coverage. But when they actually come on, if they actually only need single coverage, there's a big difference in what we pay depending on how they elect. But the vast majority... of the decrease because their retirement and those types of benefits, they were not decreasing. So when there's a decrease in that account, it's basically just the election that the employees have on rather or not they are taking family coverage for their medical insurance or single.

Okay. Thank you. Is there any other discussion from the council or any other questions, concerns?

Did that answer your question?

What's that?

Can we ask if that answered your question?

I think we got a really good budget here, and I appreciate Shiloh and them putting it together. I think overall it looks really good. I don't have no negative thoughts about it. Thank you.

I agree. I don't know if the public knows, but we start the budget process early in the year, and we do try to be as transparent as possible. I know there's some people who don't think it is transparent, but we did our best to get the public involved as we were having discussions. I remember I wrote a newsletter that sent out to everyone, letting them know that... We were considering raising taxes, and that was several months ago. So we really do try our best to try to let the public know what we're planning and why we're doing it. And just a thank you to the fire department. You being a volunteer fire department does save the city hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars a year, and we hope to continue to support you the best that we can. Okay, any other comments? Okay, I will entertain a motion.

Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion that we approve Resolution 2026-62, a resolution of the Tooele City Council adopting the final budget for the Tooele City for fiscal year 2026-27.

I'll second it. We have a motion from Councilwoman Gochis and a second from Councilman Gossett. We'll take it to a vote. Councilman Gossett?

Aye.

Councilwoman Gochis?

Aye.

Councilman Hanson? Aye. Councilman McCall? Aye. Aye. I'm Councilman Brady, and I vote aye. That passes 5-0. And Item 7 is to adjourn at 7.21 p.m.