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Thank you. We want to welcome everybody
to this uh special city council meeting

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being held here on August 25th, 2026, 6
pm at Centerville City Hall. This is why

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this is a special meeting is uh it's
what we call a truth and taxation

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meeting and law requires that all that
we can discuss in this meeting is just

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the truth and taxation issue.
uh we don't discuss anything else and it

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has to be on a [snorts] separate night
from our regular council meetings. Our

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regular council meetings are held the
first and third Tuesday. So this has to

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be separate from that meeting. So we
welcome those uh the public that are

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here by in person or
online. We welcome staff that's here and

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thank council that's here. Uh let's do a
roll call of council to make sure that

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uh we can take any action tonight.
Starting here on my far left.

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» Mikum present.
>> Bangader present.

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» Hurst present.
>> Plumber present.

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» Heman present.
>> Thank you. Uh we have four in person,

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one online. Uh so we have all five
council members.

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Uh so we can uh proceed with our
business. Like I said, this is uh this

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is a public hearing matter. So that
means that we have an opportunity to uh

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hear from the public as well too on
this. Uh this is a truth and taxation uh

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in re in
uh regards to a potential property tax

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increase and finalizing
the 2027 final budget. Now, our budgets

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in the city, we're on a uh fiscal year.
That means we run from uh July 1st to

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June 30th on our budget. So, this will
be we'll be setting the budget for

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actually
uh

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the the budget period that started just
under two months ago, but state law

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allows us to do that. And uh with this
truth in taxation, we obviously can't

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finalize the budget till we um uh do the
truth in taxation. So many of you that

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are here are probably have some
handouts. Um

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uh we're going to call um our finance
director up. I think he has a

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presentation that he wants to present
while he's coming up. uh he'll be

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discussing to you
uh why this truth in taxation uh um the

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the amount that we're looking to
potentially collect uh if if if property

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taxes change uh the fiscal year 2027
budget certified tax rates and all of

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that that fun stuff. Just the kind of
stuff that you like to dream about when

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you go to bed at night. So, uh, if Nate,
if you would, uh, give us a little

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overview and I'm sure that the council
members will have things to add as well

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too before we go to the public hearing
parts. So, thank you.

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» Yeah. Thank you, mayor. Good evening.
Um, as you mentioned, uh, tonight we

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have before you two resolutions, one to
set the, uh, final tax rate for the city

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and one to adopt our fiscal year 27
budget. Um, state code requires that

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both of these be set uh prior to
September 1st.

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Okay. So, back in uh June, we received
our uh the certified tax rate from the

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county auditor. Uh along with that, the
certified property tax revenue. Uh so,

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the certified rate uh for 2026 was
0.1137

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and that would give us about 2.3 million
in revenue. And then we're proposing to

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increase that uh by about 15%. So the
new rate would be 0001314

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and would provide about 2.7 million
worth of property tax revenue, an

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additional increase of the $369,13.
Um and we will uh

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get into the reasons why. Um but first I
wanted to start with the the property

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tax improperty tax impact statement. Um,
this was adopted by uh council back in I

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believe May and then we revised one
either later in May or start of June. I

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can't remember which. Um, so the the
most recently adopted uh property tax

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impact statement is available online as
well as a printed copy on this table by

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the door uh for anybody that would like
one. Uh and on that uh table is also the

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county combined ad and the city ad uh
for our for our hearing tonight. Um so

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again, we'll these are the items that
make up uh the uh reasoning for the tax

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increase. Uh if you remember our
original discussions, uh we thought we

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would do a tax increase for the new
officer, the fire assessment increase,

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and then we talked about doing a general
3% inflationary increase. Um since the

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public is in prior hearings asked us to
increase incrementally and off for years

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and doing a big increase. Um and then
the state law changed this year that we

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need to specify specific reasons. Um,
and so this is the reason that was voted

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on by council. Uh, so this is what is on
the property tax impact schedule. And

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we'll get into this a little bit more,
but first I want to talk about, uh, how

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property taxes work in Utah. Um, so the
first thing, uh, this pie chart

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represents your total property tax bill.
Uh, so all the different, uh, pieces are

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the different taxing entities that make
up your property tax bill. Uh it's

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important to note that when we talk
about the increase of the 15% tonight,

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we are only talking about the
Centerville City portion. So we're not

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talking about your entire say $3,000
bill. We're talking about the $350

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portion of that that is uh Centerville's
tax rate.

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All right. So in Utah, property taxes
are revenue based. Uh this means that

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they're based on the actual amount of
dollars that we collected the prior

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year. So state law says that the city
can only receive the same dollar amount

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in property taxes as it received the
prior year unless uh one of two things

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happen. The first is that we get new
growth, new development within the city.

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Uh and the second way to get new more
property tax revenue is to go through

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the truth and taxation process and
increase the rate. And that's what we're

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doing tonight. uh for 2026 we got our
new growth figures from the county and

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that was that $37,000.
Um and the reason we can get new growth

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without going through the hearing is
because when you think about it as the

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city develops that means that our
service needs have increased. We have

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more roads to maintain, more roads to
plow, more police services necessary

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etc. Um so that's why we get that new
growth figure.

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Okay. So to calculate your property tax
bill, uh you simply take the taxable

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value of your property and multiply it
by the tax rate and this will give you

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the amount of property taxes that you
owe. The tax rate is the same for all

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properties throughout the city, but the
taxable value can fluctuate.

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Uh and that depends on whether you're a
residential property or a commercial

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property.
Okay. So each year the county performs

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an assessment and assigns a value to
your property. This is called the market

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value. So in Centerville, the average
home's market value is $610,000 this

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year. Uh the taxable value is the value
at which your property is taxed. As I

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just mentioned, primary residents are
given a 45% discounts. Other properties

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uh their taxable value and their market
value are the same.

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Uh then we have the certified tax rate.
So this is the rate at which your

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property is taxed as calculated by the
county. Um and I like this uh image of

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the seessaw and the teeter totter. Um
because as the city's property tax

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values increase, your tax rate will
decrease, but the the amount of property

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tax revenue that the city gets remains
the same. Um and the opposite would be

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true if property values decrease then
our tax rate would naturally increase

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but the city would receive the same
amount with the exception of new growth

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or if we go through this process of
truth and taxation. Uh so that's an

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important part to remember as we look at
this.

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Uh so this is this chart shows the
history of centerville's uh tax rate. Um

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and you can see that that in most cases
well in all cases as property values

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have increased the tax rate decreased uh
with the exceptions of when we went

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through truth and taxation and those are
those years that are uh called out

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there. Um so you can see at the end
where our tax rate would be without this

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tax increase and then that red line on
the right hand side shows uh what it

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would look like if uh adopted tonight.

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Okay, here is a uh comparison of other
uh property tax rates. Again, these are

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the certified tax rates. Um any of the
cities that have uh the star next to

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them, those are cities that are going
through the truth and taxation process,

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I have not kept up with them. Um so I
don't know how they ended up, how they

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voted. Um
but this gives you a comparison.

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Uh I always give the caveat when we look
at this that every city's financial

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needs are different and every city's
revenue base is different than ours. Um

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some cities like Fruit Heights have
almost no sales tax generators. Um,

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other cities have a power
uh

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a power fund that can help
subsidize the general fund or other

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sources of revenue. So, each city is
comprised differently. Um, but I do

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think this gives us a, you know, a
general idea of how we fall in line with

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other cities in the in the county.

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Okay. Okay, so now I want to get into
some uh commonly asked questions about

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property tax. Um so the first one, are
property taxes affected by inflation? Um

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or more specifically, is your property
tax bill affected by inflation? And the

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answer is no. Again, to adjust the
property taxes, we have to go through

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this uh truth and taxation. Um, and this
is part of the struggle of this when

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you're trying to fund a city is that
while we don't get more property tax

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revenue as
uh inflation occurs and costs rise, we

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still have our costs to provide the
service still continues to rise. So

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again, just like everybody else, we get
a need uh of increased cost to us to

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provide the same level of service. Um
but we don't automatically get extra

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revenue based on inflation.

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Okay. Um so frequently we get the
question of um if the city hasn't raised

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property taxes in the last couple years,
how come my property tax bill has gone

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up? Uh and there can be two possible
reasons for this. Uh the first is that

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another entity that we saw in that pie
chart has increased taxes. Um, and if

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they've gone through the truth and
taxation process and raised their rate,

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then your overall bill will increase.
Um, and then the other possible scenario

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is that your property has increased in
value at a quicker rate than other

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properties in the city. So remember, as
the property values as a whole for the

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city increase, the tax rate decreases
for the city. However, as each

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as your property may uh appreciate or
depreciate differently than your

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neighbors, um that could cause you and
your neighbors uh tax bill to adjust

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slightly. And I know that can be really
confusing. Um so we've tried to

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illustrate it here. Uh so
in this example, you'll see um a city

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with a total taxable value of 1.2
million. Uh, and so we get that by

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adding up all of the values of each of
the houses. And that's what you can see

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underneath each of the houses. That's
their individual value. Uh, so the city

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in this scenario collects $1,500 in
taxes. And so to get the tax rate, you

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just take the $1,500 that the city
receives, divide it by the total taxable

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value, the 1.2 million, and then that
gives you your tax rate with the 000125.

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And then there in blue, uh, is the
amount of property taxes that each of

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these homes would pay.
So that's year one. Then we go to year

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two and the county performs another
assessment and assigns the new uh value

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to your home. So we have the same city,
but you'll notice that the total taxable

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value went from the 1.2 million up to
the 1.65 million, but the city still

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continues to collect that same $1,500,
which means our tax rate decreases to

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the 0.0091.
So you can see in the blue the new

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property tax bill of each home and then
in red we'll show the difference from

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year one to year two. So you'll see that
first house even though the city didn't

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increase taxes because their home
appreciated at a different rate than the

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city. Theirs actually went up $40 on
their individual bill but house number

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three and four had a decrease of $28 and
the 2250. Uh so I know that can be

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really confusing. If you have questions,
I'm happy to break it down further. Um,

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but those are just some reasons why your
tax bill may fluctuate year-toear even

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when the city doesn't go through the
truth and taxation process.

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Okay, so now looking at our um situation
tonight, um how will it affect the

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average resident? So the average
resident has a market value of their

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home of 610,000
and again remember a residential

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property gets a 45% discount. So their
taxable value is at $335,500.

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Um so using the certified tax rate that
the county gave us, uh the average

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residential home would pay $381 in
Centerville City property taxes. Um as

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we've talked about tonight, we have a
proposed increase of the 15.61% 61%

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which would mean if adopted the average
home would pay $440.85

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which is an increase about $59 a year or
less than $5 a month.

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Um for businesses they pay or non
primary residential uh properties uh

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they do not get the discount. Uh the
county has told us that the average

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commercial value in Centerville is the
1,775,000.

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Um, so without this tax or, you know,
using the certified tax rate, they would

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pay uh $2,18
and then with the proposed increase,

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they would then pay two $2,332
uh which is an increase of about $314 a

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year or about $26 a month for the
average commercial property.

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Okay. So, looking at our uh current
financial situation,

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uh looking at our governmental funds, uh
we are heavily using our fund balance,

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um which you will frequently hear
referred to as our rainy day fund. Um so

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as we compiled the budget um again we've
been working on this since January

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um
internally as staff and then we first

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presented it in our budget workshop uh
to the city council uh at the end of

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March in our budget retreat. Um and
we've been refining it ever since then.

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Uh so this is a big project. Um, but at
the end of the day, we still had a

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budget shortfall of about $1.5 million.
Um, and so in our capital projects fund,

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you'll see that we're using about $1.1
million

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uh to complete our projects and to
balance this budget. Um, now while every

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year we do use some uh fund balance from
our capital projects fund, uh that's to

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be expected almost every year. Um but
using it to this degree is certainly not

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sustainable uh long term.
So that's the concern that we have.

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Um now we talk about service levels a
lot. Um

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so as I was preparing this and thinking
how do we you know explain service

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levels, I typed it into Google and the
Google AI spit out this definition that

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uh I liked. Uh so it says service levels
in local government define the quality,

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scope and performance of public
infrastructure and programs delivered to

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communities. They balance community
expectations with available budgets,

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00:17:41,919 --> 00:17:48,960
staff capacity, and technical standards.
So this balancing part is the

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challenging part. That's why we're here
tonight. Uh that's why we've been

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working on this since January is trying
to balance,

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you know, what is the quality of life
that our residents expect and how do we

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provide that standard of living with our
current resources. And it's not an easy

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answer because everybody has a different
opinion of how to get there. And that's

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um why we as staff and council spend so
much time uh working on this budget uh

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to try to find that appropriate balance.
Um,

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so as I was thinking about the, you
know, the average residential household

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will pay if adopted $440 this year in
Centerville city property taxes.

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Um, so I thought about what benefits do
our residents get for paying that $440.

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Um, again, this is some of my opinion
here, but uh, for that $440, you get

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00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:52,640
public safety responding to your call in
a matter of minutes. And actually, if

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this, uh, tax increase is adopted, we'll
be able to hire an additional officer.

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So, it actually increases that level of
service. Uh, you get roads that are

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well-maintained and very drivable in any
type of vehicle. You get very

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well-maintained sidewalks. Uh no matter
where you live in the city, you can get

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a park within walking distance of your
home. Uh or if you want to go to a

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different park, you can again drive
there on those well-maintained roads

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within a 10-minute drive. Uh you get use
of a amenities like pickle ball courts,

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tennis courts, basketball courts,
playground equipments, walking and bike

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biking paths, and even restrooms at most
of those facilities. Uh you get events

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like we just had at the 4th of July. You
get movies in the park, uh the Christmas

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light ceremony, uh the fall festival,
the other events that the Whitaker

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Museum puts on. And then with
recreating, you get the hiking and

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biking and off-road trails, and the list
goes on. And you get all of this for

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$440
uh in property tax. Um,

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[snorts] now looking at this again, uh,
some of these I would argue are

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essential services like public safety
and roads. Some of these certainly

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aren't essential, um, like our events or
even parks are certainly not essential

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to government. However, I believe they
do provide a significant benefit to the

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community. Um, I know I went to the
Fourth of July celebration and enjoyed

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the fireworks and I went to the parade
and [clears throat] saw the, you know,

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10 20,000 people enjoying that.
Uh, now is that an essential cost us

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00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:37,919
70,000? Is that essential? No,
absolutely not. But do I think it

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provided an excellent community benefit?
Absolutely. So, as we look at this

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budget, this again going back to this
service level, this is what we're trying

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to balance is
the quality of life that our residents

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want. Um, so as we think about trying to
balance this budget, what are you asking

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rhetorically, what are you willing to
give up? Um,

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we're trying to do everything we can
with uh [clears throat] the resources

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00:21:03,039 --> 00:21:08,799
that we have and I think we have a
really good team here at Centerville

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between [clears throat] staff and
elected officials that were able to come

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00:21:10,799 --> 00:21:19,520
to this balance. Um, so anyway, there's
my there's my soap box for the night.

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Um, but I do think we get a pretty good
value for uh the amount of taxes that we

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pay.
Okay, so looking at this uh additional

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00:21:27,679 --> 00:21:34,400
property tax revenue um again it's about
369,000.

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00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:39,360
How will this be used? Uh these are the
items that we listed in our property tax

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impact statement. Uh so the first is the
medical insurance increases for our

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employees. This continues to rise every
year. Um,

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so this was uh about $83,41
worth uh was part of our reason for

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increasing this uh for this property tax
increase. The second item is the new

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police officer position. Uh, and this
$250,000 for that would include

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00:22:05,919 --> 00:22:13,440
uh the wages for a new officer and all
the benefits uh plus the patrol vehicle

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00:22:10,559 --> 00:22:18,000
and all the associated costs like
equipment and fuel, maintenance,

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training, all of that. Uh, and this
would help uh increase that service

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level for the police department and
their overall response capacity. And

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then the final part is the assessment
that we get from South Davis Fire. Um we

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pay a total of what was it 1.2
millionish to the fire district. Uh they

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have increased our rate uh that we have
to pay to them by that $35,72

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00:22:44,559 --> 00:22:52,280
this year. Uh so that is the last part
that makes up our uh reasoning for the

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increase.

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Okay. Okay. And then again, this uh
public hearing tonight and the

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resolution before you is also for the
final budget. Um back in uh June, we had

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to adopt the interim budget which was
part of the new state laws this year. Um

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00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:15,200
so again, we've talked about our budget
in length at various meetings. Uh, so I

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won't go into all the details of the
budget here, but just kind of hit the

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highlights that we've projected our
sales tax revenue to increase by about

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00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:28,720
2% going from 5.5 million to 5.6
million. Um, again, this budget does

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include the property tax increase of
15.61%.

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00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:39,760
Uh, in our sanitation fund, we had the
fee increase, $1 per garbage can that

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was adopted back in June. Um and then
this also includes using fund balance in

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our capital projects fund our
transportation fund, sanitation fund and

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00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:54,880
drainage fund uh to complete some of
those capital projects. And then uh

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00:23:51,760 --> 00:24:01,919
finally we have the inner fund loan from
our capital projects fund to our water

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00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:08,880
fund uh in in the amount of uh up to 2.4
million. Um, since the interim budget

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00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:12,080
was adopted back in June, uh, we haven't
really had any changes. The only changes

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00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:16,480
that you'll see on the final budget are
related to the property tax. So, when

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the interim budget was adopted, we
hadn't received the certified tax rate

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from the county. Um, so now that we have
the certified tax rate, uh, we've

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00:24:24,799 --> 00:24:33,120
updated that line to include our new
growth. And then the other thing that

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00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:37,919
changed with property tax is that for
the interim budget, the new state code

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00:24:34,799 --> 00:24:43,520
required that we put the additional tax
revenue in a restricted account. Um, for

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00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:48,880
the final budget, since we'll have an
adopted uh tax rate, I've combined that

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00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:54,320
into just a single property tax revenue
line. So, you won't see that additional

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00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:58,400
restricted account anymore. Um
and then because of that new growth, the

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00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:03,200
amount that we transferred to our
capital projects fund has increased uh

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00:25:00,799 --> 00:25:07,000
by that same $37,000
equal to our new growth.

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00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:14,880
Okay. So again, our staff's
recommendation uh is to adopt uh the

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00:25:12,559 --> 00:25:20,640
resolution setting the real personal
property tax rate at 0001314 for the

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00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:27,039
general fund and adopt the other
resolution adopting the final budget. Um

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and just a quick note to remind you
about our public hearing. We've had a

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00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:35,039
couple changes in state legislature this
year um that says we must allow

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00:25:33,679 --> 00:25:40,000
everybody that wants to comment a
reasonable time for comment. Um so I

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00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:45,360
think our our typical 3 minutes uh
satisfies that. And then we must allow

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00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:50,080
uh virtual comments. Um so I know
Jennifer is watching the Zoom. Um so if

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00:25:48,559 --> 00:25:52,799
anybody wants to comment online, they're
able to. I think we're just going to ask

302
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:59,440
them to use the raise your hand
function. Uh so we're not interrupting

303
00:25:54,880 --> 00:26:03,440
each other. And then um we also had to
allow written comments to be submitted

304
00:26:01,679 --> 00:26:08,320
up until the end of the hearing and
that's all been posted on our website

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00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:11,360
with instructions on how to do that. Um
so anyway, that's all I have prepared

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00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:16,000
for you tonight, mayor. Are there any
questions I can answer? So I want to

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00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:22,400
point out a couple things. First off,
about your third or fourth chart, uh the

308
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:27,039
certified tax rate, um
uh there it is right there. that for the

309
00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:33,520
most part just for the people that are
here for their knowledge to make it

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00:26:29,039 --> 00:26:39,039
clear that uh you see those uh years
that it's declining

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00:26:35,919 --> 00:26:41,840
that's because uh probably property
values have gone up right

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00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,480
» correct
>> because uh in Utah and there's a few

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00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:52,480
other states like this I don't know how
many your uh your property taxes will

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00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:57,200
stay the same other than what Nate
showed those rare situations conditions

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00:26:54,400 --> 00:27:02,000
s um even if your property goes up or
your property goes down that rate will

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00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:08,799
adjust. So the only way that your tax
can be changed um by us or any of that

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00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:15,600
pie chart that uh he he showed the
county, the school district, the sewer,

318
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:21,520
whatever is through a truth in taxation
like this where you you increase the

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00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:26,559
rate. So um um as your property goes up,
that rate's going down. So, your taxes

320
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:30,799
are staying the same unless you have the
certified tax rate increase. The other

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00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:34,320
thing I wanted to point out, and Nate
didn't cover this because it's not

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00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:37,919
really part of the the it is part of the
meeting, but not part of his

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00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:42,960
presentation. Uh I just want to point
out for those of you that haven't looked

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00:27:39,679 --> 00:27:49,600
at the budget, uh our budget for our
city is not completely funded by

325
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:59,840
property taxes. We have a just under a
$14 million budget. Uh and of that 2.7

326
00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:05,520
million is property taxes. Obviously 5.6
billion is uh sales taxes. That's the

327
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:13,679
biggest one. Then you have you have
building license fees. You have uh uh

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00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:18,240
franchise tax, that sort of thing. Um,
and uh, I also want to point out that a

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00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:23,039
lot of the what you see going on and
around the city right now, we do our

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00:28:20,159 --> 00:28:27,840
best to make sure we get grants wherever
possible. That the construction on Main

331
00:28:25,279 --> 00:28:32,720
Street, the construction on 400 East, we
had pipes that were council approved

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00:28:29,919 --> 00:28:39,279
early in the year to do those projects
and uh, um, a lot quite a bit of that

333
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:45,600
money comes from uh, grants we apply to
as well too. But obviously some comes

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00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:51,279
from this and also improvements you see
like pickle ball courts that went in uh

335
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:57,039
mo quite a bit of that was done through
grants and then through the wrap tax

336
00:28:54,159 --> 00:29:02,000
which the vote v voters approved years
ago and they re uh they approved again

337
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:08,559
last year. So that stands for recreation
and parks. So, uh there's money that

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00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:15,279
that goes to that for um uh that that
type of purpose. So, I just wanted to to

339
00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:22,720
bring that out um to you. Um one thing
we didn't discuss is uh well, no, we did

340
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:26,720
discuss it, but did you go over
of how much we're proposing

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00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:32,000
uh is proposed on the truth and
taxation? Did you discuss the new

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00:29:29,679 --> 00:29:36,960
property tax impact schedule that the
legislature requires us to do? I don't

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00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:42,000
know if that that's new for all of us.
Uh that was a an exercise that we had to

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00:29:39,919 --> 00:29:46,720
all go through new. Now there it is
right there. So we had the legislature

345
00:29:45,039 --> 00:29:52,240
played around with all sorts of bills
with property tax. Uh, one thing they

346
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:57,440
settled on was in this truth in taxation
that we had to do these property tax

347
00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:03,679
impact schedules. Even though there's
could be increases in not could be,

348
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:11,279
there is uh increases in uh other areas
as well too. We're required to pinpoint

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00:30:06,799 --> 00:30:15,440
areas of what the why the proposed
property tax increase and where that

350
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:22,399
would go to. You could look at our
budget uh uh and I'm I'm not necessarily

351
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:26,320
a big fan of this because uh of of of
what legislature passed, but they were

352
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:30,320
doing their best because you could you
could put a number of items here that

353
00:30:27,919 --> 00:30:37,919
make up that 370,000.
But uh our property tax impact schedule,

354
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:43,039
that's what it shows that
uh this increase would go to 250,000 for

355
00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:46,720
police and a new officer. That's that's
just not the officer. That's that's a

356
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:51,600
vehicle that goes along with it,
equipment, all that sort of thing. Uh

357
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:56,000
$35,72
to the fire assessment [snorts]

358
00:30:52,880 --> 00:31:01,200
increase. And then uh medical insurance
coverage uh for all the employees that

359
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:05,919
that's gone up and those total the
almost 370,000. So that's what we have

360
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:13,279
pinpointed
uh that the uses for. So um of where

361
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:17,039
these these funds would go to. So,
um, other questions for Nate or

362
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:24,360
clarification
that, uh, council wants to make or

363
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,360
staff wants to make.

364
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:36,880
Nothing.
Okay. Um

365
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:42,640
I do uh so I guess at this point in time
if there there's no further questions

366
00:31:40,399 --> 00:31:50,320
uh I guess we could go to the public
hearing part and hear uh from the public

367
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:58,559
that's it's your your opportunity to
hear from you. Um and then uh we will u

368
00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:04,159
uh re we'll take notes and we'll try to
respond to your comments as as well as

369
00:32:01,279 --> 00:32:08,640
we can uh and then we'll come back to
have uh further discussion after that as

370
00:32:06,159 --> 00:32:12,799
well too. So like I said this is a
public hearing matter truth and taxation

371
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:21,760
property tax increase and fiscal year
2027 final budget. So uh that public

372
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:27,279
hearing is now open. All we ask is that
you you state your name and where you're

373
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:32,080
from for the record of the
>> And also, mayor, really quick, for those

374
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:36,080
on Zoom, if you'd like to comment, use
the raise your hand feature on Zoom. So,

375
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:39,760
and then we'll call on you when we're
ready. So, those that are on Zoom, I

376
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:45,519
don't know if you heard our recorder,
Jennifer, but raise you do use the raise

377
00:32:42,399 --> 00:32:52,080
your hand feature on Zoom, and I will
have her look at uh uh those to to get

378
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:56,240
you as well, too. But, we're going to
open it up first to those members of the

379
00:32:54,159 --> 00:33:00,039
public that are here. So, that public
hearing is now open.

380
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,960
» I'll be the guinea pig.

381
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:12,960
Good evening. My name is Doug Hansy. My
wife and Judy and I live at one

382
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:18,159
residents of Centerville for the last 51
years. We live at 112 East Jennings

383
00:33:15,519 --> 00:33:22,720
Lane. I'm 75 years old. I still work
full-time. I own a technology business

384
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:26,480
that works with very large corporations
and medium-sized businesses. And I have

385
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:31,120
customers in four major business
segments. And I work with people from

386
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:35,919
the sea level down to line workers. My
reason to being here is that is a a

387
00:33:33,919 --> 00:33:42,799
massive frustration with property tax
increases here and in the county and

388
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:48,559
it's the as a way of using to resolve
budget uh needs and manage increasing

389
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:54,159
costs. My frustration should be echo
with each of you who purchased a home

390
00:33:51,039 --> 00:33:59,279
and as inflation drove up the value four
to five times what you paid for that

391
00:33:56,159 --> 00:34:05,279
home. uh it becomes a little
aggravating. California used Prop 13 to

392
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:10,399
protect people with from drastic value
increases that froze property tax

393
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:15,679
realistically to to the purchase price,
not the appraisal price. I'm not a fan

394
00:34:13,359 --> 00:34:21,359
of California government and consider
one of the very few redeeming successes

395
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:26,079
of that state. Judy and I live in a home
with a two-car garage we built in 1988,

396
00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:31,679
which today would be absolutely
impossible for us to afford to purchase.

397
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:38,480
Here is my harsh reality. I'm trying to
retire uh and your property tax increase

398
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:44,320
added to the Davis County uh increase
are more money there. That is more money

399
00:34:41,359 --> 00:34:49,119
than I will make in retirement per
month. Think about that for a moment.

400
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:56,399
the property tax is now going to be
higher than my income per month. Uh your

401
00:34:53,760 --> 00:35:04,079
t your truth and tax packet is very re
revealing on page 94. Centerville has

402
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:10,240
had four tax increases since in the in
the years 2017 through 2026. Four tax

403
00:35:07,359 --> 00:35:15,359
increases for property tax. people at
the at this rate center for leadership

404
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:20,240
is likely to continue increasing taxes
every two and a half years. I said I

405
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:25,599
work with ma major medium to large
companies in Utah and surrounding states

406
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:30,640
for for-profit businesses cannot spend
money like a municipality does. They

407
00:35:28,720 --> 00:35:35,920
have to make a profit which means
working with equipment they have to

408
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:42,640
produce to use to make their products.
For example, I have three customers. One

409
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:48,000
customer alone has 600 600
barcode printers to which they produce.

410
00:35:45,359 --> 00:35:53,440
It's in an automotive b business. Uh
they these printers are aged from 6 to

411
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:57,040
18 years but yet they run those printers
continue to use those even though

412
00:35:55,359 --> 00:36:02,560
they've been end of life and end of
service life because they still uh

413
00:35:59,839 --> 00:36:06,880
process the product properly. They don't
run out and replace it just because a

414
00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:10,720
new one is on the horizon. You can't
make a profit when you do things like

415
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:17,760
that. You're all aware of the public
works garage door openers issue. I'm I

416
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:21,520
have uh I had asked um Councilman
Bangader and I I pushed him into a

417
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:25,920
corner and said, "Tell me about what's
going on." I was dis I was dismayed when

418
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:30,400
I understood that the public works
garage door opener that you had one that

419
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:35,119
failed and because of a supply chain
problem, you couldn't get the door open.

420
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:40,560
So, uh, all of a sudden we decide we
have to replace 10 door openers. 10 door

421
00:36:38,079 --> 00:36:44,880
openers we have to replace. In business,
we buy a spare unit. We put it on the

422
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:49,839
shelf. When it breaks, we fix it and
then we order a spare replacement.

423
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:55,280
That's how we make a profit in business.
Uh, in if we were to solve problems any

424
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:59,280
other differently, we wouldn't make
money. It's the mentality it takes to be

425
00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:05,839
profitable, not running to replace
something just because it's aging. I

426
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:10,079
drive a 2017 Toyota Camry with 262,000
miles on it. I run to Sacramento for

427
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:16,240
business. I don't even think about
roadworthiness. I get in the car and I

428
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:20,640
go. Why is it necessary in in our in our
community that we need to replace

429
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:26,079
vehicles so frequently every 3 years or
so? Consider the mileage. Consider the

430
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:30,640
replacement cost. Consider I'm talking
about budget items, not just the

431
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:34,560
property tax. people with respect. I
encourage that youth to think about

432
00:37:32,079 --> 00:37:39,599
running a municipality more should be
more like running a business. Employee

433
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,599
employees should be paid a cola increase
like social security does. Even an

434
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:49,920
increase near inflation is considered
reasonable. But high wage employees in

435
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:56,079
the city should never ever receive wage
in price wage percentage increases

436
00:37:53,040 --> 00:38:03,680
higher than the lowest employee does.
Finally, property tax is not a solution

437
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:08,079
to your budget problems. And why um
Centerville hosts major big box stores

438
00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:11,680
which bring a lot of out of town. In
fact, when I go into the into a big box

439
00:38:10,079 --> 00:38:18,160
here, I don't see anybody from our
community and I get around a little bit.

440
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:22,079
And uh I go I look at that the source of
revenue coming in there. People do not

441
00:38:19,839 --> 00:38:27,599
stop shopping because the sales tax goes
up a little bit. I'd like you to go back

442
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:32,320
and consider the budget. I'm not asking
about that items that were shown up here

443
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:36,800
for the property tax increase because I
I I think that you need to go back and

444
00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:42,560
look at wants versus barebone needs in
your budget, your overall budget. Uh

445
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:46,320
again, with the exception of the public
safety need like in the business world,

446
00:38:45,119 --> 00:38:50,079
every employee of the city should
consider how I how I improve my work

447
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:53,920
ethic with tools that I have. Most
companies that I work with, major

448
00:38:52,079 --> 00:38:58,160
companies have incentives for their
employees where they if they come up

449
00:38:55,760 --> 00:39:04,000
with a an inre increase in their
performance, they get rewarded for it.

450
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:08,560
Uh that's how we succeed in business.
Please let's recognize the importance of

451
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:12,880
this property tax thing. There are a lot
of families in this community who bought

452
00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:16,880
a house in the 40s, the 50s, and the
60s, who paid for that house, who worked

453
00:39:15,119 --> 00:39:22,880
their heart out, and who never had a
decent income their entire life. And now

454
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:27,680
we're rent now we are un ashamedly in
the in the in Davis County the state of

455
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:33,440
Utah and in the city charging them a
property tax rate on something that is

456
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:38,000
out so outside of the their income
capability

457
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:42,079
to support the property taxes.
Ladies and gentlemen, I respectfully ask

458
00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:45,520
you to do not approve this property tax
increase. I think you need to go back to

459
00:39:43,839 --> 00:39:51,119
your budget and figure out how you find
a way to re to cover those things that

460
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:55,520
you want to do. Lastly, I encourage you
that you listen to people in the town.

461
00:39:53,760 --> 00:40:00,400
Sincerely listen to the people in the
town and not just the wellto-do

462
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:04,400
constituents or something that you think
that you like or that you would want to

463
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:08,000
listen to those people. If they have
different points of view, you might

464
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:14,357
learn something from them. Thank you for
for your for your consideration and I

465
00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:16,377
respectfully sign off. Thank you.
[applause]

466
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:26,040
» Is there others that would like to
comment?

467
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:34,560
My name is Craig Preston. I live in
Centerville. I can't pass up the

468
00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:39,200
opportunity to come before you. I see
come around frequently. I just want to

469
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:46,720
give you perspective
of where I'm coming from and my people

470
00:40:41,599 --> 00:40:50,960
of my similar situation. Um,
I've lived here in Centerville this time

471
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:56,079
for the past five years. And I don't
know what you call it, but my property

472
00:40:52,960 --> 00:41:01,280
taxes have gone up. I'm almost 33% in
those five years. And this happens in a

473
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:04,800
couple of ways. One is, yeah, you talk
about this these things. You got the

474
00:41:03,119 --> 00:41:10,079
mosquito district this year going up
15%. You got South DA sewer going up.

475
00:41:07,359 --> 00:41:17,839
You got the fire district going up 16%.
Centerville city is asking for 15% more.

476
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:24,000
But then you also have new entities
that are now taxing entities. It's not

477
00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:29,200
the city, but it's the overall impact on
me and and the city people and the the

478
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:33,040
people who own property. That's what's
make my property taxes, I'm sure, go up.

479
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:38,960
I haven't gone back and looked at it,
but it has gone up 33%. I lived at the

480
00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:42,400
same house. U yeah, the county raises
the level and I have questions about

481
00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:47,520
that and we have little discussions
every once in a while with them. We need

482
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:52,480
to understand that um I'm on a fixed
income with social security. I get

483
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:58,319
probably an average of two to 5% a year
and out of that Medicare goes up about

484
00:41:55,200 --> 00:42:05,520
3%. So the net impact on me is about a
2% increase on my income. Um

485
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:11,520
uh so I I don't understand this no
inflation effect somewhere is is built

486
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:16,160
in there and you do have an opportunity
uh as was mentioned here in looking at

487
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:22,400
the city budget and what happens uh
being involved in the general plans. Uh

488
00:42:19,119 --> 00:42:26,640
I don't know how much that cost to pro
produce and I don't know how much it's

489
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:33,200
going to cost to implement but you as a
city council have control over that

490
00:42:29,359 --> 00:42:37,839
expenditure. And all I can do is ask you
to be very conscientious and not look at

491
00:42:35,359 --> 00:42:41,520
it as just 15%.
I mean 40 bucks a year or whatever it is

492
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:49,040
it's supposed to be, but that's not that
my my portion on my house is going to be

493
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:54,560
up on that. Although $60 $61, but um my
portion is going to be bigger than that.

494
00:42:50,880 --> 00:43:00,319
It's not just a $61 a year here. But
it's everybody's $61. And I'm I'm sorry

495
00:42:57,680 --> 00:43:04,960
that I missed I saw Robin after the
South Davis or the Yeah. South Davis

496
00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:08,960
Fire Assessment. I was going to show up
at that and found out that I had the

497
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:13,359
time wrong and nobody came. I don't know
how much of an increase that is, but it

498
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:19,200
bothers me significantly that South
Davis was fire is asking over a 16%

499
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:23,359
increase themselves and then coming to
you the cities and asking for a

500
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:26,160
significant increase. That is
outlandish. And that's one of those

501
00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:30,079
things that I don't know. I can't
remember when it was, but that's another

502
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:37,200
one that was separated out. We made a
new taxing entity and who here we go.

503
00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:42,880
Um, you know, this this fire district
thing, that's not a big meeting. And

504
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:46,160
obviously when I found out that I was
nobody came and I was just driving in

505
00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:50,240
the parking lot as everybody else was
driving out, I was very disappointed

506
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:54,160
that I'd missed that. So, I just wanted
you to know that this is what it is. You

507
00:43:52,240 --> 00:44:03,119
do have an impact and it's everybody's
15% impact that makes my taxes go up 33%

508
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:07,200
in 5 years on the same house. Everybody
adds up. You just put it all together.

509
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:11,200
That's why please be conscientious. Be
aware of what we're doing. Be reasonable

510
00:44:09,599 --> 00:44:16,880
in what you're doing when you implement
this general plan u and how you spend

511
00:44:14,079 --> 00:44:24,480
the money. uh it's your money but it's
out of my pocket and uh I would like to

512
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:27,900
have some input on it and thank you.
>> Thanks. [applause]

513
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:35,319
» Uh others that are in person.

514
00:44:41,119 --> 00:44:47,520
» Hi, I'm Diane Witten. I live on Center
Street in Centerville

515
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:52,960
and
I just want to reiterate how important

516
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:58,079
it is to stick with a budget because my
salary doesn't increase if I need

517
00:44:55,280 --> 00:45:03,839
something. All the prices have increased
in everything. Groceries are outlandish.

518
00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:09,839
Gas is outlandish. I'm barely making it
by. And I know I'm not the only one. And

519
00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:15,760
I can't go to my boss and say, "Hey, I
need an increase in my raise. I I don't

520
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:21,760
get it. I I've already plateaued in my
work. I'm not going to get an increase

521
00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:29,440
at all. And so if there's an increase in
my grocery budget, I have to cut down on

522
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:34,319
something else. I can't just keep going
how I am. And so I'm asking that you

523
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:39,359
really seriously take a look at the
budget and say, is this a necessary

524
00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:44,880
expenditure
or is this a want? because there is a

525
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:51,119
huge difference in that and I know
there's some underlying padding going

526
00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:56,160
on. I took over doing my dad's bills and
the Centerville city bill for his

527
00:45:52,960 --> 00:46:00,720
household of one person and my city
household bill for three people with a

528
00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:07,200
son who uses the hot water heater for
every shower were exactly the same to

529
00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:11,839
the penny every single month.
So there there is some padding going on

530
00:46:09,599 --> 00:46:16,480
underneath.
And you know, if you're going to do

531
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:22,880
that, it tells me that there's a little
bit of discrepancy in what can we get

532
00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:29,280
away with.
I would like to see more honesty. I

533
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:36,760
would like to see some serious budgeting
because that's what I have to do.

534
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:36,760
That's literally what I have to do.

535
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:41,640
I I don't want to see any more
increases.

536
00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:48,960
I'm saving every month trying to afford
taxes.

537
00:46:46,319 --> 00:46:53,280
My house is paid for. I'm saving every
month to pay for insurance on the house,

538
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:57,200
too.
And then if I have a medical problem

539
00:46:55,119 --> 00:47:01,520
come up, that comes right out of my
savings account for the taxes. And I'm

540
00:46:59,599 --> 00:47:05,760
scrambling to save enough for taxes.
again.

541
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:12,240
It shouldn't have to be this hard to
live in such a good community.

542
00:47:09,599 --> 00:47:17,359
It really shouldn't.
We've got good people here and I'd like

543
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:23,280
to keep it that way, but it it's it's
outpricing it's outpricing people. And

544
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:29,119
instead of saying how much lower are we
than other cities in taxes, I'd rather

545
00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:34,400
have us look at what can we do to be
even lower and make it more affordable

546
00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:39,040
for our citizens to live here.
I'm happy to do away with some

547
00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:44,640
amenities.
I I volunteer to pick up trash on

548
00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:50,480
trails. I've done that before.
I'm happy if our community reaches out

549
00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:56,880
to, you know, does a community clean up
instead of asking for the parks and, you

550
00:47:53,839 --> 00:48:02,960
know, other public servants to clean up.
I think we can we can step up and

551
00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:07,359
volunteer if that helps cut money in a
place that can be cut and then that

552
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:11,359
money can be pushed over to where you
really need it. Anything to save some

553
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:17,808
money so we don't have to raise taxes
would be really appreciated. Thank you.

554
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:17,808
» Thanks. [applause]

555
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:25,240
» Anybody else that's uh present?

556
00:48:25,839 --> 00:48:30,480
Do
>> we have any raised hands online?

557
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:35,520
» No raised hands. We have two folks
online. One online now, but haven't seen

558
00:48:34,079 --> 00:48:43,680
a raised hand.
>> So, no comments uh from online.

559
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:51,040
Okay. Seeing uh
nobody else uh from the audience or

560
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:57,200
online that uh wants to comment, I will
close the public hearing and let's see

561
00:48:53,200 --> 00:49:06,160
if we can't uh respond to some of your
questions. Um

562
00:49:00,319 --> 00:49:11,440
uh first off, I'm going to call uh
something that Diane said in regards to

563
00:49:08,160 --> 00:49:16,079
tax rates on water fees. Can we help out
there? Help her explain help her

564
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:21,040
understand those how those water fees
work.

565
00:49:18,720 --> 00:49:24,720
» Nate's got you.
>> This isn't part of property tax, by the

566
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:30,000
way. Water fees are separate from
property tax, but he can give you a feel

567
00:49:27,839 --> 00:49:35,920
of how how the water fees work.
>> Yeah. So, uh for water, uh everybody's

568
00:49:33,359 --> 00:49:40,160
meter gets read once a month. uh and
that determines how many thousands of

569
00:49:37,599 --> 00:49:46,240
gallons uh of water has gone through
that meter. Um so every

570
00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:50,640
uh house will get there's two parts to
your water bill. There's a base rate uh

571
00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:56,400
and that'll vary based well so it's the
same for every of the similar size of

572
00:49:52,880 --> 00:50:03,680
the meter. So all 3/4 in meters will pay
roughly $35 in a base fee. And then your

573
00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:08,319
usage is the second component. Um, so
depending on how much you use, there's a

574
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:13,520
multiplier, uh, I think the first tier,
so from zero to 5,000 gallons, I think

575
00:50:11,119 --> 00:50:20,319
it's somewhere around $160 per thousand
gallons. Um, so if you feel like, uh,

576
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:23,760
you mentioned you're uh you have one
situation where there's one person in

577
00:50:21,599 --> 00:50:29,359
the house versus multiple people in the
homes. Um, one situation could be that

578
00:50:26,319 --> 00:50:34,480
you have a leak going on. Uh you'd be
surprised at how much a dripping faucet

579
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:40,079
or a running toilet can consume of
water. Um so if you have a concern about

580
00:50:37,359 --> 00:50:43,200
a leak, please call us and we can our
public works our water department can go

581
00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:46,559
out and help determine if you have a
leak or not. Um so that's something that

582
00:50:45,359 --> 00:50:50,319
we can help you with. Or if you have
other general questions about your bill,

583
00:50:48,559 --> 00:50:54,880
uh please call us. We're happy to answer
those questions.

584
00:50:52,000 --> 00:51:00,000
So that helps uh with with water fees.
Uh helps you understand there. Doug, I'm

585
00:50:58,240 --> 00:51:03,280
not a fan of how California runs their
government either, but one thing that

586
00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:08,480
you mentioned
uh yes, they did freeze property taxes

587
00:51:05,839 --> 00:51:11,200
for existing homeowners, but anybody new
that's buying a home make makes up for

588
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:13,520
that.
>> That's correct.

589
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:18,400
» So
you pay the tax.

590
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:22,800
» Yeah. So So it's
>> it's murder for the the new people that

591
00:51:20,559 --> 00:51:28,480
are buying. So, you know, there there's
there's So, I'm not going to comment one

592
00:51:26,079 --> 00:51:33,359
way or the other, but that that I just
want that to be known. Um, council, what

593
00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:36,160
other things that were brought up that
that we we could answer?

594
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:40,000
» I'll touch on the Prop 13 if that's
okay. A little bit more, mayor. I do

595
00:51:37,599 --> 00:51:44,720
have a mother-in-law or my in-laws are
in California and and Prop 13, the grass

596
00:51:42,960 --> 00:51:49,040
is not always greener. As I analyze
their utility bill or their property tax

597
00:51:47,040 --> 00:51:53,040
bill compared to their neighbors, they
pay 100% of their property taxes. So

598
00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:57,520
when the gentleman next door moved in at
$700,000, he pays $7,000 a month or a

599
00:51:55,760 --> 00:52:02,319
year for his property taxes while they
continue to pay $1,800 a month. But they

600
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:07,359
have so much debt because they have no
money from the property taxes that their

601
00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:10,640
property taxes are are quite a bit
because of the the bonds that they have

602
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:16,960
to take out because they don't have any
money. The biggest downfall of the Prop

603
00:52:13,359 --> 00:52:21,280
13 is that when you leave the county,
you then pay that new rate. So, you pay

604
00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:24,240
that higher amount in the new county.
But what's one thing that doesn't move

605
00:52:22,800 --> 00:52:28,160
counties, and that's commercial
businesses. So, Disneyland hasn't moved.

606
00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:33,280
So, their property taxes have been
frozen. So, the residents are stuck

607
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:37,200
filling in that gap of what commercials
left behind. So, right now, there's a

608
00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:43,599
lot of legislation in California to undo
the damage that Prop 13 has done. Just

609
00:52:39,599 --> 00:52:47,680
want to throw that out there.
>> Other things that were brought up,

610
00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:51,280
council, that staff that I might be
missing to help answer their their

611
00:52:49,920 --> 00:52:55,280
questions as they commented.
>> We had a question about the garage

612
00:52:52,720 --> 00:52:59,839
doors. Can you just clarify the amount
of doors? It seems like we reduced it.

613
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:02,960
» Yes, we did. We are not replacing all of
them. I think we're only doing two if I

614
00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:06,800
remember right.
>> Garage doors went from four to two. And

615
00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:11,280
one of the arguments that has been
shared is that leaving it on the shelf

616
00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:16,160
is is definitely an opportunity, but you
lose the warranty if it's sitting on the

617
00:53:12,880 --> 00:53:20,559
shelf. So buying it um and installing
it, you you get the warranty whether

618
00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:23,760
it's one year or limited warranty. And
so if you have it on the shelf, then you

619
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:28,400
lose that warranty.
>> I'm not I'm just making an argument of

620
00:53:25,359 --> 00:53:30,000
one of the reasons why it's important.
>> Sure.

621
00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:33,040
» Ridiculous objection.
>> I understand.

622
00:53:30,960 --> 00:53:37,200
» Businesses large businesses can put them
on the shelfy

623
00:53:35,359 --> 00:53:41,440
They still put on make it work and buy
again.

624
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:45,520
» Let let us continue.
>> We're we're not just debating back and

625
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:50,559
forth. We're just let's just answer the
questions for now. Doug,

626
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:57,599
» um another question was uh a discussion
on replacing vehicles. Um do you want to

627
00:53:54,160 --> 00:54:02,559
address that? Um, so one of the
advantages of of local government, we

628
00:53:59,920 --> 00:54:06,800
have access to state contract pricing,
which is pricing that is better than

629
00:54:04,319 --> 00:54:11,680
what's available to the public. So
there's a balance that you try to strike

630
00:54:09,119 --> 00:54:15,200
when purchasing a new vehicle and
selling of that vehicle. The longer you

631
00:54:13,200 --> 00:54:19,599
hold on to it, the less value it has. So
there's a balance that you try to retain

632
00:54:16,960 --> 00:54:23,359
as much value. and we analyze when's a
good time to sell it to retain its value

633
00:54:21,119 --> 00:54:26,880
to recover as much as we can in its
value to help purchase the new one

634
00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:31,119
because we have access to state contract
pricing. So that's I don't know Nate if

635
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:35,119
you have anything else to add to that.
>> Yeah. No, I don't have the numbers off

636
00:54:32,720 --> 00:54:41,680
the top of my head but uh that model has
served us well. Uh we just sold um the

637
00:54:39,359 --> 00:54:47,040
couple vehicles in public works that
were about four years old. Um, and the

638
00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:50,240
difference between our purchase price
and our sale price was only a couple

639
00:54:48,720 --> 00:54:54,480
thousand dollars.
>> It's $500 a year and essentially in the

640
00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:59,280
leasing of that vehicle.
>> So, when we can sell a vehicle at the

641
00:54:56,559 --> 00:55:04,720
right time where it's still somewhat
new,

642
00:55:02,079 --> 00:55:10,720
» you're able to get use out of it, but
still recoup your original purchase cost

643
00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:13,920
almost. Um, and I think our our team's
done a good job at trying to balance

644
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:17,680
that.
Now certainly there's vehicles that get

645
00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:23,520
a little more use like our parks
vehicles. Those certainly do not get

646
00:55:19,599 --> 00:55:25,680
replaced um like our admin vehicles
would.

647
00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:31,368
» And of course the value with that is
less maintenance cost. So with a smaller

648
00:55:27,839 --> 00:55:34,240
fleet mechanics or contracting out for
[clears throat] those services. We're

649
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:39,920
not replacing tires, we're not replacing
brakes uh or anything like that. So you

650
00:55:37,280 --> 00:55:44,160
in the long run uh the the cost of
maintenance is less with that

651
00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:47,160
» and most major repairs are done under
warranty.

652
00:55:48,240 --> 00:55:55,599
» I have just a couple of things I'd like
to say.

653
00:55:51,920 --> 00:56:01,920
Number one, I started where you are. So
when you talk sometimes it's emotional

654
00:55:58,240 --> 00:56:07,520
for me because I was where you are.
I've got you beat. I drive a 2005 car.

655
00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:11,119
So, there's probably not many people
that are tighter than I am. And if you

656
00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:14,880
don't believe me, I'll give you my kids'
phone numbers because

657
00:56:13,359 --> 00:56:17,839
growing up, they were never allowed to
drink a soda pop. And they never go to a

658
00:56:16,720 --> 00:56:21,440
restaurant now. But what they don't
order soda pop because their mother

659
00:56:19,680 --> 00:56:27,280
never let them have a soda pop in a
restaurant. So, I'm pretty tight. I've

660
00:56:24,240 --> 00:56:34,240
been on the council for 10 years. I have
voted against property tax increase and

661
00:56:31,359 --> 00:56:40,960
I have voted for property tax increase,
but I'm pretty fussy over

662
00:56:37,599 --> 00:56:47,520
what I'm going to vote for. So, I look
at it and I think it's hard. Sometimes

663
00:56:44,079 --> 00:56:52,640
you see what the property tax p is and
this was where I was and I'm like, come

664
00:56:50,240 --> 00:56:56,720
on guys, find some things to cut back.
But what you don't realize is we have

665
00:56:54,319 --> 00:57:00,400
just like they said we went from four
garage door openers to two garage door

666
00:56:58,720 --> 00:57:06,079
openers because we were kind of like
you. We're like we're a little iffy on

667
00:57:02,720 --> 00:57:12,240
that one. But you know we we worked with
our employees and and we did this is not

668
00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:16,640
everybody's wish list. We don't let
everybody come in and say you know what

669
00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:23,440
do you want this year? What do you need
this year? And so what you're seeing is

670
00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:29,359
they have brought in their wish list and
Brandt cuts it way back and then we cut

671
00:57:26,079 --> 00:57:36,960
it back further so that you know it
isn't. Do I worry about people paying

672
00:57:31,760 --> 00:57:41,760
their property taxes? Very very much so.
I live in the older part of Centerville,

673
00:57:38,799 --> 00:57:49,280
so I live by some older people whose
property taxes are going up and and it's

674
00:57:45,040 --> 00:57:54,640
really hard for them to pay them. And I
have my own feelings, but all I can

675
00:57:51,839 --> 00:57:59,359
control is the city. I'd really like to
see something done for the older people

676
00:57:56,880 --> 00:58:04,559
who've paid taxes their whole life. But
then again, it's like California. If we

677
00:58:01,599 --> 00:58:10,640
lower the the older people's the younger
people's go up, did I have more money

678
00:58:07,200 --> 00:58:16,480
then? I'm on a very fixed income. Do I
have money now? So, that's another thing

679
00:58:13,599 --> 00:58:19,760
I think we also need to remember when
you're asking us to cut things back. I

680
00:58:18,319 --> 00:58:24,720
have people say to me, "Well, you put
this in you put the pickle ball courts

681
00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:30,960
in." The people of Centerville voted for
that. It's a wrap tax, which tells me

682
00:58:28,079 --> 00:58:37,040
they want the parks. they want the
different amenities in their city. And

683
00:58:33,839 --> 00:58:43,040
so when they vote for that wrap tax, it
it does tell me that they that they do

684
00:58:39,839 --> 00:58:47,760
want that. Um when you talked about the
vehicles a while ago, the sewer came out

685
00:58:45,839 --> 00:58:50,640
and they were driving and I don't
remember what they were called, but my

686
00:58:49,040 --> 00:58:55,200
husband came right home and wanted one.
The fanciest pickup truck out there.

687
00:58:53,765 --> 00:58:59,440
[clears throat] I called the city or the
sewer department right up and I'm like,

688
00:58:56,559 --> 00:59:04,720
"What are you thinking?" Well, they
informed me that the resell value of the

689
00:59:02,240 --> 00:59:10,160
really fancy trucks was a lot better
than the other one. So, did I agree with

690
00:59:07,599 --> 00:59:15,040
everything they were doing? No. But then
the city brought us this and after being

691
00:59:12,559 --> 00:59:20,079
on here for 10 years, I can tell you our
maintenance costs are going down. I'm

692
00:59:16,720 --> 00:59:25,599
shocked when they come in on a state
uh contract. We buy the vehicles at a

693
00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:31,040
really good price, but then we sell them
to the average person. So, we are only

694
00:59:28,880 --> 00:59:36,160
losing a couple thousand dollars on them
and we have no

695
00:59:33,920 --> 00:59:42,640
um maintenance on them. I mean, we're
not having to fix. They're still under

696
00:59:38,400 --> 00:59:45,640
warranty. So, you know, that that helps.
Um

697
00:59:45,920 --> 00:59:52,720
trying to make sure I get everything. Uh
just and this doesn't do with the tax

698
00:59:50,559 --> 00:59:57,839
increase, but on your water bill. I
know. I was just helping a neighbor with

699
00:59:54,400 --> 01:00:01,599
theirs who's unfortunately had a leak
and they've paid $700 more in the last

700
01:00:00,160 --> 01:00:06,880
two years and didn't even know they had
a leak. So, I've been trying to help

701
01:00:03,680 --> 01:00:13,520
with them, but I was interested to know
that we're charged by to by the thousand

702
01:00:10,640 --> 01:00:19,839
a gallons that we use and the first
5,000 is $168

703
01:00:16,720 --> 01:00:25,160
per gallon. So if you're using
>> thousand gallons. So if you're using

704
01:00:25,280 --> 01:00:38,400
10,000 gallons
more than you said uh a relative, it's

705
01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:44,480
only going to save you or cost you $168.
But I want to keep that that way because

706
01:00:41,920 --> 01:00:48,079
I don't want to charge people. Now, if
you've got a swimming pool and you can

707
01:00:46,079 --> 01:00:52,079
afford all of that, then I think we
should charge this higher end. But then

708
01:00:50,480 --> 01:00:56,400
I come up with the concern about these
poor people that didn't really

709
01:00:53,599 --> 01:00:59,599
understand the water bill. What would it
have been if we'd have been charging

710
01:00:57,680 --> 01:01:03,440
them more? So, I'm trying to figure out
how we can charge more bigger water

711
01:01:01,599 --> 01:01:08,799
users, but make sure that it isn't the
leaps of the people that we're charging.

712
01:01:06,640 --> 01:01:15,839
So, I do want you to know that I care
very much. Um, I think it's very

713
01:01:12,480 --> 01:01:21,599
important that we have a police officer.
I I think I've gone out and talked to a

714
01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:27,440
lot of citizens. This is kind of a hard
one to say, but as you can see, we don't

715
01:01:24,079 --> 01:01:31,680
have a lot of people here. So, I think a
lot of people are feel like we're doing

716
01:01:29,119 --> 01:01:36,160
a pretty good job. It's frustrating to
me that this room isn't full.

717
01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:41,280
I think if we've got a tax increase, we
should be hearing from 500 of you

718
01:01:38,559 --> 01:01:48,319
instead of just a few.
But the other my only other thing is you

719
01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:53,200
have to know when I talk to my
um department heads and I talked to Mike

720
01:01:51,040 --> 01:02:00,240
from public works and he tells me that
pipe is now, you know, 10 times more

721
01:01:56,960 --> 01:02:06,720
than it was 10 years ago. Well, I
understand that because my food is, but

722
01:02:03,920 --> 01:02:13,920
somehow we have to still fix the water
leaks. We have to have wages that

723
01:02:10,559 --> 01:02:18,400
compete with the employees. I mean, our
employees wages I I look at sometimes,

724
01:02:16,319 --> 01:02:22,799
I'm thinking, wow. But on the other
hand,

725
01:02:20,319 --> 01:02:27,520
I pay, you know, more for anybody that
comes and does anything for me. I want

726
01:02:24,960 --> 01:02:32,319
to keep our good employees. We have
excellent employees here.

727
01:02:29,680 --> 01:02:36,799
Uh, I don't think our health our health
insurance is anything that's debatable.

728
01:02:34,880 --> 01:02:41,839
We don't have a choice on our fire
department

729
01:02:38,559 --> 01:02:46,960
and I am happy to pay an extra $5 a
month if it's going to bring the police

730
01:02:44,559 --> 01:02:52,079
department
to our homes faster. I've had my elderly

731
01:02:50,559 --> 01:02:56,880
mother living with me and I've called
the police department and the fire

732
01:02:54,240 --> 01:03:01,040
department my fair share of times in the
last seven years. So, I don't want

733
01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:07,200
anybody to walk out of here and think I
don't care. I have pushed back. I have

734
01:03:04,319 --> 01:03:12,000
asked them to cut back. We have told our
police officers in 10 years they asked

735
01:03:09,760 --> 01:03:16,400
for a new police officer at the
beginning of the budget season every

736
01:03:13,920 --> 01:03:21,359
year and sometimes they wanted to. We've
told them no. We've told them no. We've

737
01:03:18,240 --> 01:03:26,559
told them no till we feel like it's now
affecting our police officers because

738
01:03:23,520 --> 01:03:30,319
they're having to work more. So, I'm
finally giving in to that police

739
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:35,359
officer. In 10 years, I've approved one
police officer. So, this will be my

740
01:03:32,720 --> 01:03:40,720
second police officer I've approved. I'm
not just giving out the farm. Like I

741
01:03:38,319 --> 01:03:46,240
said, you'll find out I'm tight with the
city, tighter than the employees would

742
01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:51,119
like me to be, and I'm tight at home.
So, you know, I just want you to to

743
01:03:48,480 --> 01:03:56,640
understand that this is a hard position
and I understand it more now because I

744
01:03:53,920 --> 01:04:01,520
was for 20 years I was out there sitting
where you are. But I do fight really

745
01:03:59,200 --> 01:04:06,480
hard to keep your taxes down. That's why
they're going up an average of $5 a

746
01:04:04,160 --> 01:04:10,240
month instead of more because if we were
giving them

747
01:04:08,799 --> 01:04:15,039
what they wanted, it would be a lot
more. And it is concerning that we're

748
01:04:12,400 --> 01:04:18,319
having to take into our rainy day fund.
And something I don't know if they want

749
01:04:16,319 --> 01:04:24,000
me to tell you or not, but a lot of that
rainy day fund came from CO money from

750
01:04:21,359 --> 01:04:28,400
the federal government. So it will run
out. Hopefully we won't have another CO.

751
01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:33,039
So
that's where we were able to build up

752
01:04:30,079 --> 01:04:39,760
our funds.
>> Thanks, Councilman Mum. So, I just in

753
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:46,160
full in purposes of full disclosure,
maybe council or Nate or Brand or Lisa

754
01:04:43,839 --> 01:04:52,319
uh or the chief, one of you can help me.
So, we have this new property tax impact

755
01:04:49,119 --> 01:04:57,920
schedule uh and we have in front of us
that the the just under 370,000

756
01:04:55,599 --> 01:05:02,880
and we're saying that we're short 1.5
million. We're going to take 1.2

757
01:05:00,319 --> 01:05:08,720
million. I'm rounding here. 1.17 million
from fund balance and 370,000 with the

758
01:05:06,079 --> 01:05:14,000
tax increase. We came we came up with
some schedule beforehand that showed we

759
01:05:11,760 --> 01:05:19,200
could do 370 elsewhere, but this is what
we submitted to the state. So my

760
01:05:16,400 --> 01:05:24,079
question is this is obviously the
medical increases are going to happen or

761
01:05:21,680 --> 01:05:31,039
have the South Davis fire assessment
increase is there. It's a reality. We're

762
01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:37,200
two months into our fiscal year. Uh and
uh my question is this is if we do not

763
01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:43,280
hire that police officer in the next by
next the end of next June 30th

764
01:05:41,359 --> 01:05:49,359
uh like I said I just want full
disclosure is that something that uh

765
01:05:46,160 --> 01:05:53,760
we're penalized by the state for uh you
know because we haven't followed our

766
01:05:50,799 --> 01:06:00,319
property tax impact schedule or uh
anybody anybody had know the situation

767
01:05:56,079 --> 01:06:06,480
there are we required to spend the money
that we put on the property tax impact

768
01:06:02,640 --> 01:06:09,440
schedule within our next fiscal year.
>> That's a good question. One I haven't

769
01:06:08,160 --> 01:06:15,359
put a lot of thought into.
>> I may if I mayor I did make a couple of

770
01:06:11,920 --> 01:06:21,200
phone calls and no not again kind of as
we discussed earlier. No, there are no u

771
01:06:18,720 --> 01:06:26,720
penalties for not implementing exactly
what we have. As long as we're making a

772
01:06:23,359 --> 01:06:31,920
good faith effort to hire uh an officer,
then we're okay. The the challenge, of

773
01:06:29,599 --> 01:06:35,680
course, the drawback is if it's used as
an anecdotal

774
01:06:33,839 --> 01:06:39,599
um at the state legislature saying,
"Hey, look, we gave them this tool and

775
01:06:37,599 --> 01:06:42,880
and and Centerville says they're going
to hire a police officer and they

776
01:06:40,640 --> 01:06:48,000
didn't, so we need to get more strict or
change the legislation to really uh get

777
01:06:46,240 --> 01:06:51,440
into a little bit more. That that's a
possibility, but again, highly unlikely.

778
01:06:49,760 --> 01:06:58,559
I think the whole entire point of this
was to be more transparent, which this

779
01:06:55,359 --> 01:07:01,760
this property tax impact schedule is
frustrating in terms of that it's

780
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:06,960
somewhat misleading to the residents in
my mind of what we're increasing tax for

781
01:07:03,920 --> 01:07:12,480
because there's so many other reasons
why we're increasing it. This only shows

782
01:07:09,119 --> 01:07:17,359
369,000 when ultimately we experienced
easily identifiable about $670,000 for

783
01:07:15,359 --> 01:07:22,160
the property tax increases we could have
justified with this increase with all

784
01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:26,000
the inflation. Right? So, this is what
we're submitting, but it doesn't

785
01:07:23,440 --> 01:07:30,160
necessarily capture the 1.5 million
shortfall we're experiencing alto

786
01:07:27,760 --> 01:07:37,039
together and what we need to make up for
that um deduction. So, we're not going

787
01:07:33,359 --> 01:07:41,440
to be penalized this this year. However,
does it create the argument at the state

788
01:07:38,720 --> 01:07:44,720
legislature that they revise the rules
and and code to force us to take a

789
01:07:43,760 --> 01:07:47,680
different approach? That's a
possibility, but I think it's

790
01:07:45,760 --> 01:07:52,799
justifiable for us. We made the attempt
if we didn't try to recruit an officer,

791
01:07:50,160 --> 01:07:58,079
then that definitely looks shady. Right.
>> Right. And that's why I preface my

792
01:07:55,359 --> 01:08:03,039
question with we could have we could
have put a dozen different items here to

793
01:08:00,880 --> 01:08:07,520
make up the shortfall, you know, but
this is what we chose for the property

794
01:08:04,880 --> 01:08:13,520
tax impact statement first year for this
for uh I'm repeating myself again to the

795
01:08:10,799 --> 01:08:18,799
state and I just uh if you don't come
through on what you're saying uh that's

796
01:08:16,719 --> 01:08:23,440
that's what I wanted a question
>> and what we picked mayor I think is is

797
01:08:21,839 --> 01:08:26,560
justifiable in terms terms of we're
talking about a new position and as we

798
01:08:25,440 --> 01:08:30,080
discussed earlier there's a difference
between a funded position and an

799
01:08:27,920 --> 01:08:34,000
unfunded position. This is going to be a
funded position. Therefore, I believe

800
01:08:31,520 --> 01:08:38,032
it's fiscally responsible for us to fund
the position. We have building

801
01:08:35,920 --> 01:08:41,679
custodians that are unfunded positions
[clears throat] approved by council.

802
01:08:39,997 --> 01:08:47,120
[cough] But we're talking about a new
ongoing expense uh that is going to

803
01:08:45,120 --> 01:08:50,560
carry forward and putting in here
potentially a software program that we

804
01:08:48,960 --> 01:08:54,719
use one year and then taking and we
don't continue forward. I think that's

805
01:08:52,319 --> 01:08:59,440
more misleading to the the public. These
are ongoing uh justifiable and as I've

806
01:08:57,920 --> 01:09:03,120
shared with council in the past, anytime
we have a new expense, we need that new

807
01:09:01,120 --> 01:09:06,880
revenue to support that new expense,
particularly a new police officer is the

808
01:09:04,799 --> 01:09:12,319
argument. South Davis Fire Assessments,
we've been seeing well every year since

809
01:09:09,120 --> 01:09:18,000
we we joined with South Davis Fire and
and before we've been able to absorb

810
01:09:15,600 --> 01:09:23,679
these increases with property or sales
tax increases or other revenues. Um but

811
01:09:20,799 --> 01:09:27,920
sales tax is not increasing. Postcoid
spending habits have sta have changed

812
01:09:25,839 --> 01:09:32,799
substantially and and that has caused
our sales tax to to be somewhat stagnant

813
01:09:30,239 --> 01:09:37,520
with only an increase of 2% this year is
what we're forecasting. Um so again,

814
01:09:35,759 --> 01:09:41,759
we're kind of in this new normal of
figuring out what the spending habits

815
01:09:39,600 --> 01:09:46,960
will be and what our revenues will be,
but our expenses keep skyrocketing with

816
01:09:45,040 --> 01:09:50,799
whether it's pipe or asphalt or
equipment or whatever the case might be.

817
01:09:48,960 --> 01:09:55,280
So, we we've been able to do a good job
of absorbing those increases. It's now

818
01:09:53,520 --> 01:09:59,760
starting to come to a head. As I've
jokingly said in the past, we found all

819
01:09:56,960 --> 01:10:03,280
the change in the couch cushions um and
found where we can make sure that we're

820
01:10:01,199 --> 01:10:06,560
a little bit more tight in some areas
and reduced our expenses in others.

821
01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:10,159
Department heads, I really appreciate
what they have done going this through

822
01:10:07,920 --> 01:10:15,600
this exercise with me to make sure that
we keep our increases um as minimal as

823
01:10:13,199 --> 01:10:20,239
possible this year. But we have found
all the change in our couch cushions and

824
01:10:17,760 --> 01:10:24,400
and but a new police officer, that's a
whole different ballgame. That's that

825
01:10:21,760 --> 01:10:28,239
has to have its own revenue source to be
sustainable. Anyway, sorry, I could keep

826
01:10:26,800 --> 01:10:30,480
going, but I'll stop there.
>> While we're there, mayor, may I

827
01:10:30,038 --> 01:10:36,589
[clears throat]
>> make a couple of comments with respect

828
01:10:32,080 --> 01:10:42,080
to that. First of all, I I applaud our
[clears throat]

829
01:10:37,760 --> 01:10:48,159
our state legislature for for trying to
provide a revenue in the truth and

830
01:10:44,400 --> 01:10:54,960
taxation law where expenditures and
designations for what that increase is

831
01:10:50,719 --> 01:11:02,400
being guided toward uh are to go for so
that our public knows. I I do and I I

832
01:10:59,120 --> 01:11:09,360
understand the complicity of how many
items are increasing in our city and

833
01:11:04,960 --> 01:11:12,719
we're identifying three here. Okay. I I
will say and I I want to say this

834
01:11:11,199 --> 01:11:21,199
because we have a state representative
here in our audience, but uh when I'm

835
01:11:17,360 --> 01:11:27,199
I'm a little worried and and frankly
concerned that when we choose which ones

836
01:11:24,320 --> 01:11:33,440
we identify there, of course, it's
palatable to the public that medical

837
01:11:30,960 --> 01:11:38,480
insurance is increasing. We got to raise
taxes to cover it. uh medical insurance

838
01:11:36,080 --> 01:11:43,280
has probably increased every year for
the last 20. We've been able to absorb

839
01:11:40,560 --> 01:11:49,040
the increase in the insurance with our
tax rates until now. It is increasing.

840
01:11:46,080 --> 01:11:53,760
We got to cover that somehow. But but
why did we pick that one to put on the

841
01:11:51,840 --> 01:11:58,080
list? That worries me a little. That
that's a real palatable one. Of course,

842
01:11:55,840 --> 01:12:03,920
the South Davis Fire Assessment, the
fire department has been necessitating

843
01:12:00,880 --> 01:12:09,679
and requested assessments to us for
years. We've absorbed those assessments

844
01:12:06,480 --> 01:12:15,600
in other years. And so to include just
those I love that we're getting more

845
01:12:12,800 --> 01:12:21,520
more transparent. I think we can get
even better by doing things that are

846
01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:25,600
that that enhance the transparency
because there are some areas this

847
01:12:23,679 --> 01:12:31,679
council knows very well as we've been
through audit or budget debating that

848
01:12:29,679 --> 01:12:37,520
that Councilman Banganger is not going
to be supporting this increase. Uh and

849
01:12:34,800 --> 01:12:42,880
there are reasons that I believe we
could tighten our belt in areas I've

850
01:12:39,679 --> 01:12:49,679
suggested 132,000 of them. very little
of that was was acceptable to to the

851
01:12:47,760 --> 01:12:54,960
other members of the council, which
disappoints me. But I appreciate like

852
01:12:51,520 --> 01:13:01,040
what Robins just or council member Mikum
has just pointed out, there are some

853
01:12:57,840 --> 01:13:07,679
legitimate needs. I would be supporting
a tax increase for a police officer. Uh

854
01:13:05,199 --> 01:13:13,920
I [clears throat] I have
I have vetted I've looked into that

855
01:13:09,840 --> 01:13:21,600
thoroughly. I I understand the number of
reasons the chief has pointed out and I

856
01:13:17,199 --> 01:13:27,280
give public safety a huge priority in
governmental provision of services to a

857
01:13:24,320 --> 01:13:33,440
city or or county or whatever. And the
sentiment in our country of defund the

858
01:13:29,679 --> 01:13:39,520
police just aggravates most all of us
with rational thinking. And and so there

859
01:13:37,440 --> 01:13:44,960
is a sentiment that that's turned to
where maybe we need to support our first

860
01:13:42,560 --> 01:13:49,520
responders, especially our public safety
and police officers. And given the

861
01:13:47,679 --> 01:13:53,920
situation Centerville's in with having
to cover shifts that are uncovered, the

862
01:13:51,520 --> 01:14:00,000
the increase in the need for public
safety with our big box stores and more

863
01:13:56,560 --> 01:14:06,400
vandalis more uh what is it? Uh
uh it's not vandalism, it's uh theft.

864
01:14:03,920 --> 01:14:11,360
shoplifting. There's the word. And and
those things. Uh I I want our city safe

865
01:14:09,440 --> 01:14:18,320
and I want our officers safe and have
enough. So I can see that I I would have

866
01:14:15,199 --> 01:14:24,000
supported a smaller increase that would
have included the ability for us to get

867
01:14:20,880 --> 01:14:28,080
a police officer. Uh some of those other
areas. And by the way, Nate, you you

868
01:14:26,159 --> 01:14:33,199
pointed out well some of the services
that are provided by our city, there are

869
01:14:30,640 --> 01:14:37,920
some that are are decreasing. Uh
Centerville City used to be able to

870
01:14:34,560 --> 01:14:43,199
provide a cemetery plot for residents
who passed away. We can't provide that

871
01:14:40,400 --> 01:14:48,480
anymore and we've had a citizen vote on
that who supported a bond to even do it.

872
01:14:45,679 --> 01:14:54,800
And the challenge there not been lack of
desire. Property acquisition is a big

873
01:14:50,640 --> 01:14:58,480
deal. But that's a that's a
an attribute or a service that our city

874
01:14:56,880 --> 01:15:03,679
doesn't provide anymore. There are other
areas of our city where I think we could

875
01:15:01,199 --> 01:15:11,440
we could do some some belt tightening
and I we've done a little uh I think we

876
01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:15,199
could do more. So So I want the the
public to understand I wish more people

877
01:15:13,360 --> 01:15:19,520
were here. It would be so helpful to
understand their perspective and for

878
01:15:17,360 --> 01:15:27,360
theirs to understand our difficulty in
trying to meet these needs and our

879
01:15:23,760 --> 01:15:32,560
frustration when it is seemingly seen as
wants but sometimes appropriately

880
01:15:29,679 --> 01:15:39,280
identified as wants rather than needs.
And I wish we could uh I wish it was an

881
01:15:35,840 --> 01:15:45,440
easy choice to make. It's never an easy
choice to make. Uh but for those reasons

882
01:15:43,360 --> 01:15:50,960
and then some of the things I do believe
we need to do haven't been incorporated

883
01:15:47,920 --> 01:15:57,280
into our budget. I I I want to mention
one other thing. Uh I applaud staff for

884
01:15:55,679 --> 01:16:02,480
identifying it hasn't been brought up
once here tonight about the impact of

885
01:15:59,520 --> 01:16:12,320
this increase on our business community.
uh staff went to some extra effort and

886
01:16:06,080 --> 01:16:16,880
Paul or or uh legislator Cutler uh if
you'd be aware when when the truth in

887
01:16:15,040 --> 01:16:22,239
taxation notice went out and it
identified how much an average home in

888
01:16:19,520 --> 01:16:29,440
Centerville would increase it used the
same number for a business. It used the

889
01:16:25,920 --> 01:16:35,280
a number of average home $660,000 or
something. Okay, a business at 660 would

890
01:16:32,480 --> 01:16:40,320
pay it was about $100 more. Well, the
fact of the matter is, thank you staff

891
01:16:37,440 --> 01:16:46,320
for identifying as my request that that
the average business in Centerville

892
01:16:42,800 --> 01:16:54,520
values property-wise 1.7 million. So,
the impact on on the average business in

893
01:16:48,880 --> 01:16:54,520
Centerville is 316 $369.

894
01:16:54,880 --> 01:17:01,280
uh that's a big difference and to any
businessman and then it's compounded

895
01:16:59,920 --> 01:17:05,040
that doesn't that's not an expense you
pay this year and you're done with it as

896
01:17:03,199 --> 01:17:09,600
we raise taxes that's an expense they
will pay from here going forward forever

897
01:17:07,440 --> 01:17:14,719
because taxes we know never go down and
then it compounds as they're raised

898
01:17:11,360 --> 01:17:21,199
going forward so our but our businesses
aren't here I get it you know they're uh

899
01:17:19,679 --> 01:17:27,360
they most of them were only thinking
they're paying $100 more because the the

900
01:17:24,719 --> 01:17:32,560
notification was a little bit
misleading, but uh but that's

901
01:17:30,553 --> 01:17:37,520
[clears throat] that's where we're at
for that reason. And then and then our

902
01:17:34,560 --> 01:17:42,560
city uh
I also want to point out for those who

903
01:17:39,360 --> 01:17:46,080
are forthright and taking enough time to
be here tonight, you know, this isn't

904
01:17:43,679 --> 01:17:52,640
the only increases. Our water bill in
this budget's going up 7%.

905
01:17:49,199 --> 01:17:58,239
And last year, storm drain fees went up
50%.

906
01:17:54,640 --> 01:18:03,040
And uh there are there are challenges,
needs that need to be met. Sometimes we

907
01:18:01,360 --> 01:18:10,800
need to tighten our belt a little
tighter. I know I'm the old guy on the

908
01:18:06,320 --> 01:18:15,520
council. I'm conservative and I and I I
live with some some thoughts from the

909
01:18:13,040 --> 01:18:20,880
past and I know expenses are greater in
this day and age.

910
01:18:17,199 --> 01:18:28,320
I I'm one who believes that incremental
races are more palatable and more

911
01:18:24,719 --> 01:18:33,199
appropriate than big large
15

912
01:18:30,400 --> 01:18:39,040
point whatever percent is a large
increase. Cola being at 2.9 I I think

913
01:18:37,360 --> 01:18:47,440
there's justification for some
incremental maybe yearly but I I I will

914
01:18:43,040 --> 01:18:51,440
not be supporting our our proposed
budget or or

915
01:18:48,880 --> 01:18:55,520
» Thanks, Councilman Banger. For point of
discussion, and I don't I don't want to

916
01:18:53,280 --> 01:19:00,800
be competitional, but but I do want to
ask you one thing. Uh you did identify

917
01:18:59,280 --> 01:19:05,440
$132,000
in areas where we could cut within our

918
01:19:02,800 --> 01:19:11,600
budget. And some of that we did cut, but
let's pretend that we didn't cut any of

919
01:19:07,520 --> 01:19:16,000
that. Okay. Then 132,000 is about
exactly what medical insurance increases

920
01:19:14,159 --> 01:19:21,920
and South Davis fire assessment
increases are just a little bit more. So

921
01:19:19,040 --> 01:19:26,800
uh you just stress for us how important
and police officer position is you

922
01:19:24,400 --> 01:19:34,800
support it. So does that on that based
on that theory would you support a 10

923
01:19:30,880 --> 01:19:38,560
to cover the the the police salary?
>> Would that cover the police officer

924
01:19:36,880 --> 01:19:43,600
allocation? Brand
>> uh 10 to 12. Yeah, about 10 roughly

925
01:19:42,210 --> 01:19:48,640
[clears throat]
>> because let's say that you got all that

926
01:19:45,679 --> 01:19:52,640
132,000. We did take some of it. But
let's say you got all that and we've

927
01:19:50,640 --> 01:19:57,679
we've that that would still leave the
police that you ought to support. So

928
01:19:54,480 --> 01:20:02,480
that leaves like he says 10 to 12%. Then
we'd still have to inc uh in do a tax

929
01:20:01,679 --> 01:20:05,840
increase for
>> to fully fund that with with this

930
01:20:04,800 --> 01:20:09,760
budget,
>> right? with with an increase to fully

931
01:20:08,480 --> 01:20:12,880
fund it with an increase
>> because I just throw that out to you

932
01:20:11,199 --> 01:20:20,000
because that sure is an option out
there. Uh just if if that's important to

933
01:20:17,440 --> 01:20:25,840
you to state that hey I could support a
police increase and a 10 to 12% but not

934
01:20:22,159 --> 01:20:29,360
a 15%. You know so
>> with that mayor I I appreciate that but

935
01:20:27,920 --> 01:20:32,640
also I'd need some direction from
council where you're cutting that

936
01:20:31,280 --> 01:20:34,800
additional amount from in the budget
today.

937
01:20:33,040 --> 01:20:42,000
» Right. Yeah. Right. I'm I'm just I'm
just stating that that this that uh just

938
01:20:39,440 --> 01:20:46,480
in in theory if you did that we didn't
eliminate those 132,000. We eliminated

939
01:20:44,960 --> 01:20:49,840
some of it. I'd have to go back through
the notes of that.

940
01:20:47,280 --> 01:20:53,199
» And to clarify that that
part of that was the garage door openers

941
01:20:51,600 --> 01:20:58,239
that have come up tonight. When they
were first presented, it was nine garage

942
01:20:55,360 --> 01:21:03,520
door openers for $20,000.
Okay. Now, we did come down, but I I

943
01:21:00,800 --> 01:21:05,679
just You said four to two. That's not
quite accurate.

944
01:21:05,199 --> 01:21:09,679
» I
>> I do I do want to share, but you're

945
01:21:07,760 --> 01:21:14,480
talking about one-time expenses, right?
So, that's why we have fund 47s for

946
01:21:11,840 --> 01:21:18,560
those onetime expenses. So, 20 grand is
going to go away next year. So, again,

947
01:21:16,640 --> 01:21:22,560
we're trying to focus on the items that
are an ongoing expense that we see

948
01:21:20,400 --> 01:21:26,719
year-over-year, not one-time expenses.
Buying a new vehicle is a onetime

949
01:21:23,920 --> 01:21:30,320
expense, right? So, new police officer
is a year-over-year commitment. And so

950
01:21:28,800 --> 01:21:33,600
focusing on the property tax should be
focused on that year-over-year

951
01:21:31,679 --> 01:21:36,400
commitment. You if this exercise has
taught us anything, which I actually

952
01:21:34,800 --> 01:21:40,320
Nate and I have talked about this, we we
actually appreciated this exercise of

953
01:21:38,159 --> 01:21:43,360
the property tax impact statement
because it gave us an opportunity to

954
01:21:41,679 --> 01:21:48,320
really sit down and look at those
increases and then really sit down and

955
01:21:45,040 --> 01:21:51,360
say, can we do without? And the answer
is, well, no, that's what we presented.

956
01:21:49,840 --> 01:21:54,719
We already have done without. We've
already cut where we possibly can cut.

957
01:21:53,440 --> 01:21:58,239
But so when you're talking about
reducing it, we have a $ 1.5 million

958
01:21:56,719 --> 01:22:03,199
shortfall and it does include the fund
47 one-time projects in that budget. The

959
01:22:01,120 --> 01:22:06,960
issue [clears throat] that we're faced
with, Nate, you'll have to tell me what

960
01:22:04,480 --> 01:22:10,880
the number is. We we need our general
fund to help fund those one-time

961
01:22:09,120 --> 01:22:16,880
expenses
as year-over-year because we we do buy

962
01:22:14,800 --> 01:22:20,560
two police vehicles a year. And so even
though it's a one-time expense, it's

963
01:22:18,560 --> 01:22:25,280
kind of an ongoing expense. And so we
need the general fund budget to cover

964
01:22:22,800 --> 01:22:28,080
those those schedules, those rotations
that we've built in to make sure we

965
01:22:26,880 --> 01:22:33,360
replace those vehicles so they don't get
too worn out. Um things like that. So

966
01:22:31,520 --> 01:22:38,400
really we're trying to do our best to to
take the general fund that we have left

967
01:22:36,400 --> 01:22:42,880
that we transfer to fund 47 for the
capital projects, but that is overtime

968
01:22:40,800 --> 01:22:47,600
dwindled and now we have to use a lot
more of the fund 47 to balance this

969
01:22:45,040 --> 01:22:51,120
budget, which is not sustainable. So
again, when you're looking for things to

970
01:22:49,040 --> 01:22:55,920
cut, we're talking about ongoing less
parks maintenance, less road repair.

971
01:22:54,159 --> 01:23:00,239
We're talking about less public safety,
which is a huge, not trying to pick on

972
01:22:57,840 --> 01:23:05,280
you, chief, but that's $5 million.
That's that's half of our budget. And so

973
01:23:03,360 --> 01:23:07,920
labor is definitely the most expensive
part of our budget. So when you're

974
01:23:06,639 --> 01:23:12,239
talking about trying to cut where we
need to cut, that's what we're talking

975
01:23:10,080 --> 01:23:18,480
about. Not whether we buy a garage door
opener or 10 or 100. Agree. It's about

976
01:23:15,280 --> 01:23:22,800
those ongoing expenses to run the city
that we're required to do. So,

977
01:23:20,239 --> 01:23:27,679
» and others opportunities for that which
we never addressed

978
01:23:24,880 --> 01:23:34,239
are the possibility of a smaller
increase for our our employees. And

979
01:23:32,639 --> 01:23:37,760
» but we're doing a compensation study
this year, right, to see where we are.

980
01:23:36,320 --> 01:23:41,679
And I think it's really critical before
we make any knee-jerk reactions, we we

981
01:23:40,080 --> 01:23:45,120
do need to compare what other cities are
doing because that's who we're losing

982
01:23:42,800 --> 01:23:49,199
our employees to. And you have to be
very careful because employees are our

983
01:23:46,880 --> 01:23:52,880
number one asset. You start losing
employees, it becomes really difficult

984
01:23:50,960 --> 01:23:56,000
to maintain a culture. I don't want to
throw a city on the bus, but there's a

985
01:23:54,320 --> 01:23:59,679
city in Weber County that experienced a
pretty high tax rate that have had

986
01:23:57,440 --> 01:24:03,280
challenges with employee turnover. And
once that starts turning, it's really

987
01:24:01,760 --> 01:24:06,960
difficult to overturn. We have a great
community. We have great staff. And so

988
01:24:05,520 --> 01:24:10,400
it is critical that we protect our
staff. We don't need to be the best

989
01:24:08,400 --> 01:24:12,639
paying in the state, but we also don't
want to be the lowest paying that we're

990
01:24:11,440 --> 01:24:16,960
losing our employees to other
communities. We want to be fair, fair

991
01:24:15,360 --> 01:24:19,840
enough that they stay here because we do
have great employees. But that's what

992
01:24:18,639 --> 01:24:23,280
we're trying to protect here. We're not
trying to be the highest paid. We're not

993
01:24:21,360 --> 01:24:26,960
competing against those cities. We just
want to make sure we reward those that

994
01:24:24,880 --> 01:24:31,520
have devoted their time to Centerville.
>> And council, I I apologize. We have been

995
01:24:29,360 --> 01:24:36,239
through all these discussions previously
through our budget hearing. this my

996
01:24:34,480 --> 01:24:40,719
fellow council members know where I
stand. We differ in opinion on some of

997
01:24:38,320 --> 01:24:46,159
these things. I think with the police
officer, maybe we we we go with that.

998
01:24:43,360 --> 01:24:50,400
Okay, maybe we buy one. We use one of
the older cars for the new police

999
01:24:47,520 --> 01:24:55,760
officer this for this year and then next
year your budgets are in a different

1000
01:24:52,000 --> 01:25:00,159
situation. I just there are ways I don't
want to go down rabbit holes of every

1001
01:24:57,600 --> 01:25:08,159
expenditure. We don't have time or or
the ability to do that tonight, but I

1002
01:25:03,360 --> 01:25:13,040
generally that's that's where I'm at. I
wanted to make that identified and

1003
01:25:11,040 --> 01:25:15,520
» we did do that over six sessions which
are all open to the public as well too.

1004
01:25:15,040 --> 01:25:21,360
Mhm.
>> And I respect all of of everything you

1005
01:25:17,920 --> 01:25:28,800
said and if you've seen I'm more on the
conservative side, but I also have seen

1006
01:25:24,560 --> 01:25:34,480
over 10 years if we lose an employee it
by the time we get them up and get them

1007
01:25:30,639 --> 01:25:39,440
trained, we've lost more money. So, I'd
rather pay our employees a little bit

1008
01:25:36,480 --> 01:25:44,000
more and keep them than being paid for
what I feel like is nothing because this

1009
01:25:41,440 --> 01:25:48,400
employee is all trained, does a great
job, and I've got to bring this one. I

1010
01:25:46,000 --> 01:25:52,719
mean, but probably nine out of 10 police
officers we hire have absolutely no

1011
01:25:50,800 --> 01:25:56,239
police experience at all. And we're
paying to send them to the uh

1012
01:25:55,679 --> 01:26:02,080
» academy
>> academy. And the thing about that is it

1013
01:25:58,880 --> 01:26:08,320
used to be when my son first wanted to
be a police officer, he was up between

1014
01:26:05,520 --> 01:26:13,199
150 people for every job. And so he
didn't go there because and now it's

1015
01:26:10,960 --> 01:26:17,760
really hard to hire a police officer.
And like I said, probably at least eight

1016
01:26:15,440 --> 01:26:24,960
out of 10 of them don't even have any
police experience. So, am I gonna lose a

1017
01:26:21,679 --> 01:26:33,840
eight-year, a 10y year, a 15year police
officer over a percentage of increase

1018
01:26:29,840 --> 01:26:38,080
compared to having to hire somebody, pay
them their wages, send them to the

1019
01:26:35,760 --> 01:26:43,600
academy. That kills me. I feel like I'm
paying for nothing. So, I'd rather pay

1020
01:26:40,639 --> 01:26:47,280
for the good commodity I have than the
unknown commodity that I might be

1021
01:26:45,520 --> 01:26:52,159
getting because it cost me a lot to get
them up there. I think because of the

1022
01:26:49,440 --> 01:26:59,440
experience that we have with staff, we
we run a pretty lean staff and we're

1023
01:26:55,840 --> 01:27:02,800
able to do that because we do have some
significant experience that I mean some

1024
01:27:01,840 --> 01:27:08,480
of those people are going to start
retiring and I'm I'm worried for us. But

1025
01:27:06,639 --> 01:27:12,800
um you did mention the cola increases
that maybe it should have been less. I I

1026
01:27:11,120 --> 01:27:16,800
felt like it's not that I didn't hear
you or agree with you. I just happen to

1027
01:27:15,040 --> 01:27:21,679
agree with the city manager that we want
to be very careful about that until we

1028
01:27:18,320 --> 01:27:27,600
do that rate study because we will be in
a situation that we cannot return from

1029
01:27:24,400 --> 01:27:32,480
very easily. I also want to comment on
um I I do appreciate that when um I

1030
01:27:30,800 --> 01:27:35,600
challenged you to find where we would
cut in the budget that you did find

1031
01:27:34,080 --> 01:27:40,960
$132,000.
I didn't totally agree with every item.

1032
01:27:37,600 --> 01:27:46,880
You're right. We don't always agree, but
that didn't accommodate for the 369,000

1033
01:27:44,719 --> 01:27:52,239
and it didn't accommodate for this the
total of the 700,000 which um Brandt is

1034
01:27:50,239 --> 01:27:57,679
right. We had more than that. We just
opted to use the rainy day fund. Um also

1035
01:27:56,080 --> 01:28:02,960
I want to make one comment on the
cemetery. Yes, the the voters did vote

1036
01:28:00,400 --> 01:28:07,520
for a cemetery. That bond would increase
our property taxes. We are not paying

1037
01:28:05,040 --> 01:28:14,159
for that right now. So that is, you
know, that is a concern for me that we

1038
01:28:10,880 --> 01:28:18,560
that we also watch that. Um
people voted for it. We're looking for

1039
01:28:16,719 --> 01:28:22,080
options, but we have to be very careful
with that because that would be a

1040
01:28:20,159 --> 01:28:29,040
significant
ad onto the property tax potentially. Um

1041
01:28:25,920 --> 01:28:34,719
I do want to mention I'm a member of the
rec district. The bond for that building

1042
01:28:31,040 --> 01:28:40,480
did drop off this year. So, not I mean,
we did have one thing go off of the

1043
01:28:36,960 --> 01:28:45,520
property property tax bill. Um, when we
talk about fees, um, I totally agree

1044
01:28:43,199 --> 01:28:52,480
with you, council member Bangader, that
we should do those slowly and smaller

1045
01:28:49,120 --> 01:28:55,840
increases are easier to absorb. In the
case of the storm drain fees, those went

1046
01:28:54,080 --> 01:29:01,120
on for many, many years without an
increase. And that's what happens when

1047
01:28:57,600 --> 01:29:06,400
we don't get those increases. Um, as far
as water, because I worked for um the

1048
01:29:04,400 --> 01:29:11,280
state division of water resources, I
have watched very carefully what we're

1049
01:29:08,000 --> 01:29:15,679
charging for our water fees. They have a
formula that they use when they do loans

1050
01:29:13,840 --> 01:29:20,639
for cities and they go into the
affordability and we are meeting and are

1051
01:29:18,159 --> 01:29:26,159
under the affordability
for residents in Centerville. Now,

1052
01:29:23,040 --> 01:29:31,199
that's a a modified adjusted gross
income. It's not going to be the lowest

1053
01:29:28,239 --> 01:29:34,719
income in the city, but it is that's
probably

1054
01:29:32,880 --> 01:29:40,639
the best that we can do. But at the end
of the day, I will I can't apologize for

1055
01:29:38,480 --> 01:29:45,440
making sure that we provide safe,
reliable water. That is none of us are

1056
01:29:43,920 --> 01:29:50,800
going to survive for more than three
days without it. So, that is really

1057
01:29:48,719 --> 01:29:56,320
something that we have to consider. I do
want to also add that our staff um I was

1058
01:29:53,920 --> 01:30:02,480
in a committee meeting a couple of weeks
ago with one of our committees and um

1059
01:30:00,719 --> 01:30:06,080
Brandt is really good at cutting stuff
out of the budget before we see it.

1060
01:30:04,719 --> 01:30:09,440
Something that we thought was in the
budget got cut this year. So [laughter]

1061
01:30:08,719 --> 01:30:14,159
» Oh, sorry.
>> I do want to say that I do I do

1062
01:30:11,679 --> 01:30:20,000
appreciate that it's not an overly
inflated budget when it gets to us. And

1063
01:30:16,320 --> 01:30:25,600
yes, we do cut into it. We we have gone
through and tried to cut what we can. Um

1064
01:30:23,520 --> 01:30:28,960
so I just I
>> on average just Thanks for that, Council

1065
01:30:27,280 --> 01:30:34,320
Member Hurst. On average, it's about
$1.2 million that Nate and I go through

1066
01:30:31,840 --> 01:30:38,080
the budget and cut out. This year was
actually pretty awesome. They did a good

1067
01:30:35,679 --> 01:30:42,080
job submitting as tight of a budget as
they possibly could. And so I appreciate

1068
01:30:40,480 --> 01:30:47,600
that. And you're right about the
cemetery. the cemetery when rates the

1069
01:30:44,400 --> 01:30:52,960
interest rates were good was about $70 a
year for that cemetery bond. Now the it

1070
01:30:51,280 --> 01:30:56,719
will be a revenue generator, but you
have to be very careful about the

1071
01:30:54,719 --> 01:31:00,480
revenue generation being because you
well you'd have to figure out that

1072
01:30:58,000 --> 01:31:04,400
policy about how much you charge for any
uh plots. If you want to make it as sex

1073
01:31:02,639 --> 01:31:07,840
accessible to the public as possible,
your rates have to be low, but then

1074
01:31:05,920 --> 01:31:12,080
you're not covering the costs. And
>> but don't we have to guarantee it with a

1075
01:31:09,920 --> 01:31:15,120
property tax? the bond has to be on a
property tax.

1076
01:31:12,960 --> 01:31:18,320
» No, it's a it's a general obligation
bond. But nonetheless, it's just again

1077
01:31:16,880 --> 01:31:23,120
something to be mindful of as I've
discussed with you all is that I

1078
01:31:21,199 --> 01:31:26,400
everybody wants something and you have
all these demands all over the place,

1079
01:31:24,719 --> 01:31:30,800
but nobody wants everything. So, you're
trying to find the balance of

1080
01:31:29,199 --> 01:31:35,600
accommodating so many different
interests in this community and because

1081
01:31:33,679 --> 01:31:37,920
you do have people who want more outdoor
space, but then you have people who

1082
01:31:36,719 --> 01:31:40,880
says, "Please, we just got a quiet
neighborhood we don't want to do

1083
01:31:38,880 --> 01:31:45,360
anymore." So you got all these competing
interests and and the issue is there's

1084
01:31:43,040 --> 01:31:48,719
only only so much um income out there
with our residents and you got to

1085
01:31:47,199 --> 01:31:52,320
balance that. So if we do a cemetery
then that potentially cuts away from

1086
01:31:50,480 --> 01:31:57,600
potentially more open spaces for our
kids or a police officer or public

1087
01:31:54,560 --> 01:32:00,480
safety because you can't do a $70
increase for cemetery and then on top of

1088
01:31:59,040 --> 01:32:04,880
that have another property tax increase
for roads and then another property tax

1089
01:32:02,320 --> 01:32:08,000
increase for parks and there's only so
much money. And so that's as we go

1090
01:32:06,320 --> 01:32:13,280
forward, that's what you're all trying
to decide is is how we prioritize all

1091
01:32:10,639 --> 01:32:17,840
these different wants in our community.
And and Centerville has done a really

1092
01:32:14,960 --> 01:32:21,280
good job being as fiscally conservative
as possible. I think we've done a really

1093
01:32:19,440 --> 01:32:25,120
good job and and staff does a really
good job being mindful of that fiscal

1094
01:32:23,199 --> 01:32:29,199
conservativeness. We have an excellent
staff who always trying to find ways to

1095
01:32:27,040 --> 01:32:33,280
get grants. Mike's getting millions of
dollars of grants on road projects,

1096
01:32:31,360 --> 01:32:37,520
water projects, drainage projects that
our residents don't see that and we

1097
01:32:35,440 --> 01:32:42,159
don't have increases. We've been able to
absorb these increases in the fire

1098
01:32:39,440 --> 01:32:45,440
assessment and all these areas because
Nate and I have gone through the budget

1099
01:32:43,840 --> 01:32:48,239
and said, "Look, there's there's 20
grand." The the padding that was I

1100
01:32:47,199 --> 01:32:52,960
wouldn't necessarily say there's a whole
bunch of padding, but if there's any any

1101
01:32:50,719 --> 01:32:57,360
areas where we feel like historically
that we are not spending that much,

1102
01:32:55,040 --> 01:33:01,040
we'll take that 20 grand away or that
$500 away. Nate's Nate loves it when I

1103
01:32:59,679 --> 01:33:05,280
do that. When I find $100, being like,
"Hey, we're cutting this hundred bucks."

1104
01:33:03,040 --> 01:33:08,239
So that's what we have done in the seven
years I've been here is finding those

1105
01:33:06,719 --> 01:33:12,320
little pockets, but it doesn't change
the fact that inflation has increased

1106
01:33:10,000 --> 01:33:15,920
drastically, especially after co and
that's that's the crux where we're at

1107
01:33:13,840 --> 01:33:19,280
right now is that we have found the
areas our budget is so dang good and

1108
01:33:17,760 --> 01:33:24,239
tight that we know where things are
going. Um there's not a lot of padding,

1109
01:33:21,520 --> 01:33:29,360
but that means we can't absorb these
increases anymore. The increases have to

1110
01:33:27,120 --> 01:33:36,320
be revenue revenue has to match the
increases. So, council, uh, we've, I

1111
01:33:33,199 --> 01:33:40,800
believe, have tried to answer, uh, the
questions that were brought up in the

1112
01:33:37,920 --> 01:33:42,639
public hearing. Uh, you've all had a
chance to

1113
01:33:41,679 --> 01:33:46,514
» I would like just
>> the comment other other than Councilman

1114
01:33:44,719 --> 01:33:48,800
Palmer, and I'll let you comment,
[laughter]

1115
01:33:46,719 --> 01:33:53,280
» but I'm trying to get us back to what we
got to get back to. We have two

1116
01:33:50,800 --> 01:33:58,719
resolutions in front of us uh that we
have to decide on tonight. Started this

1117
01:33:55,520 --> 01:34:02,239
meeting, I said we have, this is what we
discussed in this meeting. We we don't

1118
01:34:00,480 --> 01:34:06,159
discuss other all all this relates. I'm
not saying we're not staying on topic,

1119
01:34:03,760 --> 01:34:10,080
but but let's get back to these two
resolutions. Councilman Plamer, yes. Not

1120
01:34:09,199 --> 01:34:11,920
heard from you. And
>> thank you. Thank you. I don't have a

1121
01:34:11,440 --> 01:34:15,280
lot.
>> Want to give you your floor time.

1122
01:34:13,600 --> 01:34:20,960
» I don't have a lot because really what's
been said is how I feel. I I I would

1123
01:34:18,000 --> 01:34:28,639
like to sustain what uh Councilman
Member Mikum has said, what council

1124
01:34:23,679 --> 01:34:34,320
member Bangader has said. Uh, I I I I
agree with so much of what you say. Uh,

1125
01:34:31,840 --> 01:34:39,760
I appreciate Council Member Hurst's
questions and I I I would just like to

1126
01:34:37,840 --> 01:34:48,239
say that I I I [cough]
understand and I feel for our um

1127
01:34:42,800 --> 01:34:56,719
residents. I too uh feel that sometimes
our taxes are uh feeling uh like they're

1128
01:34:54,159 --> 01:35:04,239
they're getting out of control as we
start seeing 33% increases over 5 years.

1129
01:35:00,960 --> 01:35:09,320
uh sir I I absolutely feel that that is
something that we need to uh

1130
01:35:09,679 --> 01:35:18,320
take a look at and perhaps that's
something that uh you know at the state

1131
01:35:13,600 --> 01:35:24,320
level uh you know when
uh people reach a certain age or uh

1132
01:35:22,000 --> 01:35:28,239
people's uh income such as social
security that's taxed things of that

1133
01:35:26,400 --> 01:35:34,719
nature can be looked at at the state
level to um allevate ate some of those

1134
01:35:31,600 --> 01:35:40,719
uh taxes at certain times in our lives.
And so I think that um from that

1135
01:35:37,199 --> 01:35:46,719
perspective, we can say that
we can only hope for some uh change uh

1136
01:35:43,840 --> 01:35:53,840
at the state level. But at this point in
time, I would like to say that

1137
01:35:50,400 --> 01:35:58,880
uh over the last few years and getting
to know the people that work in the

1138
01:35:55,360 --> 01:36:06,239
city, they are very honest
and they do due diligence to uh make

1139
01:36:03,760 --> 01:36:14,480
sure that we are not frivolously
spending money uh that we are uh doing

1140
01:36:11,520 --> 01:36:22,080
the right thing with our the taxpayers's
money uh focusing in on public safety

1141
01:36:18,880 --> 01:36:27,199
and the roads and the uh infrastructure
underneath the roads that are is so

1142
01:36:24,239 --> 01:36:32,800
important to our uh way of life and our
our standard of living. And I believe

1143
01:36:29,679 --> 01:36:38,880
that that is uh something that I feel uh
we're all blessed with here in this in

1144
01:36:34,880 --> 01:36:43,040
this city is uh something that um many
people from outside of Centerville look

1145
01:36:40,880 --> 01:36:47,760
in and say,
"Wow, that is that's such a great place

1146
01:36:45,679 --> 01:36:56,239
to live." And I and I am tr truly
grateful to the people that work here

1147
01:36:50,000 --> 01:37:06,239
for doing uh those things that will
make these this situation less difficult

1148
01:37:00,800 --> 01:37:12,159
because yes, I don't want to raise taxes
and I believe that tightening our belt

1149
01:37:09,199 --> 01:37:19,600
is actually something that I do in my
home. I will tighten my belt. I think

1150
01:37:15,199 --> 01:37:26,400
that um at this point we uh could
tighten our belt, but what would that do

1151
01:37:22,560 --> 01:37:32,080
next year in the year after? Incremental
um

1152
01:37:28,960 --> 01:37:40,920
increases into for this I think are
better than holding off and waiting for

1153
01:37:35,199 --> 01:37:40,920
the 15% increase. Uh

1154
01:37:41,600 --> 01:37:53,040
so ultimately
we're faced with the difficult decision

1155
01:37:47,920 --> 01:37:59,920
to pass a a a steep tax increase. I too
would be inclined to really just focus

1156
01:37:56,719 --> 01:38:06,400
on the the police officer and say, you
know, hey, let's let's slow down this uh

1157
01:38:03,840 --> 01:38:12,880
a little bit. But as our city manager
has stated, that's only

1158
01:38:10,719 --> 01:38:17,760
postponing what we are going to need to
do, which is find other sources of

1159
01:38:15,600 --> 01:38:26,880
revenue or
decrease or or the uh expenses. And we

1160
01:38:22,560 --> 01:38:35,119
we tried that. We we had six meetings on
that. And I I feel that uh we did our

1161
01:38:30,960 --> 01:38:39,239
due diligence in that regard. So,
with that being said, I I

1162
01:38:40,080 --> 01:38:49,760
will support the tax increase for the
police officer. I've been very very

1163
01:38:46,880 --> 01:38:56,560
upset and I've I've stated as such about
the fire assessment and how it has gone

1164
01:38:52,639 --> 01:39:03,199
up without much uh notice and then and
that they also have the ability to raise

1165
01:39:00,639 --> 01:39:10,480
our property taxes because they are that
a taxing entity. So for that I I'm

1166
01:39:08,080 --> 01:39:16,800
a little less supportive of that but I
do see that that is still needing to be

1167
01:39:13,679 --> 01:39:21,760
funded. So, where do we fund it from? We
either need to raise the taxes here or

1168
01:39:19,679 --> 01:39:29,520
somewhere else. So, what I'm going to
say is that uh and the medical

1169
01:39:24,880 --> 01:39:36,400
insurance, that's just a a one of those
line items that we can't change. So,

1170
01:39:33,440 --> 01:39:41,600
uh
I guess what I would like to ask as we

1171
01:39:39,920 --> 01:39:49,440
uh
just get some clarification is

1172
01:39:45,600 --> 01:39:54,639
if I could ask the chief,
are we

1173
01:39:51,280 --> 01:40:00,480
feeling that because I I actually want
to just dovetail onto what the mayor had

1174
01:39:57,040 --> 01:40:08,000
asked about with the um
if are we going to be able to um get

1175
01:40:04,880 --> 01:40:14,159
this position filled this year
and what's your confidence level in that

1176
01:40:10,719 --> 01:40:20,560
and uh and are we fully staffed at this
particular moment in time?

1177
01:40:17,760 --> 01:40:24,159
» Okay. So, um
yeah, I I think we'll get the position

1178
01:40:22,480 --> 01:40:29,280
filled this year.
Um the question is whether these

1179
01:40:26,800 --> 01:40:33,199
positions are staffed by someone out
covering a shift and being effective as

1180
01:40:31,760 --> 01:40:36,000
a police officer. That's a whole
different question, right? Because you

1181
01:40:34,560 --> 01:40:40,480
lose an officer, then you go through the
hiring process, you identify someone,

1182
01:40:38,480 --> 01:40:43,840
you send them to the police academy,
they get out of the police academy, then

1183
01:40:42,000 --> 01:40:48,080
they go out on the road for three months
where they're paired up with a training

1184
01:40:45,760 --> 01:40:51,280
officer where they're not they're not
effective as a as an officer yet because

1185
01:40:50,000 --> 01:40:55,040
they're they're together. There's two of
them together, but they're filling just

1186
01:40:52,560 --> 01:40:58,960
one position out on the road, one car.
They're responding to all the calls

1187
01:40:56,480 --> 01:41:03,280
themselves. And so the the I I believe
yes, I I believe we'll get the position

1188
01:41:00,560 --> 01:41:07,199
filled, but the question is whether
they're going to be out on the road on

1189
01:41:04,960 --> 01:41:11,199
their own effectively
replacing that person,

1190
01:41:09,840 --> 01:41:14,719
you know, replacing that position. And
that's always been our heartache. And

1191
01:41:13,040 --> 01:41:19,679
you've talked about the struggles with
finding certified officers.

1192
01:41:18,000 --> 01:41:23,920
um you know when when I went through the
academy I self sponsored and a lot of us

1193
01:41:22,000 --> 01:41:28,080
paid our own way you know took it as a
college class we came out and that's

1194
01:41:26,159 --> 01:41:32,560
just how it was before and now it's very
you're very limited in who you can pick

1195
01:41:30,159 --> 01:41:37,040
up that way and most times you you
sponsor people through the academy and

1196
01:41:35,040 --> 01:41:40,960
so you know we we lost an officer in
June of 25

1197
01:41:39,440 --> 01:41:46,000
that officer is out on field training
right now and he's slated to get off end

1198
01:41:43,040 --> 01:41:48,239
of October beginning of November
on on his

1199
01:41:47,440 --> 01:41:51,280
And that's
>> but we did pay their salary while they

1200
01:41:49,760 --> 01:41:53,840
were in the academy, right? Even though
they're not in a shift. And I do want to

1201
01:41:52,639 --> 01:41:56,560
clarify for the record that our
recruitment that's ongoing right now for

1202
01:41:55,440 --> 01:42:01,360
an officer
>> is for the officer who resigned

1203
01:41:59,280 --> 01:42:05,040
» and not necessarily to fill this
position. Just so you know again because

1204
01:42:03,280 --> 01:42:09,280
we've instructed chief that he can't
hire recruit for this position until

1205
01:42:07,440 --> 01:42:12,960
tonight on whether or not you approve
this position. So we're not forcing your

1206
01:42:10,800 --> 01:42:16,400
hand that we hey we're already in the
process. The position he's recruiting

1207
01:42:14,400 --> 01:42:20,000
for is a position, existing position
that was unfilled at this point.

1208
01:42:18,080 --> 01:42:23,920
» You did ask if we're fully staffed. We
are not right. We we we had an officer

1209
01:42:21,600 --> 01:42:29,040
resign go to another department
>> this past week.

1210
01:42:24,639 --> 01:42:34,159
» So, we're looking at seeing uh at least
if this was to pass tonight, you will

1211
01:42:31,360 --> 01:42:38,400
need to hire two police officers to be
what you would say fully staffed.

1212
01:42:36,400 --> 01:42:42,480
» Correct. But with that additional
officer.

1213
01:42:40,239 --> 01:42:46,159
» Okay.
Just for everybody's information, while

1214
01:42:44,239 --> 01:42:50,880
I've been on the council, there actually
have been years that the medical

1215
01:42:48,239 --> 01:42:54,800
insurance went up nothing or almost
nothing. I was shocked, but there have

1216
01:42:53,199 --> 01:42:59,679
been years that the medical insurance
did not raise very much. I wished I had

1217
01:42:57,840 --> 01:43:02,480
the years and the amounts, but I don't.
But

1218
01:43:00,000 --> 01:43:07,840
» it's a different time. I'm saying that
there have been years that though we

1219
01:43:04,800 --> 01:43:11,480
didn't have to absorb that because
you know it was

1220
01:43:12,880 --> 01:43:16,320
» Thank you. All right. Uh
>> Mr. Mayor,

1221
01:43:15,840 --> 01:43:21,040
» yeah,
>> I'm sorry. Can I make one brief comment?

1222
01:43:18,719 --> 01:43:25,199
I know I'm like a a disembodied voice
coming from apparently the ceiling.

1223
01:43:23,119 --> 01:43:29,679
» Um yeah, there was just a reference made
to the property tax increase for the

1224
01:43:27,440 --> 01:43:34,000
mosquito abatement district. and is a
representative on that district. I just

1225
01:43:31,840 --> 01:43:38,159
wanted to comment briefly, the property
tax increase was 25% and as you'll

1226
01:43:36,400 --> 01:43:41,679
recall when I brought this to the
council, that sounds like a very

1227
01:43:39,920 --> 01:43:47,840
significant number, but what that equals
was 66 cents per month on a $600,000

1228
01:43:45,600 --> 01:43:51,360
home. And the reason that we pushed that
through was because we desperately

1229
01:43:49,360 --> 01:43:55,360
needed to construct a new pesticide
storage facility. And my understanding

1230
01:43:53,679 --> 01:44:00,080
is that the mosquito abatement district
has only raised property taxes twice in

1231
01:43:57,600 --> 01:44:04,880
the last two decades. So I just wanted
to as um a representative on that board

1232
01:44:03,119 --> 01:44:08,800
just address that comment and that's all
I have. Thank you.

1233
01:44:06,320 --> 01:44:11,679
» Thanks Councilwoman Haven. All right,
everybody's had a chance to comment that

1234
01:44:10,800 --> 01:44:15,199
there's that.
>> Can I just add one more thing? I just

1235
01:44:13,600 --> 01:44:19,520
just for the people in the room. I think
it's really helpful to know that many of

1236
01:44:17,360 --> 01:44:24,159
these boards like the mosquito abatement
district, the South Davis sewer

1237
01:44:21,199 --> 01:44:29,679
district, the wreck district,
um that all of those have

1238
01:44:26,239 --> 01:44:34,800
representatives from each city, which is
has been very helpful because we as a

1239
01:44:31,840 --> 01:44:40,320
council often know what
the property tax increases are that are

1240
01:44:37,199 --> 01:44:44,480
coming. And we I we do try so carefully
to try and balance that. like if we know

1241
01:44:42,320 --> 01:44:51,199
something big is coming from one, we try
to limit at least I feel like that

1242
01:44:47,440 --> 01:44:56,000
weighs in. It's been helpful to have um
that information from the various

1243
01:44:53,440 --> 01:45:00,800
council members that serve. So I I don't
know if that helps at all, but I think

1244
01:44:58,159 --> 01:45:07,360
that has been a very helpful thing that
we do have elected officials that are

1245
01:45:03,199 --> 01:45:12,800
serving on those boards that kind of see
all of the impacts to the property tax

1246
01:45:09,920 --> 01:45:18,560
statement. One other thing I will add is
since I've been on the council, we have

1247
01:45:14,639 --> 01:45:23,119
not had an increase in our compensation.
We have had I've absolutely not taken

1248
01:45:21,040 --> 01:45:28,719
any more money than we were paid. I'm
still I'm still compensated the same

1249
01:45:25,679 --> 01:45:34,400
this year as I was 10 years ago.
>> But with the pie chart following up with

1250
01:45:30,960 --> 01:45:37,840
Councilwoman Haymon said, you're 60%
that goes to the school district. We

1251
01:45:36,239 --> 01:45:41,520
don't have any representation there.
>> That's true.

1252
01:45:38,480 --> 01:45:45,840
» Okay. We do on mosquito bait, we do on
garbage, we do on sewer, but but your

1253
01:45:43,679 --> 01:45:55,239
biggest chunk of your papaya, we do not
have any representation or say there.

1254
01:45:48,239 --> 01:45:55,239
So, all right. Uh so, uh with uh

1255
01:45:55,280 --> 01:46:06,000
trying to be fair, giving everybody
their time. Uh so, uh I'm looking for

1256
01:46:01,199 --> 01:46:09,320
motions uh on resolution 2026-23
and 2026-24.

1257
01:46:11,600 --> 01:46:19,119
I'll make a motion that we adopt
resolution number 2026-23

1258
01:46:17,040 --> 01:46:24,639
setting the real and personal property
tax rate at 0.001314

1259
01:46:22,960 --> 01:46:31,199
for the general fund for Centerville
City Utah. Do we need to do two separate

1260
01:46:28,320 --> 01:46:33,760
or shall I include them both
>> and do it?

1261
01:46:32,480 --> 01:46:35,920
» Am I okay to do both?
>> Yeah.

1262
01:46:34,000 --> 01:46:41,600
» Okay. and that we adopt resolution
number 2026-24

1263
01:46:38,880 --> 01:46:44,600
adopting the fiscal year 2027 final
budget.

1264
01:46:45,119 --> 01:46:52,239
» Okay, we have a motion. Do we have a
second to that motion?

1265
01:46:50,480 --> 01:47:00,679
» I'll sec I'll second that.
>> We have a second that motion. Do we uh

1266
01:46:56,080 --> 01:47:00,679
last minute for further discussion?

1267
01:47:03,840 --> 01:47:13,119
Okay. If there's no further discussion,
then I guess uh we we will vote on that

1268
01:47:09,679 --> 01:47:16,239
motion. Let's start uh uh with to my
right. Councilwoman Hurst.

1269
01:47:15,040 --> 01:47:19,920
» I
>> I

1270
01:47:17,280 --> 01:47:22,080
» I
Councilwoman H.

1271
01:47:20,800 --> 01:47:28,199
» I.
>> So that motion passes. Uh 4 to one.

1272
01:47:28,320 --> 01:47:37,280
All right. Uh seeing well yeah because
we're truth and taxation we do have no

1273
01:47:34,080 --> 01:47:43,760
other items uh on the budget so or on on
the agenda. So seeing that I would look

1274
01:47:40,560 --> 01:47:46,840
for a motion to adjurnn. So moved.
>> All right.