Midvale City Newsletter | August 2022

In The Middle of Everything MIDVALE CITY DIRECTORY City Hall Finance/Utilities Court City Attorney’s Office City Recorder/Human Resources Community Development Public Works Ace Disposal/Recycling Midvale Historical Museum Midvale Senior Center SL County Animal Services Police Dispatch Unified Fire Authority Fire Dispatch Communications

801-567-7200 801-567-7200 801-567-7265 801-567-7250 801-567-7228 801-567-7211 801-567-7235 801-363-9995 801-567-7285 385-468-3350 385-468-7387 801-743-7000 801-743-7200 801-840-4000 801-567-7230

MIDVALE CITY ELECTED OFFICIALS MAYOR Marcus Stevenson 801-567-7204 Email: mstevenson@midvale.com CITY COUNCIL District 1 - Quinn Sperry Email: qsperry@midvale.com District 2 - Paul Glover Email: pglover@midvale.com District 3 - Heidi Robinson Email: Hrobinson@midvale.com District 4 - Bryant Brown Email: bbrown@midvale.com District 5 - Dustin Gettel Email: dgettel@midvale.com

WHO TO CALL FOR… Water Bills Ordering A New Trash Can Reserving the Bowery Permits GRAMA requests Court Paying For Traffic School Business Licensing Property Questions Cemetery Water Line Breaks Planning and Zoning Code Enforcement Building inspections Graffiti

801-567-7200 801-567-7202 801-567-7202 801-567-7212 801-567-7207 801-567-7265 801-567-7202 801-567-7213 801-567-7246 801-567-7235 801-256-2575 801-567-7231 801-567-7208 801-567-7228 385-468-9769

EMERGENCY OR DISASTER CONTACT Public Works Fire Dispatch – Unified Fire Authority Midvale Police Precinct or Police Dispatch Unified Police Department EMERGENCY

801-567-7235 801-840-4000 385-468-9350 801-743-7000

911

AUGUST 2022

City Hall – 7505 South Holden Street • Midvale, UT 84047

CITY NEWSLETTER

Marcus’s Message

By Mayor Marcus Stevenson

As I talked about in my June message, Midvale City is proposing to raise property taxes this year. Our final proposed amount is a 7.2% increase – an average increase of $1.21 per month per household or about an extra $15 per year per household. With Utah seeing 9.4% inflation, not only have cost increases on groceries and gasoline affected your family and mine, but it has also created extreme constraints for the city when trying to ensure we can continue to maintain our services. That’s why, as difficult as it is for us to propose an increase this year, I’m proud that the increase we are asking for is below the inflation level and it’s on the low end of the options we were previously looking at, which ranged from an increase of 5-26%.

In part, we can keep the property tax increase lower because the growth that Midvale City is experiencing has relieved some of the budgetary pressures we would otherwise face. This year, it’s projected that revenues to Midvale City will increase by $2.25 million – most of which will come from sales tax. However, even with this increase in revenue, after going through the budget process, our city was still short $225,000 – which is the amount that a 7.2% property tax increase will cover.

Though I know a proposed increase will not be welcomed by all, I think it’s important to keep in mind that only about 8% of our property taxes come to Midvale City and this increase only affects that amount. You should also know that the impact of inflation has not only hit Midvale City, but in fact, 17 other entities across Salt Lake County are proposing property tax increases including many cities, some of whom are our neighbors, such as West Jordan and Murray.

GENERAL FUND BUDGET GOALS This proposed increase, along with the rest of our general fund budget, has two basic goals for our city: maintain current service levels & support employee retention.

For this fiscal year, our member fee with the Unified Police Department (UPD) is expected to control about 47% of our general fund. With the police wage wars that have been happening over the last year, plus today’s inflation, the cost to provide policing at its current level has increased drastically. From this time last year to now, our law enforcement costs increased by roughly $2.1 million – about 23% – even after using $435,000 from our police rainy-day fund to cover one-time costs and limit the impact of the increased member fee. This member fee increase largely covers higher wages, but also considers increased gasoline and ammunition costs.

With law enforcement increasing by $2.1 million to maintain current services, and with an estimated revenue increase of $2.25 million, that leaves only about $130,000 to cover other cost increases and any new services that our city hopes to provide.

Because of that, the other new items added to our general fund are of the utmost importance to ensure our city can continue to function properly. That’s why, with the increased green space in our city, and the demand for it by residents, we’ve added a new parks technician to help maintain both our Midvale City Park and the many smaller parks we have throughout our community. Secondly, we’ve also added a city prosecutor which will help ensure

that our city’s government can move a little faster by freeing up the time of our current legal team. We all know that government moves slowly, and Midvale City is no different, but having a good legal team in place to review contracts and any proposed ordinance, will help us be more effective and efficient for our residents.

Finally, last year we had a 32% staff turnover at the city which meant services for our residents were decreased as staff tried to cover multiple jobs. That’s why our budget includes an 8% cost of living increase to all employees. While this amount may seem high, it’s in the range of what we are seeing many other government agencies do. Further, without an increase this year, we would technically be giving a pay cut to our employees due to inflationary increases. This increase will ensure that our city stays competitive in the job market and that the critical services we provide are maintained for our residents.

OTHER FUNDS Though my messages have largely been focused on the general fund, Midvale City has 15 other funds that are used to pay for the many things a city does. The focus on the general fund is because this fund is where all your sales tax and property tax flow into, and it’s where we pay for ongoing expenses like road maintenance, law enforcement, snowplows, etc. However, I want to quickly explain the other funds that exist in our overall budget that don’t affect sales or property taxes.

The Redevelopment Agency (RDA): The RDA has four separate funds within it – the Bingham Junction project area, the Jordan Bluffs project area, the Main Street project area, and the city-wide housing fund. Redevelopment agencies can be created by partnerships from a city and county to allow property taxes to be shifted in that area. As an example, if you live in one of our three project areas, 80% of your property taxes flow back into that same area it came from. In short, Salt Lake County has allowed us to revert some property taxes from other projects with the intent that they be reinvested into the community where those dollars came from with the goal of revitalization. Main Street is our newest project area and having this area as part of the RDA has allowed us to bring in the mural festival and continue other revitalization efforts our general fund cannot financially support. Further, each project area is required to spend 20% of all collected property tax on affordable housing initiatives.

With this money, we have invested in affordable housing projects and are also working on a program to help first time home buyers.

Enterprise Funds: There are four separate enterprise funds that many of us see each month on our utility bill from Midvale City – water, stormwater, sanitation, and street lighting. In essence, enterprise funds are fully funded by the fees they collect. As an example, the money you pay the city for water only pays for water, water infrastructure, and water maintenance. As we’ve seen water fees increase, that’s an indication that those basic operating costs to maintain our water supply is becoming more expensive.

Capital Projects Fund: Almost opposite to the general fund, which pays for ongoing maintenance costs and other items that

MAYOR’S MESSAGE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

In The Middle of Everything

WWW . MIDVALECITY . ORG MAYOR’S MESSAGE CONTINUED we know will continue year after year, the capital projects fund pays for one-time projects such as new infrastructure, like a brandnew road, bridge, or trail. Once that project is completed and we just need to keep up on yearly maintenance, those costs would move into the general fund.

Internal Services Fund: The internal services fund works on things that are internal to city work. This includes telecommunications, fleet, and information technology. As an example, Midvale City has an I.T. team that works to ensure that employee software and hardware is working properly. I.T. will rarely work with the public, but they are critical in ensuring that the rest of the employees can do so efficiently and effectively.

Debt Services Fund: The Debt Service Fund does a pretty basic job: pays for the city’s debt. As a city, we have taken out loans to pay for certain projects where we don’t have the cash on hand to be able to do so. Those repayment efforts are concentrated into one fund.

I know, clear as mud, right? One major thing I have learned in my time as mayor, is that municipal budgeting is more than confusing. However, even through the confusing nature of municipal budgets, I hope to have shed some light on this process and have given some context to the reason for needing a property tax increase this year. With your support, we can continue our support for law enforcement and to our city employees who do so much work each day to ensure that we all have the basic services that we expect, and deserve, as residents.

IMMEDIATE OPENINGS – APPLY TODAY!

• Training Provided • Work Part-time • Nights, Weekends & Holidays Off • Earn Between $15.50-$31.00 per day SEND APPLICATIONS TO: Unified Police Department Special Operations Division 3510 South 700 West Salt Lake City, Utah 84119

AUGUST 2022 CITY NEWSLETTER WWW . MIDVALECITY . ORG

Amnesty Late Fee Forgiveness Program

Fall Prevention Classes at Midvale Senior Center

Salt Lake County Animal Services Make a fresh start for you and your pet! Salt Lake County Animal Services is providing an Amnesty Late License Fee Forgiveness Program for all pet licenses from Aug 1 - Oct 31, 2022. All residents in our jurisdiction are invited to take advantage of this program to get pet licenses up to date without having to pay a late penalty fee.

ALL pets in Salt Lake County are eligible to receive a free microchip, licensing may apply.

How to License Online: Visit AdoptUtahPets.org and visit “Licensing”. If you have questions or need assistance, please email animal@slco.org, call 385-468-7387 and leave a message for the licensing department. Or come into Salt Lake County Animal Services, Tue-Sat, from 10 AM – 6 PM at 511 W 3900 S, SLC. Jurisdictions Licensed by Salt Lake County Animal Services: CITIES: Bluffdale, Holladay, Midvale, Millcreek, Murray, Salt Lake City TOWNSHIPS: Brighton, Copperton, County Islands, Emigration Canyon, Kearns, Magna, White City LICENSE FEES: $15.00 – Sterilized pet license $5.00 – Senior citizen license (Residents 60 years & older) $40.00 – Unsterilized pet license

Falls are common and costly, especially among older adults. However, falls are preventable and do not have to be an inevitable part of aging. Midvale Senior Center is offering two classes that address known risk factors and behavior changes that can reduce the falls among those participating.

Stepping Up Your Nutrition is an interactive one-time session designed to help improve nutrition and strength. Topics covered include how nutrition affects falls, loss of muscle as we age, and the importance of fluid and protein in our diet. This class will be taught Thursday, August 25, at 10:00 AM. Stepping On is a community-based workshop offered once a week for seven weeks to help those over 60 build confidence in their ability to reduce falls.

Guest professionals visit the class each week to address different aspects of fall prevention. A physical therapist talks about the importance of exercise, a vision expert talks about the necessity of regular eye check-ups, a pharmacist addresses the risk of medication interactions, and a home safety expert gives tips about keeping the home safe. This class will be taught Thursdays, September 15 – October 27 at 10:00 AM. Register for classes by calling 385-468-3350.

E - Wa s te a n d Sh r ed di n g Ev en t Saturday, September 10, 2022 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Midvale City Hall (Parking Lot) 7505 S Holden Street Enter from the southwest entrance (Holden Street) and exit out of the southeast entrance onto Main Street.

Acceptable items Documents Cell Phones Computers & Laptops Keyboards iPods/MP3 Players Hard Drives Stereos/DVD Players Fax Machines

NOT Accepted Televisions CRT Monitors Cracked LCDs Printers This program is strictly for Midvale residents and their residential items

Questions? Call 801-567-7235 Monday through Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

BINGO

Possible Prizes include Nintendo Switch, $250 Gas Card, Fire Pit, Games, Toys & more

Saturday

August 6, 2022 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Midvale City Park Large Pavilion 425 6th Avenue Midvale, UT

Join us for a fun-filled BINGO game. Mayor Marcus Stevenson, City Manager Matt Dahl, and Harvest Days Festival Committee Member George Ferris will be our BINGO callers and will treat us to classic '5 in a Row' BINGO plus some other fun games. You don't need to know anything about BINGO to join in and have fun in this game of chance.

MidvaleHarvestDays.com