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
MARCH 2022
City Hall – 7505 South Holden Street • Midvale, UT 84047
CITY NEWSLETTER
Marcus’s Message
By Mayor Marcus Stevenson
Arguably, the most important thing a city does each year is create its budget. Though the budget process can be confusing, for both city employees and residents, this is the time when our city prioritizes its goals and sets the direction of the city for the next year. Midvale City’s fiscal year goes from July 1, 2022 to June 31, 2023. However, the process of preparing the budget began in January and will be presented to the public over the next few months. Because of this, I’d like to quickly give an introduction to our budget process and the budgetary challenges we face as a city. REVENUES The top revenue categories that affect our residents most within our city are (and yes, you guessed it) – taxes. For the 2021 fiscal year, sales tax accounted for 60% of all revenue and property tax accounted for just 20%. It may be a surprise, but each year when you pay your property taxes, only 8% ($184 on average per homeowner) comes directly to the City. A majority of your property taxes go to Canyons School District, Salt Lake County, and the Unified Fire Authority. Further, when you spend your dollars in Midvale, it helps provide critical resources in our community. Ultimately, in the 2021 fiscal year, the City brought in roughly $21 million to our general fund through taxes and fees. EXPENSES By and far, Midvale’s largest single expense is our dedicated law enforcement. As a member of the Unified Police Department (UPD), our city pays roughly $10 million each year to operate our local precinct with 38 highly specialized officers and other resources through shared services. UPD officers work across our city to address crime, traffic, shelter, school, and code enforcement related issues. With wages increasing in law enforcement, we expect to continue to see cost increases to recruit and retain the best officers possible. All the property tax collected by Midvale
covers about 27% of the entire cost for law enforcement. Everything else is paid from sales tax, which fluctuates from year to year. These law enforcement cost increases are incredibly needed, but also provide real constraints on our annual budget. After the 44% of our general fund budget is used on law enforcement, that leaves our city with roughly $12 million that is split between each city department, including Public Works, Community Development, and Administrative Services, as well as other budgetary needs. In fact, only 29% of the overall budget goes to Midvale City’s 85 dedicated employees who work to make our city better each day. ENTERPRISE FUNDS In addition to the $21 million general fund budget, the City also operates several enterprise funds. I know what you’re thinking, “Star Trek Enterprise has a fund?” Close, but not quite. These funds deal with direct services to residents where the fees charged by the City only pay for the services themselves. That monthly bill you receive from Midvale City each month for water, sewage, garbage, and streetlights are all enterprise funds. As an example, when you pay your water bill, that fee goes directly to purchasing water and maintaining our water system. These fees are paid separately from sales or property taxes. BUDGETING FUN As I’ve mentioned, budgeting is where the City makes its priorities for the next year. This could be improvements to streets and parks or continuing the process of expanding trails along the canal and better access to the Jordan River. Each year, the City plans different improvements, but also sets aside money for expensive long-term projects. Because almost all the funding our city has is spent annually, saving for large projects like a community pool or improvements to Main Street may take years, but slowly and surely, our city continues to take care of our residents’ every day needs while planning long term to create the community we all want to see in the future.
Salt Lake County Animal Services You’re on a walk in the neighborhood with your dog, and they unexpectedly bite someone walking by. Or vice versa, you get bit by a dog walking by, what do you do? First, stay calm. Call Dispatch at 801-840-4000, and an Animal Control Officer will come help you both. If you’re both in a rush, exchange information so you can get in touch with the other person. Second, remain civil. This is a very upsetting situation for both sides, the bite victim and the pet owner.
WHY DO I HAVE TO REPORT THE BITE? There are two reasons why bite reports must be filed. The first is rabies control. Our local public health authorities need to investigate if rabies could have been transmitted to the victim. Secondly, the health authorities track the data and trends in animal bites to people within the community.
IF MY PET BITES ME, DO I STILL HAVE TO REPORT IT? Yes, ALL BITES that break the skin must be reported. If you have any other questions about Animal Control issues, please email animalcontrol@slco.org.