West Jordan Council struggles with budget
City hasn't raised taxes in 20 years, now faces shortfalls
It's even tougher when the economy is struggling, residents are pinching pennies and the city's budget that pays for fire, police and public services is $1.8 million out of whack.
No council member wants to be the first in 20 years to raise taxes, but West Jordan's City Council might not have a choice this year. The city is eyeing its already-trim budget, looking to cut $1.8 million to retain the state-required minimum general fund balance, and wondering where it will get its revenue from next budget year.
When it comes right down to it, "what the city gets from property taxes pays for our fire department, that's all," Mayor Dave Newton said.
The city received $10 million in property taxes and $15 million in sales-tax revenue last year, Newton said. Other fees bring the city's annual revenue to $42.2 million, but right now, this year's fiscal budget for 2008-2009 calls for $47.5 million.
The city is planning to use $5 million from its savings to cover its revenue shortfalls, City Manager Gary Luebbers said, but it's still necessary to cut up to $2 million to help the city with its 2009-2010 budget.
Luebbers said the budget cuts would most likely come from the police, fire and public works departments. The budget has no project increases or new positions for personnel. Although city employees elsewhere in the country will receive a 4 percent cost-of-living-adjustment increase, the West Jordan's budget calls for a 2 percent increase for its employees.
Council members are already considering raising taxes or having a general bond election to pay for road projects, but the increase would only go to roads, not the city's general fund.
This year's budget reckoning is the most difficult the city has had to handle in six years, Luebbers said, and it's caused mostly by a decrease in sales-tax income and a lack of new revenue sources. The budget won't be approved until June, which leaves some time for the City Council to make additional cuts to the budget after the city's departments make theirs.
City Councilwoman Melissa Johnson says she doesn't want to raise taxes for residents when they're already having economic hardships, but the city is considering adding a telecommunications tax to bring in new revenue.
The city is one of two in the county that does not have the tax, and Newton says it could bring an additional $1.5 million to $2 million to the city. The tax would increase residents' land and mobile phone bills by 3 percent.
Still, Johnson says she sees new and increased taxes as a last resort in dealing with the budget.
"As a general rule, people don't mind paying more to get more," Johnson said. "The problem with raising taxes to maintain the status quo is you're paying more and you're not getting anything else for your money. That's the kind of increase we should avoid until we can't avoid it anymore. I don't know if we're at that point now."
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com
Recent comments
Our City Council can't be trusted with even more of our money...
Tony McGuire | March 15, 2008 at 12:04 p.m.
