[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6555530,"mediaKeyId","3321525-d7f16f49378629821deee283777c5d82","parentId",3321525,"title","South Salt Lake presents tentative FY26 budget of $135.4 million; creates transportation infrastructure fund","audioSeconds",2024,"startMs",473190,"endMs",2497420,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3321525-d7f16f49378629821deee283777c5d82&start=473&end=2497","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3321525-d7f16f49378629821deee283777c5d82/thumbnail_473190.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6555530/South-Salt-Lake/Salt-Lake-County/Utah/South-Salt-Lake-presents-tentative-FY26-budget-of-1354-million-creates-transportation-infrastructure-fund","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6555530-283e14bcd52110f1781475767407acce/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182373&Signature=L7an0FUCZfA8HpJKx3CXRXDf97Tp3vSr5PrZCyxvsHUPXJqRPNPcSoo-lGjZy1nfAfaGDzLtbrhGM5d09nIKaEIKU~gyY8QJ6oMiUQ-Xo6ob5a3MkddrzPF4mSan36qE5mJHvQVTvTnvM0oTPZfvdB~9FWAbr5uLb7lJtBBjxM8Box2p~wAWDuo5jtq6IDHLrUwK9ovFLRO2DpXLc7A583~5Z~x3EtDUREEf1E3WOrTk603T~vFh19q4mvBQVX8kmWVhCOvf0ThJC9Vgtmc3mKqWmJbHhr4cW62m9slttLZCTi-aRtSuomH5cw0Z2-IC~E1-E~X2bmcXiLtjyLO85Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","South Salt Lake","date","2025-05-15T16:46:59Z","article","Crystal (budget presenter; title not specified in the transcript) presented the City of South Salt Lake’s tentative fiscal year 2025–26 budget during the May 14 work meeting, saying the draft totals $135,418,997 and will return to the council for final action before the statutory deadline in June.

Crystal said the budget is built from continuing and one-time revenues and highlighted several major areas of spending. Major fund and program highlights she cited include:

- Public safety: A police budget of about $13,900,000 that includes $230,000 to replace protective equipment, $100,000 for mental health counseling for officers, and $102,000 for officer and staff training. The fire budget is about $10,300,000 and includes $50,000 for protective equipment replacement, $125,000 to maintain apparatus, $30,000 for mental health counseling, and $26,000 for training. The draft includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and 3% merit increases for administrative personnel; sworn public safety employees receive a 4% merit increase.

- Utilities and capital: The water utility budget is $11,300,000 and includes $4,500,000 to build the Price Avenue well; Crystal said $2,000,000 has already been expended and the remaining amounts are covered by a low-interest loan from the Department of Natural Resources. The sewer utility is budgeted at $5,900,000 and includes $600,000 for pipe lining and a $2 sewer-rate increase tied to a multi-year plan to pay for federally mandated processing improvements at the Central Valley Waste Reclamation Facility. The solid waste fund is budgeted at $785,000 with a rate increase of 29 cents tied to annual ACE disposal rate adjustments.

- Transportation infrastructure fund: The city will create a new transportation infrastructure fund to consolidate restricted road-related revenues and better track projects. Crystal said the fund is projected to receive just over $5,000,000 in revenues (including $2.4M in Class C road funds and interest, $1.6M in county option highway tax, and $836,000 from a new county option transportation sales tax) and that the budget will transfer $1.5M from the general fund to cover operating expenses not covered by restricted funding. She said the city will move previously restricted fund balances into the new fund: $6,500,000 from Class C funds and $6,300,000 from the county option highway tax balance. The transportation fund’s budget was presented at $19,000,000 and includes $5,400,000 to finish a Seventh West rebuild in partnership with UDOT, $1.5M for street lighting upgrades, and $4.3M for road projects on Maxwell Lane, Gregson Avenue, Robert Avenue and other streets. Crystal said a $218,000 grant will offset part of the Maxwell Lane work.

- Affordable housing and RDA: Crystal said the RDA has committed $1,000,000 to launch an affordable housing program and the city received a $450,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the same program. She noted these funds are part of a broader package that includes the RDA bond discussion (presented earlier in the meeting).

- Capital projects and Public Works Campus: Crystal said the Public Works Campus is scheduled to break ground June 26 with construction starting in late July and that the coming-year projected cost for the campus is $21,000,000 (covering phase 1 and about 20% of phase 2). She also said the city will finish the Life on State project this year and has a $2,000,000 grant to offset part of that cost.

- Staffing and organization: The tentative budget includes four new positions (executive director for the Arts Council, IT director, deputy director for neighborhoods, and an IT specialist for police), an IT department separated out of administration, renaming of certain funds (leased equipment debt service fund to debt service fund; wastewater utility to sanitary sewer fund) and authorization to budget for the purchase of one fire apparatus and one ambulance.

Crystal emphasized the difference between continuing revenues (about $55,000,000 budgeted) and one-time revenues (about $62,000,000, which include grants, bond proceeds and permit-related revenues) and said city staff will return with more detail. She asked councilmembers to submit in-depth questions to staff by May 19 at 5 p.m. so departments can prepare answers.

No final vote or adoption occurred at the work meeting; the presentation was strictly the tentative budget review. Sharla Bynum, the meeting facilitator, reminded the public that this is the first draft and that the council has until June to adopt the final budget.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","2025 5 14 City Council Work Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","City staff presented the tentative fiscal year 2025–26 budget totaling $135,418,997, highlighting funding for public safety, utilities, a new transportation infrastructure fund, affordable housing startup dollars, the Public Works Campus, and several staffing changes; the budget is a draft and will return for adoption by June.","taxTitle","South Salt Lake , Salt Lake County, Utah","taxId",7398,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6555535,"South Salt Lake weighs up to $30 million in RDA bonds and a new downtown zone to speed housing",364,35840,399900,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3321525-d7f16f49378629821deee283777c5d82&start=35&end=399","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3321525-d7f16f49378629821deee283777c5d82/thumbnail_35840.jpg","/articles/6555535/South-Salt-Lake/Salt-Lake-County/Utah/South-Salt-Lake-weighs-up-to-30-million-in-RDA-bonds-and-a-new-downtown-zone-to-speed-housing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6555535-d11b5bdc009f10c55f62d487d8d0cc3f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182373&Signature=cbbIo5MGd-JfZnf61FM5Cm6c31I9w0lJ7~6E0xVmNO4U0VpRa2QZIYxf2LgC~jzaIbGJeXqxRshYJVKlwPXhUKJWGBBn2yZW8fw3btfh7i24TLCZxcAp~FrSD6h6ymOTGZtLSb6~Na62juxev9ghK~2WGIv2AOrNb0yyF1sJbF54~1BjpnpnDrDWNK8IKhzOYnaG2Vx-RzJDwd9rMbfrR70UlGzmXZBe5mM1vN4YLBOkS8Ee8pgqAdoqmyLIh3zaKkkgVGcPy~-yh0i4b7Qxpn10pZ~2XFJvSizjHofVgD8BlVDAuHCG9dlN5ixOnYOeVMi36FL7UXma8298a922UA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","South Salt Lake city staff asked the City Council to consider authorizing the issuance of up to $30,000,000 in tax-increment bonds to support multiple downtown housing projects and outlined a parallel plan to create a new downtown zoning district tailored to a large Blazer development and similar sites.

In a high-level presentation, Jonathan Weidenhammer, community and economic development director, said the bond package is intended to “get our vertical going in the downtown” and to help move about 2,000 housing units currently planned for construction. He said the city would issue the debt in June and that the funds would likely be available in late June, with individual participation agreements for each project returning to council for approval.

The proposed financing would be a package of tools that includes tax-increment bonds, re-pledging some excise tax revenue to provide additional coverage for the bonds, and use of the city housing fund balance and general fund dollars. Cody Dieter, the municipal financial adviser and RDA strategy and tool adviser, was present for questions about rates and structure.

Councilmember Greg asked how soon construction would start after bond issuance; Weidenhammer said the Blazer project expects to break ground in the first weeks of July, other projects such as the Times Square blocks aim for late summer, and the Utopia Apartments had a building permit and could mobilize this summer pending final financing. Weidenhammer reiterated that individual participation agreements would preserve council discretion over awarding funds.

Senior planner Spencer Cawley described a separate but related step: creating a new downtown zone specific to the large Blazer project. Cawley said the new zone would encapsulate project-specific deviations from the existing downtown code — for example, adjusting minimum height rules to use an average height metric appropriate for a larger project, addressing parking structure requirements to ensure adequate parking for all site uses, specifying façade materials, glazing, and building massing standards, and allowing ground-floor residential where the current downtown zone does not.

Cawley said the city intends to take a flushed-out version of the new code to the Planning Commission and to return to council in June with a recommendation, alongside the development agreement and participation agreement for the Blazer project. He said the new downtown zone is being developed as a template for other large sites (over five acres), including the Times Square blocks project.

No formal action or vote on bond issuance or the new zone was recorded in the work meeting; staff described these as items for forthcoming meetings. Staff emphasized that the council would receive and consider individual participation agreements and retain final authority over awards.

The presentations linked the RDA financing work and the zoning effort as coordinated steps to accelerate multiple housing projects in the downtown area.

Ending: Staff said they would return to the council with participation agreements and formal zoning and development items in June. The council may consider the bond resolution and related code changes at those future meetings.","City staff asked the council to consider issuing up to $30 million in tax-increment bonds to finance downtown housing projects and described a late-stage plan to create a new downtown zoning district tailored to a major Blazer development and other sites over five acres.","actionData","errors"]

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South Salt Lake presents tentative FY26 budget of $135.4 million; creates transportation infrastructure fund

South Salt Lake weighs up to $30 million in RDA bonds and a new downtown zone to speed housing