Bountiful City adopts FY2026 budget and approves employee pay increases after public hearings

The Bountiful City Council voted unanimously June 24 to adopt an amended fiscal-year 2025 budget and the city's final fiscal-year 2026 budget and to approve compensation increases for city employees and executive municipal officers.

The measures were considered after a continuation of public hearings that began June 10. Galen Rasmussen, a city staff member who presented the budget, said the FY2026 budget begins July 1, 2025, and includes a property-tax component of roughly $4.07 million (about $3.6 million for general operations and $473,009 for debt service). The budget package approved by the council also incorporates a 5% cost-of-living adjustment for regular full-time employees and a 6.51% increase in health insurance costs. Rasmussen said the city's total consolidated budget (net of interfund transfers) is about $106 million.

The council also approved ordinance 2025-O8, implementing the listed compensation increases for municipal officials and staff, and ordinance 2025-O9, adopting the amended and final budgets, property-tax rates, fee schedules and related items. Both ordinances passed unanimously after the public hearings and a brief council discussion.

Why it matters: The budget sets tax, fee and spending priorities for city services including police, water, power and capital projects such as substations and reservoir replacements. Rasmussen and department staff described major line items, including a $43.9 million power department budget, water capital needs and ongoing pavement/stormwater and cemetery operations.

During the hearing, residents and others addressed the council. Gary Davis, a Bountiful resident, said he had attended several departmental budget meetings and expressed general support. Ron (last name not given), who identified himself as a resident, urged the council to reconsider the Light & Power fixed customer charge, calling it regressive and noting that the $15 monthly customer charge has risen from $4 in 2010. "The Light and Power customer service charge is a highly regressive charge, and it impacts the lowest income and moderate income people most heavily," Ron said during the fiscal-year hearing.

Council members and staff described follow-up steps: department-level capital projects will proceed with the adopted funding and some capital projects may require future budget adjustments if material costs or tariffs change. Rasmussen said non-profit allocations under the city's wrap tax would be notified of awards after tonight's adoption.

The council also held a separate public hearing and then approved the proposed compensation changes for specific positions called out by state law; staff explained those increases reflect a combination of the 5% cost-of-living adjustment, merit-based adjustments and periodic market-competitiveness reviews.

The meeting record shows both budget ordinances and the compensation ordinance were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded dissents.

Looking ahead: The council adopted the FY2026 budget package and related compensation ordinance; staff will implement the changes in payroll and post the adopted budget documents. Larger capital procurements described during the budget presentation (notably power and water capital projects) will return to council as required for contract awards or budget amendments.