Council amends FY2026 tentative budget, drops deputy fire chief request and holds utilities increases as proposed

Kaysville City Council amended its tentative fiscal‑year 2026 budget on Thursday, voting to remove a requested deputy fire chief position while keeping other staffing and utility items in the tentative budget and setting a $30,000 allocation from fund balance for sidewalk work.

City staff had presented several items for council consideration during a required budget hearing, including potential additions to staffing (assistant city attorney, a police sergeant and a deputy fire chief), updated cost estimates for a proposed gymnasium project with Davis School District and proposed utility rate adjustments for power and water. The council’s final motion adjusted a handful of those requests but stopped short of making broader cuts the meeting’s opponents had proposed.

The council debated whether to add the deputy fire chief, a position city fire leadership had recommended. Council members acknowledged concerns about service levels on Kaysville’s growing West Side but expressed hesitation about adding the recurring payroll and benefit costs immediately. At the meeting’s close the council approved removing the deputy fire chief position from the tentative budget; the transcript shows the motion carried after members discussed alternative timelines for future fire‑station staffing.

On utilities, staff used financial modeling to show how retained earnings and capital needs would be affected if rates were not adjusted. After discussion the council voted to leave the proposed power and water increases as they appeared in the tentative budget — not reducing the proposed percentage increases at this meeting — citing infrastructure needs and the risk of deferring capital projects.

Councilmembers also approved setting $30,000 from fund balance for sidewalk repairs and directed staff to return with a refined budget reflecting the council’s direction in advance of the final FY2026 adoption. Councilmembers emphasized they had not yet adopted any final personnel hires or long‑term financing; the changes reflect amendments to the tentative document only. Staff reiterated that the final budget will be adopted in late June and that truth‑in‑taxation notices rely on the revised tentative figures.

The council approved the amendment motion. The meeting record does not include a roll‑call tally in the transcript for the budget amendment motion; councilmembers discussed multiple competing priorities in the discussion that preceded the vote.