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Lindon council reviews trimmed 2025-26 budget, focuses bonding on new well and delays larger street utility projects
Summary
At a budget work session councilors discussed a reduced capital plan, a proposed bond for a new municipal well and connections, proposed utility-rate increases and employee cost-of-living and merit adjustments; no final votes were taken.
City finance staff presented a revised 2025-26 draft budget Monday that reduces planned borrowing and refocuses capital spending on water infrastructure while deferring some street and utility projects.
Finance staff told council the tentative budget had included roughly $17 million in bonding for capital projects; the revised plan reduces that to about $5 million, with the largest single bonded item proposed for water: completion and equipping of Well Number 5 and the associated water-line connections. Public Works Director Juan (last name not provided) told council the well equip and building work was estimated between $2.5 million and $3.5 million and that connecting the well to the citys distribution network might add roughly $1 million.
The revised budget also holds an approximate $1.9 million program of street preservation and reconstruction projects but staff said the exact scope is a moving target depending on bids. Council members asked staff to prioritize roads with the most urgent structural needs and look for efficiencies in construction timing and bundling to lower costs.
Finance staff proposed a set of utility-rate changes that together were estimated to raise the average monthly utility bill by about $8.15, driven in part by rising water and sewer costs and a need to cover planned capital work. The budget includes absorbing a 4% contract increase for residential garbage and recycling this year (Republic Services) so that rate increase is not passed directly through to customers this cycle.
On personnel costs the draft budget proposes a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), a 2.6% merit step program (effective in January and subject to performance evaluations) and a targeted salary-range adjustment for 17 positions (affecting 23 employees) that staffs compensation survey flagged as below market. Staff estimated the combined cost of COLA, merit and range adjustments at about $387,000 for the coming fiscal year. Employee health insurance premiums are projected to rise (insurer renewal approximately 7.1%); the budget proposes benefit-structure changes and an increase in employee premium participation from 3% to 5% to reduce city exposure while maintaining competitive benefits. Staff said employees would continue to have access to the high-deductible HSA option and recommended offering more flexibility in how the city contributions and employee premium shares are applied.
Council members discussed the tradeoffs of pay-as-you-go funding versus bonding for large utility infrastructure. Several members observed that borrowing can spread the cost to future residents who will benefit from capacity increases and can sometimes reduce the size of immediate rate increases by extending payments over 15-20 years; staff noted that low-interest state loan programs are an option for utility projects. No binding decisions were made; staff said they would return with final numbers and recommended ordinance language for any bonding items.
Council took the presentation as guidance and asked staff to return with refined project phasing, detailed cost breakdowns for the Well 5 project and the 135 West corridor and analysis of whether selected water and sewer projects should be financed by bonding or pay-as-you-go.
