Huntington Council approves tentative budget, personnel hire and a string of routine motions

The Huntington City Council on May 21 approved a package of routine items including a tentative city budget for fiscal 2026, the hire of a new city recorder and several business licenses and small purchases.

The council unanimously accepted the tentative budget to begin the budget process for fiscal year 2026, with the chair saying the general fund revenue and expenses were set at $1,168,760. The council voted to schedule the required public hearing and final adoption at a later meeting.

The council approved hiring Brandy Wagner as the city recorder after an outside mayor (referred to in the meeting as Mayor Van Wagner of Casseldel) led local interviews and recommended Wagner. The council then approved retaining its city attorney on a monthly retainer: the agreement described in the meeting sets a $100 monthly retainer that covers two hours of legal services at Craig Smith’s rate; unused hours do not roll over.

Also approved were two business licenses and related small items: Rocky Mountain Home Sales and Wild Bunch Bike Family (the Wild Bunch, represented in public comment by Don Gardner, described itself as a newly incorporated 501(c)(3) supporting children, first responders and veterans). The council approved a bid to repair shelving in the office file room and authorized increasing city credit-card limits to $2,000 per card.

The council authorized sending a letter to Emery County to request roughly $30,000 in available ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) recreation funds to finish portable boards at the rodeo grounds and to support a small pavilion. The council approved donating $500 to the Huntington Elementary archery team to help travel to a national competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the team’s spokesman described qualifying for the NASC World Championship as a “once in a lifetime event.”

Several routine operational motions passed by voice vote. The council also appointed Devin Wilson as the new audit committee chair, replacing Judd Beagley.

Motions and recorded outcomes (as stated in the meeting) - Approve council minutes (April 15) and audit review minutes (April 23) and city claims — motion approved by voice vote. - Approve business license: Rocky Mountain Home Sales — motion approved by voice vote. - Approve business license: Wild Bunch Bike Family — motion approved by voice vote. - Donate $500 to Huntington Elementary archery team — motion approved by voice vote. - Hire Brandy Wagner as city recorder — motion approved by voice vote. - Retain city attorney on $100/month retainer (two hours monthly included) — motion approved by voice vote. - Approve tentative budget for fiscal 2026 and set public hearing for final adoption — motion approved by voice vote. - Approve shelving repair bid for office file room (amount shown in the meeting: $47.50) — motion approved by voice vote. - Raise council credit-card limit to $2,000 — motion approved by voice vote. - Authorize sending letter requesting approximately $30,000 in Emery County ARPA recreation funds — motion approved by voice vote. - Appoint Devin Wilson as audit committee chair — motion approved by voice vote.

The meeting record shows vocal, unanimous support on these items when the chair asked “All in favor?”; no recorded roll-call tallies or dissents were read into the record during these votes.

Ending: The council adjourned after routine departmental and council reports, planning items and public comments.