Midway CDRA approves tentative FY2026 budget of zeros while seeking state tax clarification for annexed campground

The Midway City Community Development and Renewal Agency on Wednesday approved a tentative fiscal year 2026 budget that lists zero revenue and zero expenditures and directed staff to verify whether the State Tax Commission has started directing tax revenue for a recently annexed portion of Wasatch Mountain State Park.

The question matters because an annexation agreement signed when Midway annexed the campground portion of Wasatch Mountain State Park included a provision to return any tax revenue the city received from that property so the park would remain revenue neutral. Brad, a city staff member who briefed the CDRA, said the state tax commission has not yet made the property transition and, as a result, Midway has not received tax revenue from the park.

“If we haven't received any revenue for any tax revenue from them, then I would argue we don't have anything that we need to pay them,” Brad said during the meeting. He said the mayor met with Jonathan, the superintendent of Wasatch Mountain State Park, and Jonathan agreed to verify on his end whether the tax commission has redirected any tax receipts to Midway.

If the tax commission has begun directing revenue to Midway, Brad said the CDRA would need to set up a project area — the process the city used previously when it provided tax-increment returns to a grocery store — and return the receipts to the park so the state park would not incur an additional tax burden. “The first option is ... set up what's called a project area,” Brad said. If no revenue is being received, he said, “there's nothing that we have to return.”

The councilmembers discussed three options: (1) create the project area and return any receipts to the park if the state has started sending Midway the tax revenue; (2) leave the situation as-is if the state does not redirect revenue (in which case the city would not need to set up a project area); or (3) dissolve the CDRA if the agency is no longer needed. Several members said they preferred resolving the state-tax question before deciding whether to dissolve the CDRA.

The discussion also highlighted uses of similar entities in Midway’s past. Brad pointed to the Municipal Building Authority, created decades ago to issue bonds for a road project, as an example of a mechanism that was dormant for years and later proved useful for open-space bonding. One councilmember noted that the CDRA is primarily a development tool that would most likely be used to offer tax incentives to attract a specific business.

Jonathan, identified in the meeting as the Wasatch Mountain State Park superintendent, told staff he would verify whether the State Tax Commission has updated its records. He also raised a separate idea that would require Midway’s cooperation: a trail from the park visitor center down to Soldier Hollow with spurs into Midway.

The CDRA approved the tentative FY2026 budget — recorded in the meeting as all zeros — by voice vote. The agency also set June 17 as the date for the public hearing on the CDRA budget. Both motions passed by voice vote with no roll-call tally provided in the transcript.

Members asked staff to return with a short memo outlining pros and cons of keeping the CDRA in place versus dissolving it, and to check with county or state counterparts before a final determination. Staff also said they would keep checking the State Tax Commission and follow up after Jonathan confirms the commission's status.

Votes at a glance: The CDRA approved the tentative fiscal year 2026 budget (zeros) and set a public hearing for June 17; both motions passed by voice vote with no individual roll-call recorded in the meeting transcript.

The agency did not take any further formal action on dissolving the CDRA; members agreed to revisit the question after staff verifies the tax commission's position and provides an analysis of options.