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South Jordan hears 20% sales‑tax dip and flags state impact‑fee threat as development tools under review
Summary
City Manager Dustin Lewis reported a one‑month sales‑tax collection decline of about 20% and warned that proposed state changes to impact‑fee authority would force the city to change how it funds infrastructure; council asked staff to explore tools such as PID changes and the possibility of allowing a hotel tax to support tourism-driven events.
City Manager Dustin Lewis told council members that January collections, as reported to the city, showed a noticeable month‑to‑month decline in sales‑tax receipts compared with the same period a year earlier.
"We were down 20%," Lewis said when summarizing January sales-tax data, adding the city monitors trends rather than a single month but that the decline is consistent with broader state revenue patterns.
Council members pressed staff on the implications of weaker local sales tax revenue. Lewis said the decline contributed to a roughly $1.5 million shortfall relative to the set of staffing and operating asks submitted by department directors. He urged caution about making permanent recurring spending commitments until the revenue picture is clearer.
The council also discussed state-level proposals that could eliminate or limit cities' ability to collect impact fees for infrastructure. Lewis warned that if impact‑fee authority were removed, the city would have to change how it secured infrastructure funding — for example, by baking costs into development agreements or seeking other tools — and hoped the state would provide compensating flexibility if it acted.
"If they take away our ability to collect impact fees, then I think as a city, we're probably gonna have to look at that and say, okay. Developers, you gotta build it," Lewis said, describing one plausible operational response.
Council members and staff discussed other toolbox items to support development and events, including proposed changes to the PID (public improvement district) process, a forthcoming PD overlay ordinance, and whether reintroducing a hotel tax (which previously failed when the council last considered it) might help attract events and hotels that boost the local economy. Lewis said staff will pursue further information and bring items back for council consideration.
The council scheduled follow‑up CIP and economic development discussions for the next meeting and asked staff to prepare the tentative budget consistent with the revenue outlook and the phased compensation approach.
