South Jordan manager recommends phased raises, delays for career-ladder increases and pauses new general‑fund hires

City Manager Dustin Lewis told the South Jordan council on Jan. 29 that department directors submitted data‑driven staffing and pay requests, but tight revenues require a phased approach to compensation.

"There is no money," Speaker 1 said during opening remarks, framing the council's limited fiscal room. Lewis laid out the staffing requests — 27 positions across the city (10 full time, 17 part time) with a total ask of about $2,200,000 if every position were funded — and recommended a narrower, risk‑managed approach to compensation.

"What I'm recommending in 25/26 is that we consider funding the public works, police, and fire steps," Lewis said, explaining the step funding would move eligible frontline employees up one step (about a 3% increase) and cost the city roughly $264,000. He also recommended a 1% adjustment to the general pay plan (about $159,000) to take effect at the start of the fiscal year in July, with additional market and career‑ladder increases delayed to a midyear review if revenues allow.

Lewis told the council that baseline personnel costs in the general fund are about $52.5 million, operating costs near $11.2 million and debt service about $3.4 million, producing a baseline need of roughly $67.1 million to maintain current service levels. He said unavoidable operating‑cost increases total about $663,000 of the $1.3 million in operations requests, leaving a revenue shortfall — a delta of about $1.5 million between available revenues and the full set of requests — that staff proposed to bridge through phased timing rather than across‑the‑board raises.

Lewis also clarified his hiring recommendation: "We're just talking about what I'm recommending is we don't hire any new people this year" in the general fund, while some enterprise‑funded positions (for example, water fund positions) are already built into enterprise rate structures and may proceed as budgeted. Council members asked about service impacts; Lewis said essential public safety and maintenance functions would continue but some service levels (for example, mowing cadence or park seasonal tasks) could be modestly affected.

The council directed staff to build a tentative budget consistent with this approach, and finance staff will continue one‑on‑one budget briefings for council members. The manager said midyear adjustments give the city a safety check before permanently absorbing additional recurring costs.