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Utah Inland Port rep outlines loan option for water infrastructure as council weighs new local taxes
Summary
Utah Inland Port Authority staff described an AIP loan to cover roughly $2 million in water infrastructure for the Fairfield project area and said differential project‑area revenue can fund public safety; council also heard a staff overview of optional 1% local sales tax, a municipal energy tax and a transient room tax as revenue tools to consider.
The Fairfield Town Council heard a presentation from Jenna Draper, the ADP for the Utah Inland Port Authority, explaining how project‑area financing could help pay for water infrastructure tied to industrial development and how local tax tools could be used to raise revenue if the council chooses to pursue them.
Draper described an AIP (authority infrastructure) loan the port authority can offer to finance roughly $2 million in water infrastructure. "We do have this AFV, and it's an authority infrastructure bank that you guys can do a loan against for that $2,000,000," Draper said, explaining repayments would be structured so anticipated future property‑tax differentials generated by development would pay the loan, not the town's day‑to‑day funds. She cautioned that if development does not occur as expected, the schedule could require adjustments.
Separately, staff (Speaker 3) reviewed municipal revenue options often available to small cities: a 1% local option sales and use tax that would add to in‑town sales and certain online purchases (the speaker noted Amazon purchases would be affected), a municipal energy sales/use tax applied to natural gas and electricity bills that might add roughly $5–$6 per month for typical residential customers, and a municipal transient room tax. Staff emphasized Fairfield's small scale means immediate revenue from those tools could be limited but they remain available options should the council need to raise funds.
Council members asked for clarifications about how an added 1% would interact with existing regional sales‑tax allocations and requested staff to verify statutory details. Draper also confirmed that certain uses of project‑area differentials — including law enforcement — are allowable under the Inland Port program, which could help fund increased patrols if the council chooses to expand enforcement.
The council did not adopt any tax changes at the meeting; staff said they will research statutory mechanics and return with verified details and numbers should the council want to pursue one or more options.
