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Willard Council adopts tentative 2025–26 budget; debates ambulance funding and police vehicle swaps
Summary
Willard City Council accepted a tentative 2025–26 budget May 8 after officers and staff discussed reallocating vehicle assets, removing a $50,000 planning truck from one department, and funding options for a city ambulance, including a rooftop fee, per‑call charges and possible non‑transport fees.
Unidentified Speaker 1 opened discussion of the tentative 2025–26 budget and staff confirmed a revised packet had been emailed to council members.
Council members spent the bulk of budget discussion on fleet management and emergency services financing. The council examined a $50,000 equipment line associated with a truck used by ‘‘Maddie’’ and debated whether to keep the newer Ford F‑150 in planning, reassign it to police, or sell older Explorers and a Toyota Tundra. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the council would “sell a couple rigs” and recommended removing the $50,000 truck from the planning budget pending a personnel decision.
Ambulance service was a central financial concern. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the ambulance is not expected to come online until next July, and the council discussed three principal revenue options: a flat rooftop fee added to utility bills, a per‑call fee, or a sales‑tax increase. Council members also cited Brigham City as an example that charges a non‑transport fee for ambulance responses. Unidentified Speaker 8 cautioned that state rules limit what ambulances can charge and that collection depends on how often transports occur.
Staff clarified budget accounting and capital rules: purchases above a $2,500 capitalization threshold are treated differently for capital outlay, and members asked for clearer subcategory breakdowns (equipment, equipment maintenance, supplies) so department heads can track spending.
Health‑insurance costs used in the budget were increased by roughly 13 percent to reflect recent quotes; staff noted the city pays about 75 percent of premiums and employees 25 percent, so the employer share in the budget rises accordingly.
A motion to accept the tentative budget as presented that evening was moved and seconded; the council approved the tentative budget by voice vote. The vote was recorded as a voice vote with no roll‑call tally included in the discussion notes. The mayor and staff requested further work on emergency‑services numbers and scheduled required public hearings and final budget adoption steps in May–June.
