Emery County CRA adopts amended 2025 budget and approves 2026 spending plan

The Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency voted Dec. 16 to adopt changes to its 2025 budget and to approve the agency’s 2026 spending plan following a public hearing and staff presentation.

CRA staff presented the proposed 2025 amendment and the 2026 budget during a public hearing, telling the board the primary drivers of the 2025 amendment were higher-than-estimated costs for the Orange Shadow project and updated reported values for several solar projects. Staff noted a housing set-aside balance of roughly $568,000 and described plans to keep housing funds in a separate Public Treasurer’s Investment Fund account for clearer accounting.

The presentation also outlined projected revenues for 2026 by project: Hunter, Castle, Horn/Orange Shadow and the two Green River Solar entries, with a combined multi-project revenue forecast in the low tens of millions of dollars reflected in packet materials.

After closing the public hearing, the board moved to approve the amended 2025 budget and later adopted the 2026 budget. The roll call for the amended 2025 approval recorded the following votes: Todd O’Neill, aye; Dennis Ward, aye; Jordan Leonard, aye; Jacob Sharp, aye; Kevin Jensen, aye. The board also approved the 2026 budget by roll call (members recorded as present voted in the affirmative during the recorded roll call).

The adopted budgets include planned participation and incentive assumptions for several large solar-plus-storage projects that appeared elsewhere on the agenda; staff said the budget numbers reflect four years of changing tax rates, inflation and personal-property depreciation since the original 2021 plan.

The board’s action takes effect immediately, and staff will proceed with the accounting changes and posting required for the amended 2025 and new 2026 budgets.