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Herriman staff presents high‑level budget framework, warns city is in a ‘not enough money’ position
Summary
City staff opened a year‑long budget conversation that frames Herriman as fiscally constrained; presentation highlighted revenue mix (sales tax dominant), staffing and facility shortfalls, population build‑out estimates and a multi‑year capital list, and proposed a simple A–F ‘report card’ to guide service‑level choices.
Speaker 2 presented a high‑level kickoff to the FY2025 budget discussion, telling council the city is in a “not enough money” situation and laying out the tradeoffs staff expects as Herriman grows.
Staff summarized the city’s revenue mix and constraints, saying sales tax drives roughly half of general‑fund revenue (about 50–55%) while property tax contributes comparatively little to the general fund. Speaker 2 cited a Zions study that estimated roughly $3,900,000 in annual local sales that currently escape Herriman’s tax base and noted that even fully capturing that leakage would not eliminate budget pressure. Personnel drives the largest share of expenditures: staff reported personnel costs account for about half of general‑fund expenses and roughly 83% of police department spending.
Speaker 2 described several specific fiscal and program drivers: the chart shown to council listed nearly $193,000,000 of capital projects across funds; operating examples included an estimated $2,000,000‑a‑year cost to operate a municipal pool and a reminder that two additional fire stations were projected to add about $6,000,000 a year in operating costs. Staff noted growth and development patterns (roughly 12,000 new home entitlements remaining, build‑out population estimates centered near 115,000–116,000) and said the mix of private streets, HOA maintenance, and timing of builds will materially affect future city obligations.
On staffing and facilities, staff said several departments are already stretched: the public‑works building was described as sized for a much smaller city, parks staff rated their ability to keep up at a C‑/D+ level, and the city is nearing the point of needing a full‑time emergency‑management position because of new state requirements (HB 48) and local wildland‑interface responsibilities. To help the council weigh tradeoffs, staff proposed using a simplified A–F report card (departmental and task‑level grades) and a priority‑based budgeting conversation in upcoming meetings, with a live model staff hopes to use to show adjustments in real time.
Speaker 2 and other council members asked for further detail on capital timing and on the staff model; staff said it will return with more capital detail and funding sources in a subsequent work session before the formal budget proposals are drafted. The presentation emphasized that the intent is to supply council with enough context to avoid making decisions “in a vacuum.”
The presentation closed with staff pointing to recurring unknowns — state mandates, demographic shifts, and the limits of taxation — as reasons to treat policy choices as iterative rather than one‑time fixes. The council did not take formal action; staff will return with the capital spreadsheet and the interactive model for further direction.
