Herriman council reviews mid‑biennial budget, weighs truth‑in‑taxation and public‑safety funding options

Herriman — City staff reviewed a mid‑biennial budget update on Feb. 12, outlining revenue trends, inflation impacts and capital needs and asking the council whether to include a placeholder for a truth‑in‑taxation discussion on the county budget calendar.

Trevor, who delivered the presentation, told the council the city’s direct sales tax collections doubled between 2020 and 2024 and walked through revenue mixes for the general fund, the public‑safety fund and other core funds. "We've doubled our direct sales tax," Trevor said, explaining that growth has slowed and that population and permitting trends will determine whether recent increases continue.

The presentation framed the problem in two parts: rising expense pressures from inflation and staffing as the city grows, and a revenue mix that remains heavily dependent on property taxes. Staff noted the city’s portion of property tax has declined relative to other taxing entities; using the city’s current share as context, presenters warned that adding fire stations or other major facilities would change debt and operating profiles.

Councilmember S7 proposed a budgeting concept to address inflationary pressure on public‑safety costs: set aside a portion of future local sales‑tax receipts into a designated fund to cover the inflationary component of police and fire staffing and operations rather than relying solely on property tax increases. "I would propose that we need to think about separating a percentage of sales tax to go to, especially your public safety services, to pay for the inflationary portion," S7 said.

S9 cautioned that sales tax is cyclical and can shrink during deflationary periods, advising that any reserve strategy include fund‑balance smoothing to avoid undercutting services in downturns. Staff recommended presenting modeled scenarios in the next budget cycle and returning to the council with a CIP priorities meeting where the council will review an internally prioritized list of capital needs and tradeoffs.

On procedural timing, staff noted League guidance that placing a truth‑in‑taxation discussion on the county calendar before March 1 is a best practice to preserve options; staff recommended including the possibility on all three core funds that use property tax if the council wants to preserve the option.

Next steps: staff will include a truth‑in‑taxation placeholder on the draft calendar if the council agrees and will schedule a CIP priority workshop before the next biennial budget cycle so council members can review and reorder proposed projects.