MSD presenter: Emigration Canyon ran a roughly $904,000 shortfall in first half of 2024; council discusses MET, franchise taxes and legislative help

Marla, an MSD presenter, told the Emigration Canyon council at a workshop that the member service district’s six-month accounting (01/01/2024–06/30/2024) left the canyon roughly $904,000 short after operating and capital project charges.

“That for this short year of 6 months, Emigration Canyon was in the hole by $904,000,” Marla said while walking the council through the spreadsheet, citing roughly $325,000 in operating collections during the period and large public-works and bond-related charges.

The shortfall reflected two drivers, Marla said: timing and scale of roadwork, and the way some MSD expenses are allocated. She explained that many charges — including animal services and DA prosecution — are allocated by population, not actual usage, while engineering and public-works operations (PW ops) bill by tracked time and equipment by jurisdiction.

“When they send out equipment, the equipment is sent out according to location … and so when they bill it and then they have an overhead that they allocate based upon their hours within a jurisdiction,” Marla said, describing the billing layers and offering to provide invoice backup for members who requested it.

The group discussed where the district’s funding comes from. Marla showed full-year comparisons for 2022–2023 and explained that unincorporated-county revenues have historically subsidized smaller members of the MSD. She called attention to the distinction between recurring revenue and one-time bond proceeds: “The bond money is 1 time money. Right? And not to be confused with some an annual income.”

Robert Pinot, who identified himself after joining the meeting, said the canyon is “operating in a negative condition” and argued that nonresident use — commuters, recreation and university traffic — adds wear and tear and increases maintenance costs.

“We have people coming up here creating wear and tear, forcing us to do different types of maintenance that otherwise we wouldn't,” Pinot said, adding that those factors justify considering broader funding sources.

Council members and staff discussed revenue options. The group reviewed municipal energy tax (MET) and utility franchise tax: staff clarified the MET is charged to end users while franchise taxes are levied on suppliers and typically passed through to consumers. A staff advisor said the two taxes can be adopted by one ordinance or by two separate ordinances and noted the council had previously held a hearing but delayed implementation.

“We held a public hearing and voted to approve implementing it, but we have not — we've delayed the implementation,” the advisor said, describing options for moving forward.

Marla suggested pursuing legislative relief and state tourism funding as additional avenues. She offered to coordinate follow-up briefings with county and legislative contacts and to provide the spreadsheet and fund-balance details the council requested.

The workshop closed on a motion to adjourn the workshop portion, which passed by verbal assent; staff said they would circulate the spreadsheet and clarify where beginning fund-balance appropriation and related entries appear in the packet.

Why it matters: Emigration Canyon’s shortfall highlights a common problem for small jurisdictions that rely on shared-service models: large, variable public-works costs and allocation methods can produce apparent deficits in short time windows and put pressure on member subsidies, existing fund balances and decisions about local taxes or county/legislative support.

Next steps: Staff will provide the detailed backup and a memo outlining lobbying contacts, possible grant/tourism funding, and options for implementing MET/franchise taxes. The council will revisit fund-balance accounting and consider whether to place tax implementation or other measures on a future agenda.

(At the meeting, speakers used the name “Emigration Canyon” as normalized here; the transcript repeatedly used the variant “Immigration Canyon.”)