Washington Terrace previews FY2027 tentative budget, flags sheriff contract and modest utility increases

City Manager Tom Hanson and Finance Director Shari' Garrett outlined the City of Washington Terrace's FY2027 tentative budget and the FY2028–31 plan during an April 14 work session, flagging sharper-than-expected increases in the sheriff contract and modest utility-rate adjustments.

Hanson said the city links budget items to priorities identified at the council retreat and seeks to “balance service levels with our capacity to pay.” He described the county contract formula for law enforcement as split roughly 60% on calls for service and 40% on population, which has increased the city's share of costs as neighboring cities grow and draw resources. Hanson said the city is anticipating a sheriff-contract estimate of $1,335,522 and that the county will perform a true-up; staff told the council to expect about a 7% annual escalation in the near term.

Finance Director Shari' Garrett told council members the historical pattern of contract increases has been uneven and that a 7% estimate is intended to cover the full package—personnel, fleet and equipment. Garrett said that, by contrast, had Washington Terrace retained its own police department it would have been looking at roughly $3.7 million per year, based on prior internal budget assumptions used for comparison.

Council Member Cheryl Parkinson pressed staff on the city's high call volume, saying the current pattern of incidents in the city is driving the elevated service demand. Hanson said adding personnel under the contract model should enable a more proactive local presence.

On public safety alternatives, Hanson said staff could explore contracting with Ogden City for law-enforcement services, though no outreach to South Ogden had been made. Mayor Mark C. Allen noted the city's four schools and said closer residential density typically correlates with higher incident rates.

Garrett walked the council through utility and enterprise-fund drivers and estimated combined monthly utility impacts: $0.90 for waste collection and recycling, $1.40 for culinary water, $1.40 for sanitary sewer and $0.25 for stormwater—a $3.95 total increase that would raise the monthly base utility rate about 5% to $89.20. She cited Weber Basin Water increases (estimated at 14–15% annually) as a primary driver for culinary water increases and said the sewer district has signaled roughly 6% annual increases through 2031. Garrett also noted that debt-service obligations reaching full term this year will free roughly $146,000 in capacity that staff proposes to return to capital funds.

Parks and capital needs drew debate about prioritization. Council Member Zunayid Z. Zishan urged focusing on maintaining existing equipment and parks rather than beginning new projects such as Rohmer Park expansion right now. Garrett said $38,000 has been used for grant matching and $611,000 remains earmarked to match RAMP grants for unfinished projects; she emphasized that the budget assumes partial grant funding for park work.

Hanson summarized a prior regional Fire District study and said forming a district with South Ogden, Roy and Riverdale would have been costlier than the city's current volunteer-based approach. Staff warned the council that if volunteer fire coverage becomes unsustainable, costs for Fire and EMS would rise substantially.

On personnel costs, staff proposed a 3.5% wage increase and said benefits costs rose about 6%. City Recorder Amy Rodriguez said Weber County wage gains were about 5.1% versus a 4.1% national figure and noted a permanent crossing-guard position at 5000 South and 300 West would add $7,628 in ongoing cost to FY27; the council agreed the location merits the expense.

Garrett said new legislation requires the city to make a formal statement if it is exploring Truth-in-Taxation and that an impact statement will be presented to the public; she said the next meeting (tentative budget meeting) will include economic assumptions, an August timeline and planned public-relations efforts to explain major budget items.

The council did not take formal votes at the work session; staff said the tentative budget will be presented at the May 5 meeting and that numbers may shift during the county true-up and as staff refines assumptions.