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River Heights mayor: county voucher proposal could shift fire/EMS funding; city to seek more detail
Summary
Mayor Blake Wright outlined a Cache County proposal to increase county levies and return funds to cities via a fire/EMS voucher; Wright said a 0.6-mill voucher would likely best match River Heights' needs and plans to raise follow-up questions at a county meeting.
Mayor Blake Wright told the River Heights City Council on April 21 that Cache County Executive Daines has proposed changes intended to address what the mayor described as a "double taxation" issue for some cities that pay for fire protection they do not directly receive.
Under the proposal described at the meeting, the county would raise a fire/EMS levy (examples discussed included 0.8, 0.7 and 0.6 mills), and the county would return funds to cities through a voucher mechanism. Wright said a 0.6-mill voucher would likely be most advantageous for River Heights because a larger levy could generate funds that the city could not spend on its own (the mayor said any extra money could be used only for EMS). The council did not take a formal position at the meeting.
The council examined figures showing the current net fire/EMS budget of $148,730 and modeled voucher funds returned to cities at various mill rates (for example, voucher funds of roughly $189,480 at 0.8 mills, $165,795 at 0.7 mills, and $142,110 at 0.6 mills were shown in the packet). Wright said he planned to attend a county meeting on the proposal.
Public Works Director Clayten Nelson asked whether voucher funds might be used on water storage or to spend interest on voucher money; the mayor said he would raise those questions at the county meeting.
Next steps: Mayor Wright to attend the county-level meeting and report back to council; the city has not adopted a formal stance.
