Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tooele City Council reviews 2026 tentative budget, adds staffing and capital priorities
Summary
At a June 3 work meeting, Tooele City staff presented the 2026 tentative operating and capital budget, proposing three new positions (a police officer, a fire administrative assistant and an IT position), step/COLA increases and a range of capital projects including cemetery irrigation upgrades, library and museum improvements, IT and public‑safety equipment, and water and wastewater investments.
Tooele City Council on June 3 reviewed the city’s 2026 tentative budget, which city staff characterized as focused on maintaining core services while advancing a multiyear capital program.
Shannon (city finance/administration) told the council the operating budget centers on personnel, operations and maintenance, noting routine salary step increases and a cost‑of‑living adjustment of about 2.5 percent. The proposed operating changes include three new positions: an additional police officer, an administrative assistant for the fire department and an IT department position to maintain cybersecurity and network reliability.
The budget also includes stipends designed to support the city’s largely volunteer fire department as call volume climbs. “This budget just goes through and make sure that we have proper procedures and training…and that we keep our fraud risk as low as we can,” Shannon said during an earlier fraud‑risk update, adding the city’s assessment score remains at the low end of the scale.
On capital projects, staff highlighted a mix of community‑facing improvements and fleet/equipment replacements: a new welcome sign on the city’s north entrance, continuation of the 50/50 sidewalk replacement program, an animal‑shelter cargo van, a hydraulic dump truck and parking upgrades at the cemetery (plus irrigation upgrades), aquatic center lighting replacement, museum ADA sidewalks, library xeriscape completion and replacement of the library chiller and HVAC components, repairs and equipment for the golf course, and maintenance equipment and vehicles for public works and utilities. The fire department will continue its multi‑year lease payment on a new fire truck and is planning two additional vehicles to support an on‑call rotation.
In the IT and public‑safety portfolios, the city plans data‑center hardware upgrades and to replace the current H2O suppression system with a non‑reactive gas system to better protect servers. The police department is budgeted for forensic software, a body‑camera contract renewal or new system, Axon VR training software and safety equipment for a new motorcycle traffic officer.
Staff also described enterprise‑fund projects. The water fund anticipates vehicle replacements and a 10‑wheel dump truck and aims to deploy a satellite radio‑read system that would provide near real‑time water‑use data to customers and help detect leaks. The wastewater fund will purchase equipment and complete solar‑dryer installation work already under contract; staff said bond work will fund a planned wastewater treatment plant program. Stormwater projects listed include drainage work on Seventh Street, Broadway and 600 North.
Longer‑term debt was reviewed as part of the budget summary: several long‑running bonds were paid off in 2025 and 2026 (including MBA bonds and a water bond), with remaining bonds scheduled through 2036 for legacy projects and more recent police and fire station financing. “We’ve done a great job in the last many years of getting our debt paid down,” staff said, and a bond schedule was provided in the budget book.
Staff closed by noting the full budget document is available on the city website and as a hard copy at city hall for residents who want details. Councilmembers thanked staff for the clear presentation and flagged that they would continue to review line items and follow up with specific questions before final adoption.
