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Syracuse council adopts tentative budget, approves fee and wage adjustments and appointments
Summary
Councilors unanimously adopted the FY2026‑27 tentative budget accepting Davis County’s certified tax rate, approved compensation and wage‑scale updates, amended the consolidated fee schedule, and confirmed two planning‑commission appointments; staff noted the county’s certified rate was pending state tax commission action.
The Syracuse City Council unanimously adopted a suite of budgetary and personnel measures at its June meeting, including resolution R26‑24 adopting the tentative FY2026‑27 budget (while accepting the certified tax rate from Davis County), an ordinance approving FY2027 executive compensation, an amended consolidated fee schedule removing a $250 concessionary fee, and a revised city wage scale.
Mayor and councilors emphasized that the tentative budget was developed to avoid proposing a city property tax increase; staff explained that Davis County’s certified tax rate remained pending because the county’s valuations were submitted to the state tax commission and the county awaited final approval. As the mayor put it, the council had "worked tirelessly to make sure that we are physically responsible for our finances" and, on that basis, accepted the county figures and moved forward with the budget.
An emailed public commenter, Eric Wilson, urged the council to consider cumulative impacts of proposed utility fee adjustments (the comment referenced monthly utility fee changes totaling approximately $7.89 and a proposed paper‑billing fee) and to weigh how much new growth should pay for infrastructure versus existing residents. The council acknowledged that cumulative household impacts were a factor in their deliberations but proceeded to adopt the resolutions needed to finalize the budget.
Other formal actions during the meeting included: • Resolution R26‑28: Appointment of Kelly Nielsen (reappointment to a full term) and Courtney Haddock (new appointment) to the planning commission; councilors approved the resolution unanimously. • Resolution R26‑25: Amendment to the consolidated city fee schedule removing a $250 concessionary fee for park concession/space rental; adopted unanimously. • Resolution R26‑26: Adoption of the updated Syracuse city wage scale for FY2026‑27; staff corrected the front‑desk receptionist range to $15.48–$20.78 per hour before council adoption. • Resolution R26‑27: Authorizing Syracuse City’s participation in the Utah Retirement Systems’ Public Employees and Public Safety systems for FY2026‑27; council adopted the resolution and staff noted some employer rates decreased slightly.
Councilors took the votes by voice for most items and recorded unanimous support for the budget package. Staff noted the council will continue reviewing employee compensation policies in future work sessions and will follow up on county tax‑rate finalization if the state tax commission alters the certified values.
The meeting also included consent‑agenda items authorizing a franchise agreement with a fiber provider and repealing municipal code language on hours of operation; both passed as part of the consent agenda. The council closed the business portion of the meeting and proceeded to related agency meetings to adopt RDA and municipal building authority budgets.
