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South Jordan council adopts 2026–27 budget and approves new parks fee
Summary
The City Council adopted its fiscal-year 2026–27 final budget and approved a dedicated parks fee the council says will fund park maintenance and capital projects; the fee will begin July 1 and appear on summer utility bills.
The South Jordan City Council on June 2 adopted the city's final budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and approved a new monthly parks fee intended to create a dedicated fund for park operations and capital needs.
Mayor Dawn Ramsey said the council had worked to avoid a tax-rate increase and to respond to repeated resident requests to protect parks. "The fee is $5.38 a month on a single-family home," Ramsey said; she added the multifamily figure in the hearing was unclear but roughly three dollars per month (the transcript contains an imprecise figure for the multifamily rate). The council approved the budget on a recorded roll-call vote.
Why it matters: City officials said the fee creates a small, stable funding source for park operation and maintenance (fertilizer, equipment replacement, lights, courts, and other O&M expenses) and for the Parks Master Plan's capital program. CFO Sunil Naidu told the council the tax commission had not yet certified the city's final tax rate, and the adopted budget does not increase the certified rate. The city said the fee will be tracked as a separate line item in the utilities budget and carried forward if unused.
What the council said: Naidu described how updated development fees and a refined budgeting methodology helped the city balance needs without raising the tax rate. Mayor Ramsey said the parks fee is meant to be "a small pot" that ensures parks receive funding even in lean times and to make park spending more transparent.
Implementation and timing: City staff said the fee will be effective July 1 and will start to appear on utility bills toward the end of July or in early August. Officials said approximately $500,000 of the fee revenue will be earmarked for capital projects aligned with the Parks Master Plan in the coming fiscal year; the remainder will support operations and future projects.
Vote: Resolution R2026-11 (final FY 2026'27 budget) passed on a council roll-call with the members present voting in favor.
Next steps: The city will begin collecting the parks fee and report on how the line-item money is used; the council said it will continue to provide public updates on parks spending and capital priorities.
