City Council Agendas & Minutes

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING FRUIT HEIGHTS CITY 910 South Mountain Road August 17, 2021 WELCOME: Mayor John Pohlman called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. PLEDGE & OPENING CEREMONY: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Eileen Moss, and the meeting was opened with Council Member Diane Anderson offering a word of prayer. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Council Members Diane Anderson, Jeanne Groberg, Eileen Moss and Mayor John Pohlman were all present. Council Members Gary Anderson and Julia Busche were excused. CITY STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Brandon Green, Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen, City Planner Jeff Oyler and City Recording Secretary Amy Gardiner were all present. VISITORS: Kristie Kearns, Scottie Kearns, Fred Burgold, Brent Bingham, James Romney, Marc Van Oene, Janeel Henderson, Laura Hubrich, Ron Hubrich, George Ray and Flo Sadler were present. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Fred Burgold commented that he would like the minutes for the City meetings posted in a more timely manner on the city website. Scottie Kearns commented that he felt like City ordinances were not being adhered to with the excavation that was taking place above his home. He expressed concern about how the ordinances will be addressed with even a bigger project. He felt like the safety and value of his home were in jeopardy. FY 21-22 BUDGET PRESENTATION & TRUTH IN TAXATION PUBLIC HEARING: In connection with a proposed increase in property tax rate in the City, City Manager Brandon Green explained property taxes and answered the following questions: • Who determines the property value and how much people pay? • How are property taxes allocated? • How does Fruit Heights use its share of property tax money? He also explained: • An increase in home value does not necessarily mean an increase in property tax • Year over year, the certified tax rate for property tax will fluctuate • He noted 2020’s Truth in Taxation public hearing was to approve an increase supporting capital projects within Fruit Heights City. • The current proposed increase in tax rate is due to a change in paramedic services throughout Davis County.  • Starting December 31, 2022, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office will turn responsibility for paramedic services over to the Davis County cities, and this City will need to start paying directly for these services. He explained what this proposed increase in tax rate would mean to Fruit Heights City residents: • The Fruit Heights City tax on a residence valued at $540,000 would increase from $520.34 to $579.1,5 which is $58.81 per year. • The Fruit Heights City tax on a business property valued at $481,000 would increase from $946.08 to $1,053.00, which is $106.92 per year. • If the proposed budget is approved, Fruit Heights City would increase its property tax budgeted revenue by 11.28% above last year’s property tax budgeted revenue excluding eligible new growth. City Manager Brandon Green completed his presentation with a discussion with Mayor John Pohlman and the City Council about the proposed increase in property taxes and conducting a Truth In Taxation Public Hearing. Following discussion, Council Member Diane Anderson made a motion to enter into a Truth in Taxation Public Hearing. The motion was seconded by Council Member Jeanne Groberg and it was approved unanimously. The public was permitted to address the Mayor and the City Council on issues related to the proposed property tax increase. Residents James Romney, Jim Lamb, Marc Van Oene, Janeel Henderson, Ron Hubrick, Fred Burgold all made comments about the proposed property tax increase. The residents primarily commented on the proposed tax increase being a hardship for them as taxpayers. The City Council referred them to Davis County, where several tax relief programs are offered. If requirements are met, these programs can reduce or abate the real or personal property taxes. City Manager Brandon Green, Mayor John Pohlman and the City Council continued to address other questions and concerns the residents presented. Following discussion, Council Member Eileen Moss made a motion to close the Truth in Taxation Public Hearing. The motion was seconded by Council Member Diane Anderson and it was approved unanimously. CITY BUSINESS: Review/Discuss/Approve/Deny Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Tax Rate Council Members Eileen Moss, Diane Anderson, and Jeanne Groberg and Mayor John Pohlman each took time to express how they felt about the proposed increase in tax rate. They noted that Fruit Heights City runs without incurring debt, which is an accomplishment for a city like Fruit Heights. Following discussion, Council Member Eileen Moss made a motion to approve the tax rate of 0.001950 for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The motion was seconded by Council Member Diane Anderson and it was approved unanimously. Review/Discuss/Approve/Deny Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget Mayor John Pohlman asked for any comments on the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget, which previously had been reviewed and discussed by City Council members. He noted that the budget was made with the new tax rate in mind. Following discussion, Council Member Diane Anderson made a motion to approve the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget. The motion was seconded by Council Member Jeanne Groberg and it was approved unanimously. Review/Discuss/Approve/Deny the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Law Enforcement Agreement with Corrections City Manager Brandon Green explained that the Law Enforcement Agreement had already been approved but there was an issue with some dates on the agreement. The dates had been corrected. Following discussion, Council Member Diane Anderson made a motion to approve the 2021- 2022 Law Enforcement Agreement with corrected dates. The motion was seconded by Council Member Eileen Moss and it was approved unanimously. Review/Discuss/Approve/Deny Lobbyist Consulting Agreement Mayor John Pohlman discussed the proposed engagement by the City of a lobbying consultant and recommended tabling the approval of the Lobbyist Consulting Agreement to give Council members more time to understand the agreement. Council Member Eileen Moss recommended the proposed lobbyist come to a future City Council meeting to explain the services they would be providing the City. Following discussion, Council Member Diane Anderson made a motion to table approving the Lobbyist Consulting Agreement. The motion was seconded by Council Member Eileen Moss and it was approved unanimously. CONSENT CALENDAR: June Check Register and July Check Register Council Member Eileen Moss reported on her review of the June and July check registers for the City and mentioned that as part of the Covid-19 funds the City received, the City Council tried to use it to support businesses in Fruit Heights. One of the businesses they tried to support had since gone out of business and was not able to receive its allocated share of the funds. Otherwise, everything else went according to plan to pay the bills. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING: Council Members Diane Anderson and Jeanne Groberg commented on the approval of minutes and the uploading of minutes to the City website. It was agreed by everyone that it needs to happen in a more timely manner. INFORMATION ITEMS/UPCOMING EVENTS: August 23, 2021 -- Planning Commission Meeting September 7, 2021 -- City Council Meeting September 21, 2021 -- City Council Meeting September 28, 2021 -- Planning Commission Meeting CITY COUNCIL & STAFF REPORTS: Council Member Jeanne Groberg reported that the 2021-2022 Youth City Council has been selected. She also discussed how the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT) is addressing housing issues across the state. She mentioned the ULCT has a survey out and wants input from cities about the housing issues. Council Member Diane Anderson talked about the success of Founders Day and indicated the LeBarons, who organized the event, will come to the next meeting and report about it. Council Member Diane Anderson said the LeBarons have agreed to stay on for next year, and she would like to appoint some co-chairs to help as well. Mayor John Pohlman agreed that Founders Day went well and was a lot of fun. He talked about the golf tournament and mentioned the winners will come to a City Council Meeting to be recognized. Council Member Eileen Moss mentioned she had met with City Manager Brandon Green and City Engineer Brandon Jones to talk about the capital projects and to be on top of things. The City is trying to be as frugal as they possibly can. City Manager Brandon Green also stated that he had been meeting with City Engineer Brandon Jones to plan for proposed 2022-2023 capital projects. Public Works Superintendent Darren Frandsen mentioned that they will be shifting US-89 lanes at Nicholls Road, and they will be finishing up work on US-89 at the north end of the City. Mayor John Pohlman asked for a motion to close the meeting so they could proceed to conduct a closed meeting to address a specific agenda item. Council Member Jeanne Groberg made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Council Member Diane Anderson seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true, accurate and complete record of the Fruit Heights City Council Meeting held August 17, 2021. Not approved until signed. /s/ Brandon Green Brandon Green, City Recorder Date approved by City Council: September 7, 2021