City Council

South Salt Lake City Council Public Hearing August 9, 2022 Page 2 Public Comments/Question Policy Time is made available for anyone in the audience to address the Council and/or Mayor concerning matters pertaining to City business. When a member of the audience addresses the Council and/or Mayor, they will come to the podium and state their name and City they reside. Individuals will be asked to limit their remarks/questions to three (3) minutes each. The conducting Council Member shall have discretion as to who will respond to a comment/question. In all cases the criteria for response will be that comments/questions must be pertinent to City business, that there are no argumentative questions and no personal attacks. Some comments/questions may have to wait for a response until the next regular council meeting. The conducting Council Member will inform a citizen when they have used the allotted time. Grievances by City employees must be processed in accordance with adopted personnel rules. 8/9/22, 4:33 PM South Salt Lake City Mail - Fwd: Resident Opposition Perspective on Property Valuation and Tax Changes Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Fwd: Resident Opposition Perspective on Property Valuation and Tax Changes 1 me age LeAnne Huff <lhuff@sslc.gov> Tue, Aug 9, 2022 at 4:22 PM To: Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Alex Cater <c com> Date Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 8 14 AM Subject: Resident Opposition Perspective on Property Valuation and Tax Changes To: <lhuff@sslc.gov> CC: Tamra Hello Councilwoman Huff, My name i Ale Cater and my wife and I have a hou e in Di trict 1 on 200 Ea t We purcha ed it in late 2020 and have thoroughly enjoyed our time in South Salt Lake and playing a part in the community. Since we are not able to participate in the city council meetings due to work constraints, we wanted to raise a concern about the propo ed ta increa e We strongly urge the Council to not adopt the proposed tax increases as it would have an adverse impact on the progress that the City has been making. A few reasons for this position: The tax increases as proposed would make South Salt Lake less competitive and desirable for homeowner hip relative to the more e tabli hed Salt Lake City and emerging communitie uch a We t Valley City and others. This may result in fewer people owning homes in South Salt Lake given its relative value to other areas. Increasing property values have contributed to a favorable balance in the General Fund and already con titute more to the City than the national benchmark Currently, fund from property ta e have contributed more than $1M over this year's budgeted amount from the category. Therefore, revenue from properties does not seem to be underrepresented in the City's budget and should find ways to increase revenue from other areas such as sales tax by attracting business. Property taxes contribute to roughly 30% of this year's budget compared to a benchmark of 17% according to The Urban In titute (urban org) Increasing the property tax rate is double-taxation which will adversely affect total revenues as a result of the previous two points. A significant amount of revenue has been generated from higher home values, whereas a higher tax rate disproportionately affects South Salt Lake residents who are invested in the community's growth. It al o will lower the value of new home being built and old while putting an increa ed burden on longer tanding residents. That burden would then be pushed to renters, who constitute roughly half of City residents, as owners would ratchet prices higher in an effort to cover the higher costs. We appreciate the need for the City to function by earning revenue, however, this dramatic increase would result in a dramatic shock to the community that would stall growth, disproportionately hurt residents, and fails to provide a comprehen ive and re pon ible urban policy olution by developing a well rounded and time pha ed approach to generate revenue. I appreciate your consideration of this perspective and welcome the opportunity to speak more about this. Best, Alex https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/? k=9eb956e79d&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1740723987971917757&simpl=msg-f%3A1740723987… 1/1 8/10/22, 10:01 AM South Salt Lake City Mail - Fwd: Water Tower Resident Supporter | Upcoming Public Hearing and Taxation Plan Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Fwd: Water Tower Resident Supporter | Upcoming Public Hearing and Taxation Plan 1 me age Clarissa Williams <cwilliams@sslc.gov> Tue, Aug 9, 2022 at 6:48 PM To: Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Johanna Blair <j > Date: Tue, Aug 9, 2022, 14:41 Subject Water Tower Re ident Supporter | Upcoming Public Hearing and Ta ation Plan To: mayor@sslc.gov <mayor@sslc.gov>, lhuff@sslc.gov <lhuff@sslc.gov>, cwilliams@sslc.gov <cwilliams@sslc.gov>, npinkney@sslc.gov <npinkney@sslc.gov> Hello SSLC Mayor and Council Representatives, I've lived in the water tower neighborhood of South Salt Lake for over 4 year and have een fir thand our city' rapid development. We definitely need more police and firefighters and a better storm water system, among other things. I completely support the proposed property tax increase, if that means we can make our neighborhoods safer and improve our infrastructure by doing so. I know there are those who disagree with me. They may feel that this tax increase is unnece ary or e ce ive To them I ay, South Salt Lake i going to continue to grow, regardle We can either fund it now and provide for the basic requirements of that growth or maintain the status quo and just hope our current infrastructure and safety issues go away. I'd prefer the first option. Though I can't attend the public hearing tonight, please know that you have my families full upport to approve the property ta increa e Thank for your time Best, Johanna Blair https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/? k=9eb956e79d&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1740733164868253849&simpl=msg-f%3A1740733164… 1/1 8/9/22, 1:49 PM South Salt Lake City Mail - Fwd: Comment for tomorrow's Truth in Taxation Hearing Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Fwd: Comment for tomorrow's Truth in Taxation Hearing Sharla Bynum <sbynum@sslc.gov> Tue, Aug 9, 2022 at 7:27 AM To: Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Please print for me to read. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Lewis Kogan Date: Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 6:37 PM Subject Comment for tomorrow' Truth in Ta ation Hearing To: <sbynum@sslc.gov>, <npinkney@sslc.gov>, <cwilliams@sslc.gov> Good evening Council Member Bynum, Pinkney and William Unfortunately, I'm unable to attend tomorrow' cheduled Truth in Taxation Hearing, but I wanted to send my comments via email beforehand, if you'll allow me. My wife and I moved to South Salt Lake's Fitts Park neighborhood in early 2014. When we first moved here, we thought it might be a brief top before finding a more permanent place to live, but we oon decided to purcha e a home in SSL and for the past 8 years have been increasingly proud to call ourselves and our two children South Salt Lake residents. This fall, I am excited to be starting my own small business here. We love the way that SSL embraces the ethnic, economic and cultural diversity that has long been a part of this community. We have benefited directly from many of the progre ive urban planning program that SSL ha undertaken, including the we tward e ten ion of the S Line Trail, the redevelopment of the Burton Lumber site, improvements to Central Park and Fitts Park, and the various business-friendly practices and community-building initiatives that are increasingly making the downtown district a fun and exciting place to hang out and meet other South Salt Lakers. We appreciate SSL Government's longstanding efforts to minimize tax impacts on city residents and businesses, but also recognize and acknowledge that it has been a long time since SSL raised property tax rates. A lot has changed during this time, service costs and standard wages have risen dramatically, and SSL is also experiencing rapid change as the population of the Wa atch Front i growing dramatically We love living here and want SSL to continue to inve t in the kind of community infrastructure that will keep SSL "on the move" in the right direction - including public safety personnel, public parks and infrastructure, assets that support community planning and growth, and competitive wages for attracting and retaining high-caliber staff. Thank you for all your hard and excellent work for this community. Please support the City' propo ed ta increa e that will be up for di cu ion tomorrow Sincerely, Lewi & Halle Kogan Sharla Bynum SSL Council Chair https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/? k=9eb956e79d&view=pt&search=all&permmsgid=msg-f%3A1740690345364205636&simpl=msg-f%3A1740690345… 1/1 8/9/22, 1:46 PM South Salt Lake City Mail - Fwd: Vote AGAINST property tax increase Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Fwd: Vote AGAINST property tax increase 1 me age Sharla Bynum <sbynum@sslc.gov> Tue, Aug 9, 2022 at 1:44 PM To: Ariel Andrus <aandrus@sslc.gov> Plea e print thi one too Thank ! ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Michelle Poe > Date Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 2 06 PM Subject: Vote AGAINST property tax increase To: cwilliams@sslc.gov <cwilliams@sslc.gov>, npinkney@sslc.gov <npinkney@sslc.gov>, lhuff@sslc.gov <lhuff@sslc.gov>, cthomas@sslc.com <cthomas@sslc.com>, sbeverly@sslc.com <sbeverly@sslc.com>, pmila@ lc com pmila@ lc com , iwik@ lc gov iwik@ lc gov , mayor@s lc gov mayor@ lc gov City Council Members and Mayor Wood, I am emailing you urging you to vote AGAINST the property tax increase at the current rate proposed. Increasing property taxes by over 100% is unfair to your community anytime, but especially during a time of high inflation and possibly looking at a recession coming as well. I understand the city needs revenue to run. But a failure to act by past city councils (the excuse I’ve seen cited numerous times) does not give you an excuse to raise taxes this much all at once. This will harm a community that is already low income and many struggling to survive. I sincerely ask you to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that would gradually raises taxes, allowing families to adjust. This administration and city council have done many good things for this community. Please don’t undo all of that good will with a one vote that will harm the majority of your constituents. Please recognize those already struggling during this time. Please find a different way. Sincerely, Michelle Poe -- Sharla Bynum SSL Council Chair https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/? k=9eb956e79d&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1740714020494755857&simpl=msg-f%3A1740714020… 1/1