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Midvale budget updates includes unexpected expenses

Mar 29, 2022 09:42PM ● By Erin Dixon

By Erin Dixon | [email protected]

Midvale City revised their current budget, fiscal year July 1, 2021- June 30, 2022. (A budget year is different from a calendar year of Jan. 1 to Dec 31.)

Budget amendments are common in all cities; prices may rise, income can drop, or a project needs to be put off. As the finance department prepares the budget in the spring they predict the needs of the city as well as they can, then adjust as time goes on.

For Midvale, some money was saved because 34% of employees left for other jobs. (The city says this is because of the “great reset” of many resigning in the last two years.)

"The finance person loves seeing a negative number,” Midvale’s Assistant City Manager Kyle Maurer said. “But that means we haven’t had a person doing their jobs and other people have had to cover.”

Seventeen positions have been filled since last July, making a large portion of the city operated by new employees. The turnover made some projects take longer than expected.

“...Midvale has always been able to provide core services to our residents by redirecting resources to other areas in need,” Maurer said. “However, it has slowed down other initiatives (that may not be mission critical) the city is working on.”

The United Police Department (UPD) has also announced an increase in their fees to pay their officers more, as many cities across the country are doing. Midvale is saving over $900,000 to prepare ahead for the additional costs. Higher sales tax income is providing the money to cover it.

“We have received sales tax through November and we’re looking good [to have enough for the UPD increase],” Maurer said.

Other spending the city adjusted:

An additional $20,000 on top of $40,000 to contract for a new website design.

$9,900 for the time and effort it took to reform city code allowing for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU).

$40,000 for an additional contract prosecutor for the court.

$52,270 for a Main Street Utility study to help with the Main Street renovation project.

$57,000 to the Harvest Day budget, bringing the total event budget to $67,300.

These additional costs are covered from several sources: savings from empty employee positions, reimbursement from insurance and the fund balance.