In short
Mayor Dave Maughan writes about the city’s budget process, which runs on a July to June fiscal year and takes several months to build. He writes that the city has no “extra” tax dollars and makes difficult choices each year about what to fund. Most of the budget pays employee wages, because almost every city service requires people. The column cites a Utah Taxpayers Association comparison that ranks Syracuse among the lowest-cost governments of Utah’s 50 largest cities.
Everything else
How the budget works
- The city’s budget year runs July through June, so new Council Members begin work on the next year’s budget right away. Building it is a multi-month project repeated every year.
- The mayor writes that the city does not have “extra” tax dollars, and that inflation means hard choices each year about which demands get funded.
- New expansions such as buildings and parks are paid for by new growth, not by existing residents. New features, amenities, and upgrades require new money to avoid large tax increases.
- The mayor writes that residents often say they would pay more taxes for a specific feature, but there is no public consensus on which feature, and the majority view seems to favor lower taxes.
Where the money goes
- The bulk of the budget each year goes to employee wages. The city is a service provider, and the mayor lists first responders, water and street crews, sewer operations, parks, trails, events, and city administration records and legal requirements.
- City jobs are paid at a rate competitive with similar jobs in other cities but never the top wage in the county. The mayor writes that the city’s wage policy aims to be fair to employees without overpaying compared to surrounding areas.
- Specialty equipment is a major cost. The mayor points to fire engines, police cruisers, sewage maintenance vehicles, and street sweepers, and says a city this size needs multiple snowplows, construction vehicles, and service trucks.
- The city is working on grants and alternative funding sources, but still faces tough choices on how to spend what it has while maintaining current service levels.
How Syracuse compares
- All city budgets are publicly available documents.
- The Utah Taxpayers Association ranked Syracuse among the lowest cost of government of Utah’s 50 largest cities. Syracuse is 8th lowest in revenue from taxes and fees per capita and 7th lowest in revenue per $1,000 of citizen income.
- Contact for the mayor’s office: [email protected], 801-927-7752.
Unofficial digest of a city newsletter. The official version is linked below.
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