Tooele County Council adopts $169.65M tentative 2027 budget, no tax increase planned

The Tooele County Council adopted a $169.65 million tentative budget for fiscal 2027 on Oct. 27 and left the public hearing open until the final budget is adopted on Dec. 1, according to the meeting record. The presentation said the budget spans 18 funds, is 16.2 percent larger than last year's, and does not anticipate a tax increase. ^[1][2]

The presenter said most of the increase relates to infrastructure projects, funded largely from reserves held in the capital projects fund. The presenter said the biggest share of the overall budget's funding comes from reserves, mostly in the capital projects fund, and that the $52.64 million general fund plans to use $3.47 million of reserves. The budget lists $37.4 million in capital projects, with the largest being two phases of work at The Peak. Others include Mormon Trail, Village Boulevard, Middle Canyon Trail, county facility projects and senior center repairs. Those projects are paid from grants, the roads fund, impact fees, the Council of Governments-directed fund and reserves. ^[2]

On personnel, the presentation put wages at $44.31 million, including a 3.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment and a 1.7 percent average merit increase. It said departments made 40 employee requests worth $2.88 million, 20 for added capacity and 20 for adjustments or reclassifications, and that those are outside the tentative budget. The presenter also said a compensation study's results are not yet included, and that both enterprise funds, the airport and solid waste, are estimated to end 2027 in the red, with the airport a major concern. ^[2]

Annual bond payments are about $3 million, and staff estimated replacement costs of $4.3 million in 2028 rising to $6.2 million in 2031. Before the final budget, the presenter said, the council needs to clarify compensation costs, firm up reserves, finalize the projects and equipment, and confirm employee requests. ^[2]

Earlier in the meeting, the council took up the 2027 employee benefits renewal with consultants from GBS. The renewal includes a 4.5 percent dental increase, and the consultants recommended that the county move from its partially self-funded arrangement with the state's PEHP risk pool to a fully self-funded health plan, with stop-loss insurance covering catastrophic claims. They said the county's plan has run below the premiums PEHP charged for three years and that the surpluses the county gets back have been diluted by the pool. In their projections, the most probable outcome is a 7.4 percent surplus, the most optimistic is 16 percent, and the worst case equals current premiums. ^[2]

Council members did not decide, and the item is expected to return in January. Councilman Scott Wardle pressed on making benefits more competitive. ^[2]

The council also approved a county Financial Policy Manual, a rewrite of the procurement chapter that raises signature-authority thresholds, and an annual fraud risk assessment scored 380 out of 390. Council members, sitting as the boards of the related bodies, adopted tentative budgets for the Redevelopment Agency ($60,000) and the Transportation Special Service District ($440,000), and zero-dollar tentative budgets for two other districts. ^[2]