OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Riverton City Council Meeting: March 18, 2025 - Fire Staffing, Development Amendments, and Budget Decisions

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, March 18, 2025
BodyRiverton, Utah
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, March 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:38:45

Transcript — Verbatim
1:53

Jamie, are we good to begin?

1:54

We got the recording going?

1:55

Okay.

1:58

Who's up first here?

1:59

Kevin.

2:02

All right.

2:03

Josh, anybody joining us?

2:05

Not yet?

2:06

Okay.

2:07

Well, then we'll call our work session meeting to order.

2:10

We have uh all of our elected officials present with the exception of Councilmember Perucci, who is excused, maybe joining us here uh at some point in the work session or for the the council meeting.

2:21

So first up, item five A, elected official compensation.

2:25

Kevin, you want to go ahead and lead us in that?

2:27

Thank you, Mayor, members of the council.

2:29

Uh we've already I sent an email probably a couple of weeks ago.

2:33

We've also met quite a bit in person um to talk about this, but really the the background for this is a few years ago, if you recall, um, we had uh met and established a uh standard for the elected officials pay.

2:50

And that's what you see here, that's inside Ruverton City Code.

2:53

Um I think it's important to understand that it's not vital that you have something like this in the city code.

2:58

We do have our um pay scale that we report each year through the budgetary process, and that pay scale is something that's available online and readily available for people to look up and see if they need to.

3:13

So, but at the time we had stipulated to have it be structured tied to the mid-grade of a grade 20.

3:21

What we're finding though is each year as we do our benchmark to look at what the grades are, we can we do a comparison with throughout the cities.

3:29

And what we're noticing this year specifically, it it creates a substantial increase that I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page, whether that is still the intent.

3:39

If we do nothing, then that's what it would look like, and it would be a just under ten percent adjustment.

3:44

Um the next slide, Jason.

3:46

I did do a comparison of the the uh varying cities and see where our elected officials pay is in comparison to um the rest of our counterparts or your counterparts, and you can see there where um the average is and then where Riverton City falls.

4:05

Um so as we go down to the next slide, Jason.

4:09

We've come together with a uh recommendation, which is simply instead of having it pegged to grade 20, we would simply have it follow what the staff receives every year through the budgetary process.

4:23

The reason that I like this is because the the hope is we don't need to come back and have this conversation again.

4:29

Uh we simply just say treat the elected officials like the rest of staff, and if staff gets X percent, the rest of the elected officials get the same X percent as there are also considered employees.

4:41

Um is a little bit of dialogue and then then direction if this if the elected officials would like us to make this proposed change to the code, we obviously would come back.

4:52

Um we could put either in discussion or a consent to change that section of the code, but this is what we're recommending recommending.

5:00

There could be other options if you decided to discuss those.

5:04

Thank you, Kevin.

5:05

Um, open it up for discussion amongst the council.

5:08

I mean, just for the public's benefit, we uh we've went this direction, I know some years ago.

5:14

Remind me when that code change was implemented.

5:17

2018, 19.

5:18

About that, yeah, yeah.

5:20

Um sorry, 2019.

5:24

And I think the intent was um the mayoral salary, the I thought the the thought was to tie it a quarter to the city manager because the thought was it should be at least compensated that level that there might be you know the equivalent of 10 hours work of a mayor.

5:42

I'm I don't think there's been anything less than 20 or 30 hours a week or me in this role, but I appreciated the council's uh willingness to do that back in that time period, and then council members some felt strongly that they wanted to be at the 15% level because many boards that you participate on are not compensated, some are, some are not.

6:02

And so I think that was the thought process at the time.

6:05

Um I appreciate the recommendation just to kind of move this away from a tie to that grade, and just if I understood you correctly, just have it be in line with what the merit uh Coca is for employees.

6:17

Okay, council.

6:19

Any um any comments, thoughts, direction that you want to give staff on this?

6:26

Nobody really wants to talk about their compensation, Kevin.

6:29

I don't say I blame you, it's always uh it's a tough one.

6:33

Uh count well, actually we do council member Heymans, McKay, and then Broker.

6:39

Okay, so I myself am comfortable with treating the elected officials like the employees and tying it to that kind of the same.

6:48

Uh it's not a cost of living adjustment and things like that that we do for the council or for the employees.

6:55

I believe that would that would work well, and uh also be able to make it so that the compensation is not like a political football, something we can haul around and drag out every now and then and beat each other with.

7:08

Um then, yeah, on the mayor's side, I know there's been discussion over that as well.

7:14

My fear of getting compensation too high in these elected positions, is we'll have people come after those positions for the money instead of to be involved for the service and to help for the good of the city.

7:29

That's just kind of what I look at when I see if you know it's a bigger chunk of change there, and all I have to do is run around and knock doors and visit with people, and suddenly I've got all this extra money coming in.

7:40

Then uh that's why I like to keep the the compensation low.

7:44

It requires a massive level of service instead of I mean up for the money.

7:50

Thank you.

7:50

Anything further?

7:51

Best council member McKay.

7:54

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Transportation Safety██████████10%
Traffic Calming Measures█████████9%
Youth Programs███████7%
Property Tax Education███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Fire Prevention████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Riverton City Council Meeting: March 18, 2025

The Riverton City Council held a work session at 6:03 PM and a regular meeting at 6:59 PM on March 18, 2025. The work session covered elected officials' compensation, traffic calming, the Wasatch Choice Vision, and a property tax education preview. The regular meeting included public comments, presentations, consent items, public hearings on the fee schedule and budget amendments, and action items on the Mountain View Place development agreement and fire station staffing. A key outcome was the unanimous decision to maintain four-person crews at both Fire Stations 121 and 124, despite earlier consideration of cost-saving reductions.

Presentations & Recognitions

  • Paige Gunther received the Youth Council Scholarship for over 350 hours of service.
  • Riverton Choice Awards for Excellence in Education: Recognized students Dane Slack, Allison Hansen, and teacher Jason Weimer from Riverton High School; and students Jackson Long, Miranda Carroll, and teacher Jill Bodine from Mountain Ridge High School.
  • Riverton Police Department: Chief Taylor recognized investigators from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and RPD's Detective Division for solving a complex homicide case from August 2024.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from March 4, 2025.
  • Resolution No. 25-15: Warranty bond release for Cottages on Park Avenue Phase 2.
  • Resolution No. 25-19: Performance bond release for Freddy's Frozen Custard.
  • All consent items passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Steve Proper (Comcast) requested a letter of support for state broadband funding to serve approximately 100 unserved homes/businesses in Riverton.
  • Darren Park urged rejection of fire staffing resolutions, arguing they could be manipulated and create divisiveness.
  • Ed Amano (Riverton resident, SLC firefighter) advocated for maintaining four-person crews, citing industry standards for safety and service.
  • Dave Park spoke against reduced staffing, citing morale, safety, and service concerns.

Discussion Items

Elected Officials Compensation (Work Session):

  • City Manager Kevin Hicks proposed removing the salary tie to Grade 20 and instead aligning elected officials' annual increases with city staff's cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).
  • Councilmembers expressed support: Councilmember Haymond favored avoiding recurring political debates; Councilmember McCay noted the Mayor earns 95% of the average while Council earns 122%; Councilmember Buroker supported holding Council salary for a year; Councilmember McDougal agreed to hold Council salary but allow Mayor's adjustment. The consensus was to hold Council salary at current level for FY 2025-26, allow Mayor's increase, then move all to staff COLA going forward.

Traffic Calming and Congestion (Work Session):

  • Public Works Director Cary Necaise reported that speed dips on Lampton View and Shaggy Peak reduced speeds by only 1 mph, at a cost of $9,000 each.
  • A proposal to paint "Keep Clear" zones at intersections on 12600 South to improve access for the Parkside neighborhood sparked debate. Councilmembers McCay and Pierucci supported; Councilmember Buroker wanted more information; Councilmember McDougal opposed, citing greater congestion on the south side.
  • UDOT is conducting an access management study from Bangerter Highway to Herriman. The city secured $4-5 million from state legislators for the jurisdictional transfer of 12600 South west of Bangerter.
  • Councilmember McDougal suggested prioritizing funding for Dutchman Lane completion to provide alternative access.

Wasatch Choice Vision Update (Work Session):

  • Kevin Hicks noted staff are advocating to move a proposed Trax line from 13400 South to 13200 South, and to add two planned parks (10-acre and 16-acre) not currently in the vision.
  • Councilmember Pierucci supported including ambitious long-term goals.
  • Feedback will be provided to the Wasatch Front Regional Council by April 4, 2025.

Property Tax Education (Council Meeting):

  • Nick Geer presented an overview: Riverton has no general property tax; two special service areas (RLESA and RFSA) each receive 11 cents per dollar of property tax. The tax rate adjusts so that the amount paid remains stable unless a Truth in Taxation process is undertaken. Over five years, the property tax budget grew from $5.8 million to $6.5 million due to new growth (average ~3% per year).
  • Councilmember McDougal suggested examining broader budget options rather than isolated property tax increases.

Mountain View Place Development Agreement Amendment:

  • Development Services Director Jason Lethbridge presented Resolution No. 25-16, which converts a two-story retail space into six additional residential units, increasing total units from 282 to 288. CenterCal consented, and Planning Commission approved the site plan amendment.
  • The motion to approve passed unanimously.

Fire Station Staffing Standards:

  • Mayor Staggs provided context: originally considered reducing staffing from four to three at Stations 121 and 124 to save up to $1 million; after input, narrowed to possibly reducing only one station for ~$400,000 savings. However, it was learned that reducing to three-person at one station would also result in the loss of an ambulance.
  • Councilmembers Buroker, McDougal, Haymond, Pierucci, and McCay all expressed support for maintaining four-person staffing at both stations.
  • Unanimous vote to approve Resolution Nos. 25-20 and 25-21, keeping staffing at four persons per station.

Key Outcomes

  • Elected Officials Compensation: Staff directed to prepare code amendment aligning future pay adjustments with city staff COLA; Council salaries held for FY 2025-26, Mayor's salary adjusted per current formula.
  • Fire Station Staffing: Resolutions 25-20 and 25-21 approved unanimously, retaining four-person crews at Stations 121 and 124.
  • Municipal Fee Schedule: Resolution 25-17 approved unanimously, updating animal shelter fees to match new Herriman contract.
  • Budget Amendment: Resolution 25-18 approved unanimously, moving a sidewalk/crosswalk project from next fiscal year into current year using existing fund balance.
  • Mountain View Place Development: Resolution 25-16 approved unanimously, increasing residential units from 282 to 288.
  • Traffic Calming: No formal action; staff will continue to study speed dips and consider removal. The 12600 South issue remains under review pending further information and UDOT's access management study.
  • Wasatch Choice Vision: Feedback to be submitted by April 4, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Jamie, are we good to begin? We got the recording going? Okay. Who's up first here? Kevin. All right. Josh, anybody joining us? Not yet? Okay. Well, then we'll call our work session meeting to order. We have uh all of our elected officials present with the exception of Councilmember Perucci, who is excused, maybe joining us here uh at some point in the work session or for the the council meeting. So first up, item five A, elected official compensation. Kevin, you want to go ahead and lead us in that? Thank you, Mayor, members of the council. Uh we've already I sent an email probably a couple of weeks ago. We've also met quite a bit in person um to talk about this, but really the the background for this is a few years ago, if you recall, um, we had uh met and established a uh standard for the elected officials pay. And that's what you see here, that's inside Ruverton City Code. Um I think it's important to understand that it's not vital that you have something like this in the city code. We do have our um pay scale that we report each year through the budgetary process, and that pay scale is something that's available online and readily available for people to look up and see if they need to. So, but at the time we had stipulated to have it be structured tied to the mid-grade of a grade 20. What we're finding though is each year as we do our benchmark to look at what the grades are, we can we do a comparison with throughout the cities. And what we're noticing this year specifically, it it creates a substantial increase that I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page, whether that is still the intent. If we do nothing, then that's what it would look like, and it would be a just under ten percent adjustment. Um the next slide, Jason. I did do a comparison of the the uh varying cities and see where our elected officials pay is in comparison to um the rest of our counterparts or your counterparts, and you can see there where um the average is and then where Riverton City falls. Um so as we go down to the next slide, Jason. We've come together with a uh recommendation, which is simply instead of having it pegged to grade 20, we would simply have it follow what the staff receives every year through the budgetary process. The reason that I like this is because the the hope is we don't need to come back and have this conversation again. Uh we simply just say treat the elected officials like the rest of staff, and if staff gets X percent, the rest of the elected officials get the same X percent as there are also considered employees. Um is a little bit of dialogue and then then direction if this if the elected officials would like us to make this proposed change to the code, we obviously would come back. Um we could put either in discussion or a consent to change that section of the code, but this is what we're recommending recommending. There could be other options if you decided to discuss those. Thank you, Kevin. Um, open it up for discussion amongst the council. I mean, just for the public's benefit, we uh we've went this direction, I know some years ago. Remind me when that code change was implemented. 2018, 19. About that, yeah, yeah. Um sorry, 2019. And I think the intent was um the mayoral salary, the I thought the the thought was to tie it a quarter to the city manager because the thought was it should be at least compensated that level that there might be you know the equivalent of 10 hours work of a mayor. I'm I don't think there's been anything less than 20 or 30 hours a week or me in this role, but I appreciated the council's uh willingness to do that back in that time period, and then council members some felt strongly that they wanted to be at the 15% level because many boards that you participate on are not compensated, some are, some are not. And so I think that was the thought process at the time. Um I appreciate the recommendation just to kind of move this away from a tie to that grade, and just if I understood you correctly, just have it be in line with what the merit uh Coca is for employees. Okay, council. Any um any comments, thoughts, direction that you want to give staff on this? Nobody really wants to talk about their compensation, Kevin. I don't say I blame you, it's always uh it's a tough one. Uh count well, actually we do council member Heymans, McKay, and then Broker. Okay, so I myself am comfortable with treating the elected officials like the employees and tying it to that kind of the same. Uh it's not a cost of living adjustment and things like that that we do for the council or for the employees.

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