The Park City Council approved a tentative fiscal year 2027 budget that won't raise property taxes but will boost city salaries.
The current operating budget estimate is slightly higher than the $98.3 million budget in fiscal year 2026.
Thursday’s budget discussion was focused on changes to the pay plan for city staff and compensation package adjustments for the mayor and council. Some of that will be impacted by the March sales tax report, expected in a few weeks.
“We've generally lagged behind other comparable jurisdictions in the area,” Councilmember Diego Zegarra said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” April 8. “I'll use our friends at Summit County as an example. That compensation is around $70,000, quite a bit more than city council compensation.”
The mayor’s current salary and benefits total over $85,000 per year, and councilmembers' total almost $56,000 annually. If compensation packages stay on the current plan, mayor and council salary and benefits would total $389,000.
But, staff are proposing almost $596,000 in total compensation. The number includes a pay bump as well as healthcare premium increases.
Zegarra said the increased council pay will make the job more accessible.
“When that compensation is low and when folks have to, say, step away from full-time positions, it limits the pool of candidates that might have the opportunity to be in office,” he said.
Compensation package increases for elected positions require public hearings, where locals can give input. Those are scheduled for May 21.
The council is set to adopt the final fiscal year 2027 budget June 11.
The council previously discussed the general revenue fund projection, which reflects the cost of running core city services. It sits at $57.7 million. That’s compared to about $56.3 million for fiscal year 2026.
The city manager’s recommendation for operating requests totals over $1.9 million. That includes almost $871,000 for public service contracts, grants and other programs, $236,000 for the Park City MARC and $115,000 for trails and open space.
However, city staff have identified savings from department reorganizations and reallocated funding previously dedicated to Sundance Film Festival expenses to mitigate costs. So, ongoing expenses have a net increase of almost $571,000.
