Speaking at a Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Utah Valley University Wasatch campus, Heber and Midway mayors and the Wasatch County Council chair touted accomplishments made in 2021 and highlighted their focus for 2022.
Midway Mayor Celeste Johnson described a study the city’s using to find out if it will have enough water in the years to come.
She also acknowledged the ongoing local housing crisis, and inability of teachers, officers, restaurant workers and others to live where they work. She said the city may have missed some opportunities to prevent that in the past, but now it’s the primary focus.
“This is something that’s being experienced everywhere: low-income housing shortage, affordable housing shortage, attainable housing shortage,” Johnson said. “Oftentimes, I think in a community like ours that’s experiencing so much growth, we all feel it, we all know it’s here, we can’t stop it. Landowners get to do what they get to do with their land within the law, within the codes. So, we looked at what things we could do.”
She said the city can’t stop growth outright, but it will seek to work with developers to promote affordable housing, as well as public recreation and beautification projects.
Sometimes, developers opt to pay a fee in lieu of building affordable housing. She said that’s one way the city benefits from development - by growing its fund for purchasing open space and conservation easements to prevent future construction.
Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco said this year will be one for catching up on infrastructure to meet the needs of new residents and housing.
She said three long-anticipated projects begin in 2022, including two connector roads. One connects 1500 South to Daniel Town, and another project will begin a section of a northeastern neighborhood bypass road next to the cemetery. That bypass is unrelated to a Utah Department of Transportation traffic mitigation project on Heber’s Main Street.
She also mentioned a water and sewer infrastructure project the city hopes to begin in May, which will cost the city upwards of $80 million over several years.
An audience member asked about the impact of inflation on taxpayers. Franco said the city will work to have accurate future cost estimates and save money wherever possible but won’t cut corners when it comes to essential services.
“I’m so sorry I don’t have better answers for you, but as far as cutting, people want their services,” Franco said. “We have to pay for those services - we’re not going to stop water, we’re not going to stop sewer, we’re not going to stop planning for new growth, we’re not going to stop parks. We’re talking about just basic services to have a quality of life and basic services that make the differences between us and other nations that don’t have infrastructure.”
Franco also presented a breakdown of the city budget. She showed property tax revenue grew by 17% last year, and sales tax revenue grew by 19%.
She attributed this to business owners adapting to difficulties they’ve experienced and congratulated them for strengthening the economy during the pandemic.
Wasatch County Council Chair Mark Nelson used most of his speech to also tout the “hot” local economy. He predicted it will remain strong because of the population growth and tourism.
“It’s very nice to be in one of the most beautiful places in the state and to be the playground where everyone wants to come,” Nelson said. “When there’s something really awful like a pandemic, everyone escapes up here to see us. And that has been reflected, in my opinion, particularly in 2021.”
When Nelson asked business owners to raise their hands if they experienced record-setting years in 2021, about a quarter of them did so. When he asked who had their worst years, no hands went up.
He acknowledged an ongoing issue in the county is property taxes. He said it’s common that he hears of people’s rates doubling and tripling. He stressed that every level of local government is backed by “good people” who will strive to improve conditions for residents impacted by this issue and others.
