June is an important time in city government. A budget is finalized and approved during this time. Fortunately, this year no Property Tax increase is planned, but increases in garbage and water rates are in the budget. Much of these increases come by way of pass-through costs from Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and the Weber County Solid Waste transfer station.

Changes are proposed in the budget to enhance the old library building and the Public Works facility. We have started our city-wide clean-up campaign, allowing a local community to request a dumpster. Efforts are under way to try to develop a new cemetery, in part to bring affordable plots to our residents. At the same time,we are working with the property owner to remove the old Chinese Buffet building at the Market Place plaza.We need to remove the blight to help us bring in a new business at that location. We continue to reach out to businesses in an effort to have them locate in Roy City. You are seeing this happen just, unfortunately, not at the fast pace I would like.

Included, also in the budget effort, is the development of three new Community Re-investment Area (CRA) Projects to help move our business districts forward and help us establish much needed sales tax revenue.Not all council members support these efforts, but I’m convinced if we are not moving forward, we are falling behind. We have been delaying these efforts way too long. If you want to know what the City plans to do over the next year, don’t listen to the rhetoric, follow the money in the budget. If you want a say in how your tax money is spent, get involved, read the budget document, attend the meetings, and let your voice be heard.