By Julie Johansen
On Tuesday evening, the regularly-scheduled Emery County Commission meeting was temporarily closed to enter into a public hearing. This hearing was to receive public comments about the 2022 and 2023 budgets for Emery County and the Castle Valley Special Service District. Brenda Tuttle, Emery County Clerk/Auditor, presented the county budget to those in attendance.
The biggest news at the hearing was that Emery County attorneys were able to negotiate with PacifiCorp regarding the judgement levy taxes. By paying cash, the amount was decreased and the county made the payment without depending on the citizens, thus it will not be added to property taxes. The funds were taken from funding that had been prudently reserved.
Other news was that the county employees would receive a 5% cost of living raise and a one-time payment of $3,000 for full-time employees, $2,250 for ¾-time employees, $1,500 for part-time employees and $200 for lifeguards. The basic EMT wages were also raised to $15 per hour.
A reapportionment of transient room taxes was also reviewed, which includes taking 50% of the funds to pay for mitigation costs for the increased tourism in the county. This included county law enforcement on the desert, road grading and services in the communities.
Jacob Sharp, manager of the Castle Valley Special Service District (CVSSD), then presented the budget for both years. He was commended by the commissioners for being prudent with the funds and projects of the special service district. These budgets are available for public viewing at any time.
Public concerns included questions about the tax levy and why reserves had not been kept by the commissioners. They assured the concerned citizen that they have and that was how this six-year judgement levy was able to be paid.
Emery County Sheriff Elect Tyson Huntington also questioned why changes in staffing among departments was made at this time. He was told that these were suggestions received during budgeting meetings with current elected officials. It was said that if Huntington wants changes when he was installed, he can reopen the budget for his concerns.
Once the hearing was closed and the regular meeting was reopened, the amended budget for 2022 for Emery County and the Castle Valley Special Service District were approved. The 2023 budgets for both entities were also approved and adopted.