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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, October 16-18, 2019 A-3 The Park Record County Seat COUNTY EDITOR: ALEXANDER CRAMER 649–9014 EXT. 15712 | Countynews@parkrecord.com County hears budget request Budget grows 9%, manager pushes ‘rainy day’ savings ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record Instability in the U.S. and global economies is influencing the Summit County manager’s budget recommendation, as Tom Fisher advocated for what he called a conservative budget before the County Council last week. “We’re in a volatile period,” Fisher said. “There are a lot of things happening internationally and domestically that will contribute to consumer confidence and consumer confidence and consumer spending are the largest parts of our economy.” Council Chair Roger Armstrong reminded the Council of the difficulties Summit County faced during the last recession, when he said some of the hardest decisions were about what cuts to make to keep roads from falling into disrepair. “What are the things we absolutely have to provide? Health department, public works — those have to be priorities — law enforcement, fire, health, safety and welfare,” Armstrong said. The importance of budget negotiations is determining priorities, he said. Fisher recommended the County Council continue to actively invest in fund balances rather than doing so when the county has leftover money at the end of the year. His recommended $900,000 investment in “rainy day” funds this year is not entirely reflected in his proposed budget, though finance officer Matt Leavitt noted changes are still being made to the budget. “We’ve spent the last two to three years very actively contributing to our fund balances,” Fisher told the County Council. “I am suggesting in our budget we continue to do that.” Fisher recommended a $60.8 million budget, up 9% over last year’s, an increase of $5.1 million. Leavitt explained the majority of that increase — $2.9 million — comes from federal and state grants to the Summit County Health Department in the mental wellness and substance abuse divisions. Another big source is the expected $1.2 million in increases in taxes from new construction. Fisher’s budget includes six new staff positions, a 2% cost-ofliving salary increase for employees and a possible 3% merit raise for employees as well as a new program to partially match 401k spending. Three of the new positions have funding from grants, permits or fees. The new positions are a mental health budget manager to help oversee and manage increasing grants, a stormwater inspector, a GIS technician to aid county mapping efforts, an inmate working crew deputy, a weeds code enforcer (who would plow snow in the winter) and increasing the senior citizen services director to full-time work. Fisher’s budget came out of recommendations from a budget committee that met for weeks and pared down requests from the county’s department heads. The original requested budget topped $68 million, of which nearly $8 million was cut. Some of the biggest items requested by department heads that were cut by the budget committee were $1.3 million from the Public Works/Animal Shelter line item and $550,000 from the Sustainability line item in the Health Department. The County Council is required to adopt a budget before the end of the calendar year. According to a staff memo, public hearings are anticipated Dec. 4 and 11, with the expectation that the budget is adopted on Dec. 11. Leavitt indicated there will be more budget presentations to come. O L D T OW N PA R K C I T Y J E M $2,195,000 | 4 BD | 3 BA | 2,126 SF 220 Norfolk Avenue, Park City Just steps to Park City Mountain Resort and Main Street, this beautifully maintained Old Town home features a large 2-car garage for all the toys and is perfect for a primary, secondary or ski rental property. M I C H A E L H AT Z FOLLOW ME ON G L O B A L R E A L E S TAT E A D V I S O R +1 4 3 5 9 0 1 - 0 7 2 1 w w w . M i c h a e l H a t z . R E A LT O R Michael Hatz - Engel & Völkers ©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principals of the Fair Housing Act. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. County in Brief SOLAR DEADLINE Summit County residents looking to take advantage of the county’s bulk-purchasing program have an Oct. 25 deadline to receive the most beneficial tax breaks, the program’s organizer said. The federal tax credit is dropping from 30% to 26% at the end of this year, according to Ryan Anderson, community program coordinator with Utah Clean Energy. People who sign a contract with the installer by Oct. 25 are guaranteed to have the system installed by the end of the year. That requires a site visit and for participants to fill out a survey, which can be found at SCPWSolar.org. The bulk purchasing program offers participants a discount on solar installations by Creative Energies, which won the contract to provide the services. The firm was expected to finish the first installation through this program on a Park City home on Oct. 15. CEDAR CREST OPEN HOUSE The group endeavoring to design a new East Side town near Hoytsville is hosting an open house from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Ledges Event Center, 202 Park Road in Coalville. Members of the Cedar Crest Overlay Committee and county staff will be on hand to explain the dozen or so stations that will be set up, county planner Kirsten Whetstone wrote in an email. She described the open house as being geared to area residents and other people who are interested in learning about the process. The stations will include basic information about where the area is and who is involved, as well as interactive displays about the work the committee is doing like coming up with a brand, potential commercial opportunities, demographic information and summaries of past presentations. Hunter missing in the Uintas Man last seen Monday heading to Lyman Lake ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record A 69-year-old hunter has gone missing in the Uintas, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said in a release, and the authorities have deployed resources including Summit County Search and Rescue, helicopters and searchers on horseback in an effort to find him. Carl Crumrine, a West Virginian who was hunting with a group in the Lyman Lake area of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, was last seen around 5:30 a.m. on Monday. Members of his group searched for Crumrine that evening after he failed to return to the campsite, but contacted law enforcement around 9 p.m. after they could not find him. He had left the campground on foot and was last known to be walking toward Lyman Lake, which is about 4 miles south of the Wyoming border and 40 miles northeast of Kamas. Crumrine was prepared for cold weather and had a small amount of food with him, according to the release, but is new to the area. He is 5-foot-10 and has gray hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be wearing a camouflage shirt, coat, pants and a hunter-orange vest that is partially black, as well as Muck boots, a camouflage hat with orange accents and has a camouflage backpack. Crumrine is also believed to be in possession of a hunting rifle. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 435-615-3600. ALL FIXTURES FOR SALE!!! “ALMOST EVERYTHING” IS NOW 1/2 OFF OR BETTER!!! PRICES ARE BEING SLASHED AGAIN!!! ALLAllCLEARANCE NOW 60-75% OFF!!! 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Sign up now at bit.ly/prrecordroundup PUBLIC NOTICE OF EARLY VOTING LOCATION FOR THE NOVEMBER 5, 2019 OAKLEY AND PARK CITY MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTIONS, THE NORTH SUMMIT RECREATION SPECIAL SERVICE DISTRICT PROPOSITION, AND THE SOUTH SUMMIT SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND Public Notice is hereby given that early voting will be available for registered voters of Summit County for the 2019 Municipal General Election for Oakley City and Park City, the North Summit Recreation Special District Proposition, and the South Summit School District Bond Election, at the following times and location: Summit County Courthouse Clerk’s Office 60 North Main Coalville, Utah Tuesday, October 22 through Friday, October 25 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 29 through Friday, November 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |