Fire budget
Fire budget proposal
Public Safety presentation
Fire Chief Parker presented the Fire budget for fiscal year 2023-2024. He reported that the costs have been reduced during negotiations and what was provided was a second draft. A copy of the information is available as an attachment to this agenda. Compensation is considerably the biggest increase. Some of it is COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), some of its Federal labor law that needs to be followed and other staffing requirements and some of it is City events. Costs have been calculated for events like Heritage Days and Swiss Days and how much time is being spent there. Those events were not being budgeted for previously. He is trying to move to a programs-based budget that identifies all of the service areas for both communities. Whether it's EMS, fire suppressions or other things to enhance. One is special operations, looking at how to be equipped for rescues and what equipment is needed and is personnel trained up to the level wanted. A step based training program, not training all of the personnel for special operations, just taking a couple of them and sending them out to be trained. Special operations are any active shooting or events that may happen. Getting safety vests for those who have been properly trained in special operations; other hazards like a trench collapse or hazmat because SCI Fire and EMS heavily relies on St. George or the County to do those. That equipment is very expensive so those are new costs to develop those programs and they represent services provided to the citizens. The services that are detailed within each of these items are on the budget. He and the Santa Clara Finance Director Brock Jacobson have worked hard to create new line items. Some of them are existing and each are divided out into various program managers. The managers are responsible for a developing the budget, the program goals, and any costs that are incurred. Before there were line items, they were generic categories and that created confusion but now they are moving forward, knowing a high percentage of what the costs are going to be. Fire training has costs of the training, travel and stay and the the numbers are developed from that. He referred to pages three (3) and four (4) of the Fire budget proposal and commented that Compensations went up and Capital Projects went down, as well as Operations also went down. Compensation last year was approximately 80% and generally the budgets are around 88-90% of personnel costs. SCI Fire and EMS are right around those target measures. Those operations came down from 15% to 12% and the capital outlet came down. Personnel, which is always the biggest cost and most important, have gone up and is absolutely balanced and fair on what is trying to be achieved. The costs of operations can go down and they could go up a little bit, for example with safety gear. All safety gear is itemized and documented on when it expires. It will be known year to year how much safety gear is needed. He referred to page five (5) of the Fire budget proposal and indicated that the 2023-24 compensation increased. He referred to page eight (8) of the Fire budget proposal and stated that it includes a 6.5% COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for increased wages. They are planning 8% for insurance costs. There is legislation coming from the State regarding Tier 2 employee costs and those are always adjusting based on the State Legislature. He referred to Events - what events, how much time is being spent at those events and, what is it going to cost. Those have all been put into the new budget year because there are constant staffing or overtime costs that have never been in the budget before and hours have also been budgeted for time for controlled burns. Once those hours are reached then that is done because the budget doesn't allow more time. A few things can be adjusted, but if the event isn’t on the budget, SCI Fire and EMS will not participate because it wasn’t budgeted for and that is the case for all programs. If something comes up, it will have to wait until next year unless it’s an emergency, then some type of adjustments can be made. He is trying to create accountability to the line items. FLSA (Fair Labor Standard Act) costs are new this year. There was a decrease in operational costs but looking at an increase of $207,262 for Santa Clara and $263,788 for Ivins City. The other Capital wants are station generators. During the ISO inspection, it was noted that there is no backup power for the dispatch alerting. The Rachel Station has a borrowed generator from the Public Works Department but nothing for the Ivins Station and it approximately $20,000 for a Generac generator. There is also some fitness equipment that is outdated or broken and needs to be replaced. Those items are extra capital items but are not included in this year's budget, just something presented. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired how much salary was due to COLA or due to new personnel. Fire Chief Parker did not have that figure there but indicated that it was basically 6.5%. The personnel compensation was 1.9% but that's everything. For added personnel last year during the summertime, that was for the Ivins Station that was put into operation. SCI Fire and EMS had no projected costs for EMS or fuel. It was a guess because there was no history to show with all the rigs running, what those costs would be. With the added personnel costs, SCI Fire and EMS was doing good with general costs, but one person became injured and then it started to kind of advance the overtime costs that were not planned for last year. There were personnel costs with adding six (6) full-time people. Brock Jacobson stated that is the majority of the increase in personnel, to get the six (6) full-time employees for the Ivins Center Street Fire House to become operational. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired if that was consistent with the plan that was talked about six (6) months ago. Fire Chief Parker stated that was correct. Santa Clara Council Member Ben Shakespeare stated if you take out the 6.5%, it’s approximately $123,000 for COLA and $380,000 for personnel. Ivins City Council Member Anderson inquired if the events ever pay for the overtime. Fire Chief Parker indicated that they do and stated that SCI Fire and EMS recoups sometimes 100% and sometimes more than that percent, especially with one world class vendor that SCI provides EMS for. It is the same thing with sharing station costs and transport fees, that generates revenue. Ivins City Council Member Anderson referred to staffing of overtime in the personal compensation and commented that there is $109,000 in events and constant staffing overtime for the increase and inquired if there was an offset? Fire Chief Parker clarified that was for events and keeping the stations going. If a Reserve comes in and works that shift, that is included as well as EMS training so the revenue comes off that cost. Brock Jacobson clarified that it is not 100%. It is approximately $26,000 for events. The majority of that overtime is constant staffing for when somebody goes on vacation or is sick and someone comes in to fill that shift. That is the majority so $90,000 of that is just to make sure the stations are staffed to run. Fire Chief Parker referred to the Fire budget and indicated that the Capital Outlay has been reduced to the "must have" items. The three inch (3") fire hose needs to be replaced. It is from the 90’s and hasn’t been tested. Hoses usually have a ten (10) year lifespan. As for the safety clothing, each member’s gear has been noted with the expiration date and costs have been determined. Referring to the Administration sections and printing services, he went to the vendor and figured out how many copy machines SCI Fire and EMS uses to calculate those costs. Each line item has been calculated to generate the cost. Referring to Public Relations supplies, SCI Fire and EMS did not do an open house last year, but would like to. Referring to Emergency Medical Services, those costs for medical supplies moving forward, it will get more detailed as the data comes. The costs for Licensing Fees were not really known for some things. Referring to Fire Suppression, some of the saws are not working and need to be replaced. A big one in the Response Planning category, all of the rigs now carry a cradle point GPS system. There is a cellular cost for that and every rig needs to have a SIM card to track the GPS. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired what the Contract Services were associated with that? Fire Chief Parker clarified that is all the cell phone, dispatching, and alerting. It is basically an app-based system. When a call is received, all of that information and notes from dispatch, come up on the phones now. There is a fee for Washington County Dispatch Services and Geographic Information System (GIS) servicing. There is a dashboard that is linked to active 911s as part of all the digital response planning stuff that is being use. ESO fire software services is $9,000. That software also works with staffing so all of the scheduling would be there. All of the cardiac monitors will be able to transmit to tablets. They are moving from paper to e-reporting, and e-documentation, making it possible to transmit to the hospital with that software. Ivins City Mayor Hart commented he does not know what and how many of those are essential and how many are just good upgrades. Fire Chief Parker clarified that the GIS and Dispatch are essential. Some of the county still uses a software called Everbridge but that actually costs more. ESO is for all of the documentation and then the grant application is used to keep the Federal ID open to apply for grants. Ivins City Council Member Johnson inquired what the membership dues were for? Fire Chief Parker clarified the membership dues are for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He referred to Risk Reduction, looking at education. They are looking at getting into plans examination through the International Code Council so that they can do plan review, saving money, instead of going out to a third-party vendor to do plan reviews. He referred to Special OPS, those costs are new and that training is expensive. He referred to Station Operations. Once the quarterly reimbursement comes in, there will be more information on that. A new stove to replace the old one in the Ivins Station is included. He referred to Contract Services. ALSCO uniforms does the floor mats and towels that are used for the rigs and that stuff is rented. He referred to Vehicle Operations for the fuel costs. Those reports are being generated through the electronic software for the costs. There was $17,000 budgeted and the costs are already over that. If there is an increase in call volume, the fuel costs go up. He referred to Operations and Maintenance. He tried going over how many rigs need tires because those are expensive. A portion of that is allocated and there is approximately 15% for unknown costs for things that break or need to be fixed. He referred to Volunteer Programs and indicated that those were reduced and that may be something to discuss. Rich Preston did a great job and was asked to go back to some people and see what program would best suit their needs. A volunteer shift was open at station 32 and was added to the roster for the last six (6) months. There are no time constraints on it, just a requirement to come for four (4) to six (6) hours. It was a 50/50 split because some people are part-time, with part-time wage and then they have some who are strictly volunteers and the $60,000 figure includes all the safety gear.
Ivins City Mayor Hart commented that he noticed that there is no purchase of any apparatuses. Fire Chief Parker indicated that is correct. Ivins City Council Member Lance Anderson inquired about generators for the solar at the stations and commented that those could probably be purchased for less than $10,000. Santa Clara Council Member Shakespeare indicated it would need a secondary source. Ivins City Council Member Anderson commented that may be an option. Fire Chief Parker stated that he was looking into grants as well. Ivins City Council Member Anderson inquired when monies come in, how does that offset the budget? Does using the ambulance offset that cost? Fire Chief Parker stated yes. There is a revenue share that comes in and the costs gets split between Ivins and Santa Clara when the fees come in. Brock Jacobson clarified when revenues come in, whether it is for anything that Fire or EMS does, if it's an EMS call, it is reimbursed or for the events, then that revenue is split 50/50 between the cities. Each quarter the Finance Directors, Cade Visser and Debbie Bannon, get together and work through the numbers and the allocation as to what goes where. Ivins City Council Member Anderson commented that it doesn't offset the budget, it just goes from the General Fund? Brock Jacobson stated no. At the end, Ivins pays 55% of that budget and Santa Clara pays 45%. Looking at the revenue, that is split 50/50 and the Finance Directors work through the allocation to say exactly how that offsets the payment that goes to each city. Ivins City Council Member Anderson inquired if revenues are coming in, does that offset that budget or does that budget stay constant and that just goes against the General Fund to be dealt with later? Ivins City Mayor Hart clarified that any compensation that comes for EMS services or whatever, is accounted against this specific budget and any credits would be distributed as per the formula to the cities. Fire Chief Parker indicated that the revenue share for EMS was $157,500. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired if the total budget takes into account those types of reimbursements? Fire Chief Parker stated they do, with the exception of that revenue share. All of the other costs are in there under a different line item. Santa Clara City Council Member Shakespeare commented, moving forward it is known what the cities have for this year, but what does it look like for next year? The personnel have been added to both stations. Is there an idea so the cities can plan? Fire Chief Parker stated that is the intent of the program-based budget. Healthcare always goes up so there will be those costs and if they are doing the Wildland Fire program, fuel and operations are always different. The capital projects are always planned for. The big-ticket item costs will come through with State Legislature and they will know ahead of time. This is a budget reset because they are now producing programs that were not around before. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired when the new engine that has been talked about in the past, come into play? Fire Chief Parker indicated that would be down the road, based on the plan for 2030 but would have to be offset with CIB (Community Impact Board) funding but there has to be a place for it to be parked. The ambulance has 160,000 miles on it and is located at the Ivins station. After talking to vendors, that is ready to be purchased, with the exception of the funding. The ambulance will probably need to be purchased first. To buy a ladder truck, Utah Tech has said that they may be able to do that through grants but there isn’t a place to put it. currently. The ISO (Insurance Services Office) said based on service, a ladder truck will be needed in the next five (5) years. It is a big expense but broken up over the years, the cost is $150,000 for each year, for four (4) to five (5 )years. That was running just one (1) station and now there are two (2), so things need to be reset. Santa Clara City Council Member Shakespeare commented that there are areas around both stations that are staffed that could be expanded to store a ladder truck without building a new station. Fire Chief Parker stated yes and indicated that there are creative ways for construction. Santa Clara City Council Member Shakespeare commented if the COLA is at 6.5% that is around $120,000 every year. Something close to that can be anticipated, plus whatever capital and those are things to look at together. Ivins City Council Member Anderson commented that there is a lot of detail in the budget so when the costs come in next year, it will paint a good picture. Ivins City Council Member Mehr referred to the programs and services and stated that they are completely different than budgets in the past. The budget represents the values that citizens pay ad it's no accident how the items have been listed, as the things that Chief Parker values, with volunteers being at the bottom. Volunteers have been traded for a professional force and in his mind, that hasn’t been fully resolved. It would be helpful to see from the time the two cities merged as cities, the performance to budget 2018-2020 and how was that performed against a unit of service and measure success, what is the metric in what is called the product being delivered in the fire world, looking at dollars per unit to make a true comparison and is it worth the additional funding for $500,000? It is unknown what is around the corner. He would like to see the performance year-per-year, based on the dollar per unit measure of success and a 5 year look ahead, to include the capital and ladder truck. In his mind, it is owed to the residents on what is being done because it is completely different. Fire Chief Parker indicated that what is used is response time, data, dollar value loss and those are all simple things that the NFP (National Fire Protection Association) is producing. Looking at industry standard, people move from volunteer to careers, it is just a natural common-sense thing to provide a better service because if somebody's at the station there is going to be a faster response time. He referred to an incident that took place at Gubler Park a few weeks prior. There were six (6) SCI Fire and EMS personnel plus the police personnel who responded to a cardiac arrest and the patient was able to walk out of the hospital. That doesn't happen in his career and hasn't happened to him or his crew. The crew was able to defibrillate the patient at the park, with the help of community members. The crew working will be receiving lifesaving awards coming up. He values lives and it’s amazing to see SCI Fire and EMS when he first started, and see it now and to see that performance. Looking at dollar value loss on a structure fire, if more people respond to a garage fire, that fire is going to go out quicker. It's a simple product to think through - the more full-time employees, they are going to provide a timely, more robust response and the fire is going to go out. All the data through response times can be produced. Lance Haynie is over Response Planning and has done a great job on holding those numbers. The numbers are easy to articulate in the data from the reports. Community members from the response areas have come had sit-downs with him, asking if they are protected for fire response and after doing interviews, that is how this all got generated. Santa Clara & Ivins is a world class community, and he is blessed to be here. There are a ton of people coming here, and the community is growing developments are still happening, like the Black Desert project. Con Fulde is over Community Relations & Risk Reduction and Black Desert could be a large project that he's working with staff on. It's a lot of work and a lot of time and its huge to have him full-time doing that and getting the training to be able to do plan reviews, but those are things that cost money. SCI Fire and EMS was done 50-60% on wages but they were using volunteers for that fire response. Wages should be up to 90%, putting it into the people. People provide the services and the more certifications and training the department can get, all those things can provide a better outcome. Ivins City Council Member Mehr looked forward to seeing the data. Mayor Hart stated that part of what is responded to, is the change over time, the growth and population. The volunteer type system that was operated in the past, is an increasingly hard thing to do. Even if the data comes back with numbers that recommend going back to a volunteer system, it wouldn't be practical to do. Fire Chief Parker stated that volunteers are part of the service but what makes sense business wise and filling shifts? One volunteer wasn't successful in the academy and can no longer maintain his status. This is just the nature of growth.
Public Safety Chief Flowers presented the Public Safety budget for fiscal year 2023-2024. A copy of that budget is available as an attachment to this agenda. He reported that the last fiscal year, Public Safety gave up an officer, as well as held off on purchasing an additional vehicle. There wasn't really an increase to the budget to provide raises to police officers, it was to remain competitive in the market. Locally, it was $8 to $10 dollars and the question was why officers would stay here and why Santa Clara and Ivins City would put thousands of dollars into training these individuals in a highly competitive market? It makes no difference if you're a small, sophisticated place, or a large agency. SCI Public Safety has been fortunate, has great benefits and none of the employees have ever complained about it. They stay and they have a very hard job. His main request for next year was vehicles due to the fleet aging. He gets a vehicle report that looks at things like age, activity, usage, costs, and condition of the vehicles and those are evaluated. There are five (5) vehicles with over 120,000 miles and another five (5) vehicles with close to 100,000 miles on them. Vehicles are the police business. Officers are in their vehicles and when vehicles get old, they are handed down to Public Works or the Animal Shelter. Vehicles that use to cost $28,000, are now $60,000 and then they need to have radios, gear and other items put in that is required by law. There are some unfunded mandates that are coming to Public Safety and Fire for radios. The State implemented a new 700-megahertz system that is completely different but they were aware of it a few years ago. Public Safety has been buying new radios that will have the capacity to work with the new system and every City in the state is going to have to change out their radios. He hoped that the State, through the legislature, will look at giving some money to cities if they're going to require an unfunded mandate. He recently read a report where the state was paying for these radios for smaller agencies around the state, particularly smaller counties. In order for SCI Public Safety to start participating in that radio purchase, the cost is somewhere between $60,000 and $90,000. Those purchases could probably be put off for another year but there is another mandate coming with the video cameras. SCI Public Safety was one of the first agencies in Southern Utah that went with radios and cameras but the video cameras are starting to become outdated and are about $900 a piece. Captain Rogers has been trying to figure out a better way to do that. What happens now is the County Commissioners and the County Attorneys office are wanting to have full access for transparency, which is occurring across the nation. It can easily be download and the department does not have to burn copies of it and send it law firms who want them. SCI Public Safety receives between 10 and 20 requests for information a week. St. George Public Safety has a couple of employees that process those full-time. He referred to the first page of the Public Safety presentation, the Summary of Recommended Cost Increases and indicated that those are estimated costs. Under Training and Education, there is now a critical incident training that is required and needs every hour accounted for. If an officer needs to be sent to Salt Lake City for the training, there are costs for a hotel room, per diem and travel. SCI Public Safety has been very good about training from within and has received accreditation, which comes with a higher standard. He referred to page four (4) of the presentation and stated that everyone is very aware of the population growth and that's one of the measures Public Safety goes on of what is needed for officers. He referred to page five (5) of the presentation and commented that the Public Safety call volume in 2017 was 4,100 calls and 2022, that has gone up to 5,600 calls for service. He referred to pages seven (7) and eight (8) of the presentation and indicated that shows measures by the other cities about what other cities do. SCI Public Safety officers handle about five (5) calls a shift and is staffed well but in the next few years, that will need to be looked at, to add more because officers spend about 50% of their time now writing reports, which is time that they are not on the roads. Whatever an officer does, a report must be written. As an example, in a DUI arrest, the officer makes the arrest and that takes an hour then two hours at the jail and 30 minutes back, then an hour to fill out the report. That's half of the shift gone. A family fight with an arrest is the same kind of thing. When looking at the need for Officers, they need to look at what the obligated time is. How much time needs speed enforcement? How much time for these special projects to have an Officer assigned to that and off the road? There are vacations, sick days, trainings and similar and those all need to be backfilled with overtime. He referred to page six (6) of the presentation and commented that another thing that is measured, is response times. SCI Public Safety has one of the best response times statewide and nationally. SCI Public Safety is very good with the tax dollars with what is expected from the residents. The national recommendations for Officers per thousand population, has been raised from 1.75 to 2.5 officers per 1000. SCI Public Safety is less than one (1) but the response times are outstanding. It goes to the Community, Santa Clara and Ivins, as wonderful places to live, with a very efficient law enforcement agency, but it all costs money. He gets asked the question a lot of why does it cost so much? He referred to page two (2) in the presentation and indicated that if the cities want great EMS service and a responsive law enforcement agency, that all costs money and a fair employee wage needs to be paid. One of the issues is that Officers can’t afford to live in the Santa Clara and Ivins community based on the salary and because of that, where the Officers can reside, has been expanded. SCI Public Safety is a very responsive agency and there are very few complaints but when there is, video footage can be shown and if an officer acts inappropriately the appropriate steps are taken. The SCI Public Safety is very well taken care of, and he was not complaining about anything. He was very pleased with the Councils on the pay raise that were given to the SCI Public Safety Officers and he was willing to give up cars and a position to get those raises but after looking at it, sooner or later they will need those things. The prices of vehicles have been looked into and they thought about leasing but in the long run, it is more expensive but they are looking at all of the options. The budget is necessary and he does not know where it could be cut back. It would be a huge mistake to lay Officers off , even though that has never been talked about. He was not requesting any new Officers, even though the detective caseload has doubled, and an Officer may have to be pulled off the road. It would be good some time for the Councils to come in and get a rundown on the SCI Public Safety cases that include violence in families, drugs in the schools, people who have moved into the community and some of the strategies that they are using to deal with those things. The Officers are grateful for what they are receiving but they also give back. They work extremely hard, and he was proud of them.
Santa Clara City Mayor Rosenberg inquired if the Chiefs Association have made any attempt to get the mandates funded? Public Safety Chief Flowers indicated yes, and commented that it's very hard for the legislature to understand unfunded mandates. No one asked Public Safety if it was needed. He speaks regularly with Senator Ipson and the Chiefs of Police association and they both think it should be state funded. Every dollar does not need to go into Police but some of the training mandates should be funded. The short answer is yes, they are on those issues but there are a lot of them. The Lieutenant Governor talked about Protective Orders - those things can be done, but it costs money and local Law enforcement would have to track those things. The Victims Advocate position is funded by state dollars, what if that goes away? The Video Cameras are almost mandated now. Ivins City Mayor Hart inquired if those are in the prepared budget. Public Safety Chief Flowers stated the cameras are right at top. $23,000 a year for updated cameras with a five (5) year contract, the entire program would cost around $150,000. The radios are not in the budget because he is not sure where the budget for them is and the radios can be pushed back another year. Special pricing was given but the radios would need to be bought at a certain time and from certain places. If not, SCI Public Safety would not qualify for the special pricing. That will happen next year for $70,000 to $90,000. A few years ago SCI Public Safety just used walkies because they worked but with the new system, they won't work. Ivins City Mayor Hart commented in the Ivins City town survey that was recently done, it was made clear that residents rated emergency services very high. He understand that it is was their first duty to oversee that Public Safety and Fire EMS operates correctly and provides the best for residents. Santa Clara City Council Member Shakespeare commented between Santa Clara and Ivins, there is not a lot of sales tax compared to other cities do. He referred to page eight (8) of the presentation and indicated that it has been said that SCI Public Safety does not need more Officers, but to get to the same ratio as Washington County, two (2) more officers would be needed. He asked Chief Flowers if more officers were needed? Public Safety Chief Flowers stated that was correct but he was trying to be sensitive to the other part of his job, taking into account the needs of everything. SCI Public Safety could use another Detective and another Officer, but SCI Public Safety also needs cars. If he had the choice between an Officer and cars, he would take the cars. Next year he may take the Officers. Captain Rodgers would like two (2) more officers, but that is another $250,000 on top of the cars. Santa Clara City Council Member Shakespeare commented that planning for the future, it is good to know what will be needed. Cars will be needed next year and at some point, the personnel will be needed. The reality is, these costs are not keeping up with the cost of living. SCI Public Safety does in fact need cars and personnel. With the addition of Black Desert Resort, there is also the need for a ladder truck for fire, sooner rather than later. Public Safety Chief Flowers stated he tries to get two (2) cars every year, meaning the whole fleet is replaced every five (5) years. That is just a minimum and basic. Ivins City Council Member Scott agreed that it would be good to look out a few years ahead, to anticipate what is ahead and that the information provided was great information to work with something for the new budget. He liked the metrics of the population and call volume, giving the Councils something to work with. He inquired about the call volumes and what kind of calls had increased. Public Safety Chief Flowers indicated that as the population grows, there has been an increase in violence in families, a lot of theft and drugs. Crime county wide has changed. There are a lot more youth involved shootings. It seems like Countrywide, youth are not fully understanding the repercussions for doing those things. The youth don't really care about the fallout. Even in the Santa Clara and Ivins area a lot more youth are being involved. Public Safety is seeing a lot more higher risk crimes, but they're being committed by younger and younger age groups. This past year, there were eight (8) high speed chases through the cities. That's unheard of for SCI Public Safety and one of them was just this morning. One of the things that SCI Public Safety is projecting, is what will the drug situation look like in three (3) to five (5) years? A lot of the crimes are not committed by local residents, but by people coming into the area from another state. Some of the largest burglaries were committed by people traveling through and that requires SCI Public Safety to connect with other investigations and sit on the major task force. They have two (2) officers on the SWAT team. Santa Clara City Mayor Rosenberg stated that the departments are accomplishing the goals the Council has put before them. The challenge for the Council is finding the funds to keep that direction going. The cities need to buckle down with the Finance Directors and look at that to facilitate the additional costs. Other cities in the county have struggled with this exact same thing being able to fund the departments. The backlash from residents has been seen and it is a challenge. Ivins City Mayor Hart stated that the Ivins survey made it very clear that the residents want a lot of things but don’t want the commercial or sales tax to help support it or transient room tax or a raise in property tax. That is the struggle they all face. Santa Clara City Council Member Drake commented one of the things he appreciated was the way Ivins took the survey, getting residents involved, determining what needs to be done within the city and that was commendable and reflected on the Council as being personally interested in the communities interests. It’s true with Fire and EMS and Police have great individuals that have been hired who are concerned not only with the work ethic, but with the service to the communities looking towards the future. The Council needs to be focused on that future and funding is key. Federal and State mandates are unfunded, and it needs to be figured out how to pay for it. Truth in Taxation hurts everyone but how do they continue the level of service without looking at all of the alternatives? Possibly grants, loans or whatever as a community. The Santa Clara City Council is concerned about the residents. Santa Clara City Mayor Rosenberg indicated from what he hears, if a survey was done in Santa Clara the answers would be surprisingly close to what the Ivins residents have answered. He thanked Ivins Council for doing that. Santa Clara City Council Member Hinton stated she was interested in hearing more about the Ivins survey. She inquired if the questions and results were being shared and how it was administered? Ivins City Mayor Hart explained the survey process and stated that all of the results are shown on ivins.com. Santa Clara Council Member Shakespeare stated that the reality is $1.15 million dollars is needed to fund these programs and two (2) officers are being added in after that $250,000-$300,000 a year will be needed to maintain that level of service. At some point there will need to be a Truth-in-Taxation because there just isn’t the revenue stream. If and when that is done, every dollar will need to be accounted for and have an explanation for where it goes when we get there. That is where a lot of other cities have failed. It needs to be known where every dollar goes for streets, roads and parks and every department in the city to make sure it is all accounted for and used in the best way possible and justify those services. Those services are needed. He appreciates both departments and the great cities. He thanked both Mayors and the Councils. Ivins City Mayor Hart commented not only is it needed, but residents expect the level of service to be maintained. Hopefully between both cities enough reasonable people to understand it doesn’t just come without finding ways to pay for it. Santa Clara City Mayor Rosenberg inquired if the rest of the departments are still going okay with sharing of sewer pump trucks and such? Ivins City Dale Coulam indicated it was going well and there are no problems. Ivins City Mayor Hart commented that speaking for the Ivins residents, they were so appreciative to have the Center Street Fire station open again. He has received many emails thanking the Council and Fire staff for getting it in operation.