Petition turned into City, Article from Daily Herald

Scott L. Smith (2nd right) presents a letter and a petition with 2,112 signatures to Gina Peterson, the City Recorder for Highland, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Highland residents petition to stop road bond proposal


Caleb Warnock - DAILY HERALD
HIGHLAND -- Highland residents took a major step on Tuesday toward defying City Council members over a hotly contested road bond proposal. Looking to stop Highland from issuing up to $5 million in controversial road bonds, residents on Tuesday handed over a petition signed by 2,112 registered voters, an effort weeks in the making, organized by dozens of volunteers who walked the city.

Scott Smith headed up the petition drive, aided by more than 50 supporters who combed the city asking for signatures. County election officials verified to the Daily Herald that petition supporters handed the official copy of the petition to the county at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Supporters then presented a copy to Highland officials at about 5 p.m.
"We have knocked on a lot of doors," Smith said.
Scott Hogensen, chief deputy clerk auditor for Utah County, said the county will now spend several days verifying the signatures on the petition against voter registration data. To force Highland to put the bond measure on the ballot, one-fifth of active registered voters in the city must have signed the petition.
Smith said he felt that those circulating the petition had gathered about 600 more signatures than they needed, as a safety net.
After verifying the signatures, the county will report its findings to Highland, and city officials will then have to decide whether the petition meets state requirements, forcing the issue onto the ballot, or not. If the issue does go to a vote of the public, that would likely happen in November, according to Hogensen.
Smith said things need to change in Highland, and the petition is manifestation of the public's displeasure toward elected officials.
"I've lived here for 20 years, and I have not been really pleased with the way the city government functions," Smith said.
This unhappiness came into sharp focus when Smith and neighbors learned the city was looking to purchase homes in their neighborhood in order to build a road. Smith said as he began looking into that, he found it difficult to get information from the city.
And the more he learned about the city's finances, the more alarmed he became.
"This city, in the past four years, has gone from $5 million in debt to $18 million, and with the road bond it would have gone to $21 million or $22 million," he said. "If you ask them how they are going to pay all that back, they won't tell you. There is an attitude that they know better than the rest of us, and I thought, 'Well, we'll see what the people think.' "
Smith said it has been difficult to get any information from the City Council about how much they want to borrow for roads, or specifically where and how the money would be used. In recent meetings, council members and city officials have agreed to back off the road plan, agreeing there was not enough information.
"We would like the city to be more transparent and open," Smith said.
Sharleen Shields helped gather signatures for the petition.
"They can't, won't tell you anything," she said, noting that she was frustrated after trying to get information about roads and road construction, especially after discovering the city may be planning a road near her home.
The city had a transportation committee that was not utilized well before the road bond controversy erupted, and since putting that committee back to work in February, "they have rehashed everything over and over and over, and haven't accomplished anything," Shields said.
Linda Robbins, who also helped gather signatures, said she and her husband have worked hard to get out of debt and became alarmed when they learned the city's per-resident debt total was ballooning.
Robbins also said she was frustrated after trying to learn information about road plans from city officials.
Cathy Smith, Scott Smith's wife, said she personally knocked on more than 200 doors to circulate the petition.
"In the cold, and in the snow, and in the wind," she said with a laugh. "I would say 19 out of 20 people felt some sense of anger that they didn't have access to information. The city is not giving any out [about roads] and when they do, it changes from day to day."

Much ado about -- what?

Highland news from the Lone Peak Press and the Daily Herald.

Highland council doesn't 'have the facts' for roads bond

Posted by: Our Towns Moderator on March 18, 2009 at 2:00AM EST

In Highland on Tuesday there was much ado about -- what? More than 100 residents gathered to speak out about the city potentially floating a bond for roads. Although the city has held a handful of meetings on the issue, once again no one was able to tell residents how much the city might want to borrow, what it would be used for, and why.
City officials said no decision on the matter is expected for months.
"This is not an easy decision because we just don't have the facts," said Councilman Brian Braithwaite after listening to more than an hour and a half of public comment.
Council members have already voted preliminary approval to borrow up to $5 million for roads. Councilwoman Kathryn Schramm warned that the consequences could be stark, and that the city might already be in a "precarious" financial position.
The majority of those who spoke on Tuesday did not take well to the lack of information, alternately pleading for and demanding transparency from the city. Other residents said the city should go forward with the undefined bond, saying it was supported by "the silent majority."
The public hearing began with a reversal. The first resident asked the mayor to please first explain "exactly the bond issue, the money available, and why you are considering it... I think there is a lot of confusion out there."
Mayor Jay Franson struggled to define "exactly the bond issue," saying the city would like to use a portion of $500,000 a year in state road money to repay the bond. When asked about using the money to build a controversial east-west corridor, Franson said only that there are "no specific strings tied to what this would be used for."
Because it was unclear what any potential debt might be used for, at times the hearing deteriorated into a debate over whether there should be an east-west corridor built in the city. Mayor Franson has said he would like the city to use some of the borrowed money for such a corridor, though no one in the city has proposed that or any other plan for the controversial bond.
Even late in the meeting, confusion reigned. Councilman Larry Mendenhall scolded the public, saying "the public perception has been that $5 million is on the table, but that has never been the case."
Councilwoman Kathryn Schramm then read an agenda from a recent meeting at which the Council voted to give preliminary approval for a bond "up to $5 million."
Schramm said she was deeply concerned over the state of the city's finances, and that her research showed the city may now be obligated to pay $1 million a month on its debt, but the sales tax and impact fees needed to make those payments are shrinking.
"I have to feel we are kind of in a precarious way," she said, detailing existing city debt that "I don't know how we are going to repay ... I'm really concerned."
In recent months the city has already obligated itself for large road projects that Schramm said she did not think were necessary, and would compete for the same money the city now proposes to use to repay any proposed bond.
To add to the confusion, the city appeared to confirm that the whole effort to gather public opinion will have to be redone months from now when the city does make some decisions about how any borrowed money for roads would be used.

From the Daily Herald Online
Pressurized irrigation bonds refinanced

Posted by: Our Towns Moderator on March 5, 2009 at 8:59PM EST

To avoid a substantial pressurized irrigation rate increase, Highland City Council voted on Tuesday to authorize the issuance of $4,300,000 General Obligation Refunding Bonds.This action will decrease the interest paid on the existing bond, due to lower interest rates and the city’s improved credit rating. Debt payments will decrease by almost $500,000 in the current fiscal year and by approximately $155,000 in each of the next eight years.The bond’s repayment period will also be increased by five years, which concerned some City Council members.“I really struggle to see that extending our debt five more years, even with the savings, is worth mortgaging five more years of our future,” said Councilman Brian Brunson.The original bond would have matured June 15, 2017; the bond will now mature on June 15, 2022.Without the refinancing, pressurized irrigation rates would have increased as much as 21 percent to cover additional costs of CUP water, Jordan Aqueduct (used in case of drought), and power for pumping.

After Protest, Highland to Hold Three More Road Meetings

Daily Herald: Our Towns Moderator
February 28, 2009 at 2:00AM EST

HIGHLAND -- After a flood of complaints about a proposed road bond, Highland is redoing a public hearing and has scheduled two more, hoping to encourage public input. On Feb. 17, about 100 residents filled City Council chambers here to voice their opposition to a proposed road bond. When one resident opened public comment by declaring the meeting illegal because the city had not met public notice requirements, city officials didn't disagree. Instead they said they would hold the meeting again.

Now council members are making good on that promise, and announcing two more road meetings besides.

Council members and planning commissioners will hold public meetings or hearings on March 11 at 7 p.m., March 17 at 7 p.m. -- at which time the city may make its final vote on the controversial road bonds -- and a third time on March 24 at 7 p.m.

It might be overkill. Or perhaps the city is trying to send a clear message to residents who accused them in recent public meetings of trying to leave the public out. In scheduling the meetings, city staff have said they want to make it absolutely clear that public input is desired.
Meanwhile, the city has asked a committee of residents to begin putting together a list of road priorities for the city. Earlier this week, that committee spent 45 minutes deciding that the city's No. 1 transportation priority should be public safety.

In considering where to spend money on roads, the committee said the city's second priority should be traffic volume, followed by "public acceptance," cost and, finally, congestion and travel delay.

"What we need to do is somehow set a priority for roads," said city staffer Matt Shipp to the committee. "There are only so many dollars to spend, obviously."

He encouraged committee members to be objective instead of subjective, but city manager Barry Edwards later argued that trying to measure and compare the public safety and public acceptance of one project over another could only be subjective.

The committee's suggested priorities could change after the public gets a chance to weigh in on them, committee members said.

"My proposal is that we be flexible and do a sanity test at the end" of determining priority projects, said committee member Kevin Pace.

Highland public meetings on road issues. All meetings will be held at City Hall, 400 W. Civic Center Drive.

• City Council Public Meeting/Work Session -- Wednesday, March 11 at 7 p.m.
• City Council Road Bond Hearing --¬ Tuesday, March 17 at 7 p.m.
• Planning Commission Public Hearing -- Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m.