The Roy City Council is divided on ways to bring revenue into the city as its general fund faces a deficit of over $137,000 entering 2025, but one sentiment is similar: there aren’t many ideas to go around.
Mayor Kimber Ivy suggested hiring a full-time assistant city clerk to help offset the increasing work of the acting city-clerk treasurer and deputy clerk. The new employee would have moved into the full-time clerk-treasurer position while acting city-clerk treasurer Beth King would have moved into the assistant role.
After the council decided it would rather consider a part-time employee for a six-month trial with monthly updates on how they were bringing the city revenue, it ultimately voted 2-2, rejecting the motion. Councilors Edmund Dunn and Ryan Muller voted to approve the position, while Yvonne Starks and William Starks voted to deny.
Yvonne Starks said she couldn’t see a part-time employee bringing in enough revenue in a six-month or a year-long role to bring the city out of its financial crisis. She added that the city needs to be considering cuts rather than spending money it doesn’t have.
“We need to look at what we can reduce, and part of that is going to be medical benefits for families. I’d like to see the total number that we expect to spend on each employee and then what we would end up spending for their families,” Yvonne Starks said.
Ivy responded that the city has a high potential for revenue given its location and said she would be willing to bet that a potential part-time employee would help bring in money for Roy. The employee would have also helped to process permits for prospective landowners or homeowners looking to make home improvements, Ivy said. Starks disagreed with the mayor’s assessment, adding the city would face unincorporating if it doesn’t make cuts.
“Where are you going to put businesses? That’s sort of the problem. We have no way to expand. We have to live on the budget we have,” she said. “You’re not gonna get it from building permits. We might as well just unincorporate now. If we can’t make cuts now, then we might as well unincorporate now.”
The City Council also voted against approving a 1% property tax increase that would have provided an additional $947 in revenue for the city. Despite turning down multiple options for revenue, Starks admitted she did not have any ideas for how to bring in revenue aside from making cuts.
The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, to further discuss the budget before likely voting to adopt on Dec. 9.
