Vineyard City, located in Utah County, could have its $35 million bond for a new city hall put to the voters come this November.
In early April, the city council called a special council meeting to approve the bond, but the action was immediately met with opposition from some of the city’s residents, as they argued the city is getting ahead of itself in bonding for such a structure. Those questioning the bond also wondered why the city decided to call the vote for the bond in a special meeting of the city council instead of its regularly held meetings.
Certain City Council members have assured residents that the building is needed by arguing that:
- The city needs to bring all of its staff under one roof.
- Vineyard is currently understaffed and can’t hire additional staff because there isn’t room for new employees.
- The Mountainland Association of Governments (a government-funded organization that helps with growth planning) will share the building, offsetting construction costs if the city builds the building now, but probably wouldn’t help if there were a delay.
Additional plans for the building include:
- Extra space for future city employees, which could be used as ‘incubator’ offices until the city needs them.
- A permanent farmer’s market, an ice cream shop, and other “fun” destinations.
- A large event space that could be used for city or private gatherings.
Those who support the project also state that the land being donated for the building is available now and might not be in the future.
Those against the bond have filed a referendum, meaning if they obtain the right amount of signatures, the action by the city council to take out the bond will be put on hold until the citizens in the city vote on the issue.
Those filing the referendum argue that the new city hall is simply too expensive. They note that the city has a population of 15,000 and that $35 million is three times the city’s annual budget. To go after a price tag that big, they feel, should have voter approval.
The residents are also concerned that the bond could impact property taxes down the road if the city isn’t able to cover the costs of the bond with current city revenue. They also argue that residents are not asking for a new city hall and that building one will not do anything to attract businesses or additional residents to the city.
We agree that the government needs to be cautious when going down the path of building what are essentially office spaces for government workers. The spaces should be built to current standards and well maintained, but it often becomes tempting for elected officials to build “monuments to the government” at taxpayer expense when building such structures.
When it comes to taxes, we welcome including the voters in the discussion. Not every tax decision should be made by voters, but it is never a bad option to go to the voters and seek their input on giving their money to pay for a new government building or service.
We understand those seeking the referendum already have dozens of volunteers to help them obtain the necessary signatures to put it to the voters. We encourage the residents of Vineyard to sign the referendum and allow the voters the chance to vote on this proposal.