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11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 1/6 UPDATE ON POLICE SERVICES BORROWING CYCLE; EASTER EGG HUNT; CAR SHOW; HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION EVENTS View this email in your browser Photo credit: Deseretnews.com Announcements UPCOMING MEETINGS Millcreek Community Council, Tues., 4/3/18, 6:30 PM, Millcreek Activity Center (old NEWS FOLLOW-UP ON BORROWING CYCLE FOR POLICE SERVICES MILLCREEK. Last week, we invited your comments on whether the City should take steps to break a borrowing cycle we inherited from SLVLESA to pay for police services. We explained that the cycle has required the City to borrow approximately $10 million to pay for 2018 Subscribe Past Issues Translate ---PAGE BREAK--- 11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 2/6 Hillview School) 1025 East 4405 South Mt. Olympus Community Council, Tues., 4/3/18, 7 PM, Churchill Jr. High, 3450 E. Oakview Drive Canyon Rim Community Council, Wed., 4/4/18, 7 PM, Christ United Methodist Church, 2375 E 3300 S East Mill Creek Community Council, Thur., 4/5/18, 6:30 PM; Millcreek Community Center, 2266 East Evergreen Ave. City Council Mon., 4/9/18 Time and agenda to be announced Visit the Calendar of Events on our website police services, repay the loan in December from the 2018 property taxes, and borrow again to pay for 2019 police services. Click here to see the newsletter with the full story. To learn more about how we got into this cycle, click here and scroll to the MillcreekUT responses at the bottom of the page. Our intent was not to present a pre-determined solution that might not have any support. The fundamental question we posed is whether you want to keep paying interest, recognizing that it could increase or decrease depending on variable interest rates, or whether you would be willing to pay to end the cycle by funding 13 rather than just 12 months of police services. We did not recommend a source of the increased payment. To date, the majority of responders have indicated they are open to paying more taxes to break the debt cycle. Many of you wanted more information before weighing in. Click here to view the comments we have received to date. Of course, a lot more information and public dialogue will be necessary before such a solution is adopted. The UPD currently bills Millcreek to provide police services at the rate of $812,210 per month. Given escalating costs and the difficulty in retaining experienced officers under current market conditions without an increase on salaries, we expect that UPD will bill Millcreek about 3% more for services during our next fiscal year (7/1/18 - 6/30/19), which is around $24,000 per month. That means that during our next fiscal year, we'll be paying close to $850,000 per month to the UPD, plus loan costs and interest to be paid our lender at whatever rate we can negotiate (it's currently $2.5% per month) a current borrowing cost of about $175,000 per year. Subscribe Past Issues Translate ---PAGE BREAK--- 11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 3/6 There are several ways to fund this anticipated increase and a 13th month of police services to escape the debt cycle. We could cut the number of police officers in Millcreek. Not one person suggested this would be an acceptable solution, and we believe it would be a mistake. Police protection is one of the most important services local government provides. We hear regularly from Millcreek residents clamoring for a lot more, not less, police coverage. Each officer currently costs about $115,000/year, with one-time hiring start-up costs for a vehicle, radios, and computers. Based upon the crime rates we experience, this is not a solution the City Council would recommend, nor one we think the citizens of Millcreek really want. We could cut other parts of the budget. Taking $850,000 every year for the next 10-12 years from other parts of the budget would dramatically reduce the funding Millcreek has for services such as road repair, sidewalks, street lights, and traffic calming. These are important municipal concerns that have been neglected for decades. We receive requests almost daily from citizens to improve these facilities. We could all pay a bit more property tax. Based on current calculations, interest rates, and property values, a property tax increase sufficient to pay the 3% increased costs and an extra payment to reduce borrowing would cost the owner of a $300,000 home in Millcreek about $30/year. Though we could not conclusively bind a future city council, our proposal would have the increase end in 10-12 years when the borrowing cycle was eliminated. Of course, Millcreek does not have to act to end this borrowing cycle. SLVLESA has been doing it for almost a decade and continues to rely upon it for its remaining members in the metro townships and unincorporated county. We want to thank everyone who responded to our request for comments. We value your opinions and we want to involve Millcreek residents in these types of decisions to the extent we can. That is our responsibility as the government closest to the people. We will have a further discussion on this subject as we move to draft and finalize our budget for the coming fiscal year. We encourage you to provide further input and to attend our public meetings and hearings on the subject of Millcreek’s budget. Click here to add your comments about ending the police services Subscribe Past Issues Translate ---PAGE BREAK--- 11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 4/6 presented by the East Mill Creek Lions' Club for kids 0-9 (grouped by age) Tomorrow (3/31/18) 9 AM Evergreen Park, 2230 Evergreen Ave. NEXT FRIDAY, APRIL 6TH borrowing cycle Subscribe Past Issues Translate ---PAGE BREAK--- 11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 5/6 Subscribe Past Issues Translate ---PAGE BREAK--- 11/1/2018 Possible solutions to police services borrowing cycle 6/6 VISIT us at http://millcreek.us Click here to subscribe to this weekly newsletter Copyright © 2018 Millcreek, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Subscribe Past Issues Translate