We are fortunate to have a thriving business environment in Riverdale.  The ability to go find just about anything you could need, so close to home is very convenient.  And the tax revenue generated by our business is critical to manage the core services and nice amenities we residents (and visitors) enjoy.

In the past, Riverdale’s sales tax revenue came under attack in the Utah State Legislature.  State lawmakers decided it would be fairest to re-distribute a large portion of Riverdale’s sales tax revenue to surrounding communities with higher residential populations and less commercial activity.

With the city being responsible to provide the infrastructure, as well as police and fire protection for the 40,000+ daily commuters, shoppers and business employees, these circumstances loomed large.

Our city leaders prepared for the unwelcome situation by enacting an action plan that would continually assess priorities and control expenditures based on the local economic climate at any given time.  And a few years after that the city lobbied for and received the right to receive a “city-option” sales tax, in large part to help our small resident population cover the cost of supporting a big daytime population.  City staff recently lobbied the state again for an extension on this city-option tax and it was granted through the year 2030.

The action plan, which encouraged staff to prioritize and work leaner, also helped by putting the city in a very stable financial position when the recession hit.  Already scaled back, Riverdale’s economic adjustment has been much less severe than many other government entities who have had to take on more debt, cut employee benefits, layoff employees, raise fees and cut services to citizens and more.

This is a great example of the type of leadership that I feel is very important to strive to retain as key leaders in the community change. This pro-active, strategic, clever, constantly self-assessing and adjusting style of our city officials has paid off very well for our citizens.  Even in very uncertain economic times. This is the type of positive momentum I want to help maintain as a city counselor.