Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- The Vineyard City Council is moving forward on selling sales tax revenue bonds to fund a city center.
- A Vineyard councilman says the process lacked transparency and fiscal responsibility, and is urging a referendum.
- The rest of the council argues the project is necessary, won't raise taxes and has support.
VINEYARD — A Vineyard city councilman is leading a referendum effort after the City Council approved a resolution to sell sales tax revenue bonds to fund the construction of a new city center.
The council voted 4-1 in a special City Council session on April 3, authorizing the sale of sales tax revenue bonds to fund building a new city center. The center would be located in Utah City, a 700-acre mixed master plan community located on the eastern shore of Utah Lake.
LRB Public Finance Advisors presented the resolution that outlined the parameters on the bond sales, stating the sales and franchise tax revenue bonds would not exceed $35 million, the term would not exceed 35 years and the interest rates would not exceed 6%.
The resolution is just the "first step in the process" of issuing sales tax revenue bonds and it is "very common" to use these types of bonds to finance city projects, financial adviser David Robertson said in his presentation at the meeting.
The parameters are just maximum estimates as the Mountainland Association of Governments is planning to partner with the city on the center but hasn't officially decided how much it will contribute to funding, Robertson said.
Based on a preliminary analysis, however, the city has the cash flow to support this project, he added.
Vineyard Mayor Julie Fullmer says the city center won't be just one city government building, but will be a shared center for the community that also provides space for city officials to conduct services. The city has been looking into building a new city center since 2022, she said.
"This is a really creative, great solution for our community that we can look into more and make sure that it's an affordable opportunity for us. But it's definitely something that we need," Fullmer said.
Passing the resolution is an opportunity to get clearer numbers so the city can decide if this is the best way to move forward, she said.
Councilwoman Mardi Sifuentes and Councilman Brett Clawson voiced concerns about authorizing the sale of bonds before seeing accurate numbers on what it will cost the city.
"This is a really big commitment and I don't want to go in just with those rose-colored glasses. I want to go in with all the facts and information to make sure the I can back my vote," Sifuentes said.
The council passed the resolution with a stipulation that the matter will be expanded for discussion and action on May 14 after the scheduled public hearing on the issue is held. Details and numbers will be presented for further evaluation and the council can then decide if it wants to continue with selling the bonds or not.
"So the stipulation gets the ball rolling. My understanding is that we'll come back to the City Council on May 14 and present ... all the various numbers we talked about," Robertson said. "And if the City Council likes it, we will continue chugging forward. And if not, we'll stop."
Councilman Jacob Holdaway voted against approving the bond, saying the city can't afford it and the citizens should be able to vote on it.
Holdaway, along with a group of "concerned Vineyard residents" released a statement Tuesday announcing the launch of a referendum effort against the bond vote. The statement claims the council's process lacked transparency and fiscal responsibility and was passed with little public input.
"I'm not opposed to building a new City Hall in principle," Holdaway said in the statement. "But issuing this level of debt with no money down, no payment plan for the public to review, and no confirmed tenants, is financially reckless."
Holdaway claims the city's capital projects fund is empty and reserve funds are "below safe thresholds."
"We were told this vote wouldn't happen over spring break, and we were promised public comment before any decision," Holdaway said in the statement. "None of those commitments were honored. This kind of process erodes public trust."
Vineyard resident Zack Stratton is a business owner helping organize the petition for the referendum. He says the people of Vineyard deserve a voice in the matter.
"The public was left in the dark," Stratton said in the statement. "This isn't about politics — it's about principle. This decision was made without the basic financial transparency Vineyard residents deserve. Now we're just asking for a vote."
Utah law states the residents have 45 days to gather signatures. If the referendum efforts are successful, the issue would appear on the general election ballot in November for city residents to vote on.
Fullmer and the rest of the City Council — Sifuentes, Sara Cameron and Clawson — released a joint statement in response to the referendum efforts.
"We are concerned that the efforts of a small, vocal minority to mislead the public and push for a referendum on this will be a waste of city resources and taxpayer dollars and will ultimately cost the city much more in the future and sacrifice the city's ability to deliver day-to-day services to our growing community," the statement reads.
The statement says the council voted to initiate the bonding process "to fund the long planned and critically needed Vineyard Center" that will support the city's growth.
The project has strong community support and does not increase property or sales taxes, the council statement said. A financial analysis is being conducted "to confirm the city's safe financial position," the statement said.
"It is designed to provide essential civic services to our growing community with maximum efficiency by sharing the building cost and space with numerous community partners," the joint statement said. "We've worked carefully to ensure we minimize the financial impact to avoid escalating interest, construction and land costs in the future."
