Sugar City, Idaho: The Dayley Report

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Impact Fees Part 2

Impact Fees Part 2 The topic of impact fees often cycles around during city budget time, understandably. I guess this is part two of my thoughts on impact fees. ( This link takes you to part one if you want to read it. ) I’m no expert on the history of and legalities surrounding impact fees. I’m becoming more knowledgeable about the practical arguments surrounding the justification and use of such fees. When I think about topics like this, I often try to think of a number of questions that relate to the topic in the context of Sugar City. For example, here’re are some I initially thought of regarding impact fees: · Would charging impact fees actually allow a city to reduce their tax rate or decrease utility rates? What other factors have to be considered? · Why do so many cities that charge impact fees also have higher utility rates than Sugar City? What other factors have to be considered? ...

Sugar City Budget FY 2027

Sugar City Budget FY 2027 Last week, City Council passed the tentative budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins Oct 1, 2026. We will hold a public hearing and vote on the final budget in our next meeting, August 27th. As always, there were a few issues that we had to deal with this year. Utilities and other such "enterprise funds" that cities manage have to be self-supporting. These include water, wastewater or sewer, and garbage collection. In practical terms, this means each year the rates for these services will go up at least enough to match inflation. Garbage Service Costs Rising fuel prices along with other general inflationary and structural increases have bumped up the county dump fees as well as the service provider fees paid by the city. These increases are passed on to the residents. The city does not make money off the garbage service. The city is more like a pass through account manager for such services. (The table at the end of this post shows the new fees for...

America 250: Happy Independence Day!; City Budget FY 2027

America 250: Happy Independence Day! I was a little kid in Idaho Falls during America's Bicentennial celebration. I remember burning my hand on a sparkler that year. The parades, picnics, BBQs, and fireworks were great family and community fun then, and they still are today fifty years later! I was recently reading about the events during our nation's 50th Anniversary in 1826. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two key members of the great generation that founded our country both died that year on July 4th, a "coincidence" that Daniel Webster called a "dispensation of the Divine Providence" and though these two men were gone, Webster said, "their work doth not perish with them." And further: "No age will come in which the American Revolution will appear less than it is, one of the greatest events in human history." Can we ever fully understand the miraculous events of that era? Probably not. The Revolutionary War, as trying and traumatic ...

Impact Fees $$

Impact Fees I see impact fees being discussed online in regards to Sugar City. Let me say up front that I'm no expert on impact fees. Also, these are my own opinions. A couple of years ago, I think now, I read a public notice about the city of Rexburg raising their impact fees for new residential and commercial construction. They raised their fees substantially, and I know Idaho Falls just adjusted their fees as well this year (when anyone says the government "adjusted fees," it almost always means "increased fees"). I have also discussed impact fees with residents of Sugar City. Some residents think the city should be charging impact fees on all new construction, residential and commercial. They see impact fees as a pretty straightforward way to make new residents and businesses pay their "fair share" for the services and infrastructure new construction requires. A simple definition of "impact fees" is one-time fees a property owner has to...

Sugar Days and America250 Celebration! State-Wide Drought Declaration

Sugar Days 2026 Sugar Days is just a couple months away: June 20th. We plan to have the traditional community breakfast 8-10am, followed by the bounce houses, rock wall, music, and vendors running through the day. We'll raffle prizes for the kids on the hour, every hour as well! This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, so we have some America250 activities and events we're planning this year. We applied for and received a special state grant to help fund some of our America250 Idaho activities. Some of the ideas we're considering and/or working on: Patriotic music performances by residents and choirs and bands throughout the day Dramatic speeches celebrating our nation and Idaho or reenactments of famous patriotic speeches Commemorative clothing or other tokens for participants Patriotic-themed children's parade Red, white, and blue balloons for kids Kiosk with US, Idaho, and Sugar City history information and more...

Public Information, Sewer Use Rate Increase, City Budgeting

Public Information Recently, I was happy to see that some people notice the announcements regarding youth soccer that I occasionally post on social media.☺ (I've volunteered for the past decade or so with a local organization.) I'm not always sure those announcements for Sugar Soccer are very effective. Of course, the real reason the soccer information was screen shot and reposted, was to demonstrate to residents of Sugar City how hard it might seem to be informed regarding topics and issues being discussed and acted upon by city council. I sympathize with residents who can sometimes feel caught off guard regarding some issues coming up in city council. The mayor, council members, and city staff spend hours each week staying as informed as we can be. Understanding a proposed ordinance, development application, zone change request, or budget item can take hours of discussion and research. Sometimes we have to hear from state and other local government entities. Sometimes we ha...