Sugar City, Idaho: The Dayley Report

Update: the city was able to recover nearly all of the money! Scammers hit the city Ugh....during our last council meeting, we were informed that scammers managed to steal over $77,000 from the city. The fake invoice for the recent road work in the city was nearly perfect--it had the correct dates, amounts, etc. The only difference was one letter in the business email address. The wire transfer took place and went to the scammers instead of the authentic contractors. I saw an article posted on East Idaho News about it. In one of the comments, someone suggested the city might be trying to cover up the scam. No, the city isn't trying to cover it up for some reason. Unless you consider talking openly about it during the public city council meeting (streamed on Facebook and available on Zoom) to be "covering it up." The city's business is the public's business (and vice-versa) and is carried on in the open. The sad truth is we got taken by some clever, unscrupulous pe

City Staff and City Volunteers At last night's city council meeting, I was impressed, again, by the dedication of the city employees and volunteers. For the employees, working for the city is their job, of course, but I am glad they take the job seriously and are determined to do their best to keep Sugar City running well. As for the various volunteers, we have a number of wonderful volunteer committee members who willingly offer their time and energy and experience. I know there are many city residents who would be great additions to The Planning and Zoning Commission, the Tree and Beautification Committee, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Parks and Recreation Committee, etc. These committees make significant and lasting contributions to our great city. If you are interested in helping, please contact city hall. Budget 2022 We had another round-table style 2022 budget work session last night. Planning the city's budget is serious business. The council members and the

Sugar Days 2021 Sugar Days 2021 was a great success! It was wonderful to see our community in large numbers outside in the park. Sponsors We'd like to thank our great sponsors: Idaho Central credit Union Stones Automotive Group Rocky Mountain Power PSI Environmental Services Dickinson Frozen Foods Fuzion Dance Studio Top Notch Beef & Jerky Rusty Spur Country Swing Broulim's We hope other businesses and individuals will consider sponsoring Sugar Days and other community events in the future. From city funds, we budgeted $4000 for Sugar Days 2021. I don't have the final figures yet, but I think the total cost for the event will end up somewhere around $8,000, which we will be able to cover because of our generous sponsors. Next year, we'd like to budget a lot less city money for the event, so we're going to need all the sponsors we can get. Community Talent Show & Dance The talent show and dance were new additions to Sugar Days this year. I was worried how th

  Special Council Meeting Last night (6/30/2021), the city council held a special meeting with two major items on the agenda: taking the first steps toward a city-wide internet fiber plan, and a discussion about a proposed new master plan & development agreement for Old Farm Estates (OFE). Fiber Optic Backbone The federal government is handing out money like candy, and Idaho cities are receiving some of it that is earmarked for certain types of improvements. The city has decided to use some of that money for a preliminary study and plan regarding the possibility of getting fiber installed throughout the town. This is not a quick undertaking. More to come. Old Farm Estates Over the past several months, representatives of the city and the developers of OFE have met for a series of intense discussions regarding future development in OFE. The discussions have been serious and sincere. Last night, the city council discussed and asked questions regarding the proposed new plan and agreeme