Sports are back… sort of! The Jazz resumed basketball yesterday in the NBA bubble. If a basketball game is played with no fans in attendance, does it make a sound? Your correspondent recalls exactly where he was standing at the capitol at the end of the legislative session when the NBA suspended their season. The NBA may have suspended activity, but we at ULCT sure haven’t!

Today’s email will explain the state revenue snapshot for the last fiscal year and the Governor’s COVID-19 orders for early August, update you on the Commission on Housing Affordability, HB 374 compliance, and time sensitive dialogue in DC about COVID-19 related stimulus, urge you to nominate people for the Taylor Service Award and ULCT Board of Directors, remind you about August LPC, and spotlight fascinating telecommuting data from our partners at UCAIR accompanied by a great Cities Work podcast that explores the “great localization” that the UCAIR survey data and the “new normal” insinuate.

ULCT Announcements:

We want you! We will have several vacancies on the ULCT Board of Directors in September so we invite mayors and council members to apply. HERE is the process. Deadline is August 24th. 

We also urge you to nominate a city leader for the Mayor Brent and Jennie Taylor Service Award which we will announce at the Annual Convention. The deadline is one week from today, August 7th, and the nomination form is HERE.

COVID-19 Updates: Local, State, and Federal

Governor Herbert approved a mask mandate in Logan--joining Salt Lake County, Grand County, Summit County, and Springdale--and extended the current green, yellow, and orange guidelines until Friday, August 7. Work continues behind-the-scenes on Utah Leads Together 5.0 so stay tuned.

The Utah State Tax Commission released their monthly state revenue snapshot which showed a dramatic decrease in personal and corporate income tax revenue (10.1%) compared to last year. Interestingly for cities, the state sales tax revenue was up 5.9% and the motor fuel tax was up .1% over this time last year. The sales tax revenue did not grow as much as projected, and state economists believe that the federal stimulus packages this spring bolstered the sales tax revenues. You can read more HERE.

You can see Juliette Tennert’s economic data from Monday’s town hall HERE as well as the presentations from our other town hall participants HERE. 

What will happen next on the federal stimulus front? That is the trillion dollar question. As mentioned in Monday’s Economic Impact Town Hall, Senate Republican leaders released the HEALS Act. Of note to local governments, the HEALS Act does not allocate new funds for cities, towns, and counties but does provide more flexibility in how the CARES Act can be used. House Democrats passed the HEROES Act earlier this summer that is $3 trillion with $375 billion earmarked for local governments. The White House and Treasury Department are sending mixed messages about what they want to see in a bill. Let the negotiations ensue! 

The ULCT Board of Directors has communicated to our federal delegation our desire for direct allocations to cities of all sizes as well as flexibility and clarity in how the funds can be used. The ULCT Board did not take a position on the amount of money that should be in any future Congressional act and they have not taken a position on either the HEROES or HEALS Acts as we wait for negotiations to progress. The August Senate recess is scheduled to begin on August 10 and key provisions of the CARES Act—Paycheck Protection Program, eviction moratorium, etc.—expire today. The House is currently in recess but on standby to return to DC. In short, next week is crucial. We urge you to contact the congressional delegation to discuss your city’s needs in the 4^th stimulus.

The National League of Cities is hosting a Cities Are Essential campaign call on Monday, August 3 at 11:30 am with more advocacy information that you can join HERE.

Legislative Advocacy

Reminder HB 374 Reports: Plan Reviews and Inspections  As a reminder, we are collecting data for HB 374 and are missing responses for April and May from some of our biggest cities. This legislation requires all Utah cities and towns submit a report of their plan reviews and building inspections to ULCT. It is critical that we get this data so we can tell our side of the story and be part of the solution. To help streamline this process, we developed a plan review tracker and sent it to each city and town via email. If your city or town needs a copy of this tracker, please contact ULCT intern, Spencer Cawley, at  intern@ulct.org. Don’t forget, the next deadline is August 15 for June and July inspections.

On Wednesday the Commission on Housing Affordability heard updates from the commission land use subcommittee, which has discussed permitting fees, and the housing preservation subcommittee, which has discussed funding for low income housing.  The Commission also received updates on Wasatch Choice and SB 34 by the Wasatch Front Regional Council. ULCT is working with commission members to provide information on the use of permitting fees and the actual impacts on affordable housing and housing affordability.

Next Legislative Policy Committee: August 17, 3 pm via zoom. Zoom instructions, agenda, and materials coming soon.

Spotlight

#CITIESWORK PODCAST

COVID-19 has taught us a lot of new ways to do business. One of those is teleworking.  As people moved from the traditional office to their home office the air improved, traffic congestion lessened, bicycle sales soared, and more people began utilizing paths and trails to commute, exercise, and simply breathe the fresh air.   

Teleworking is now a popular option, and it may make us want to re-think the way we plan for growth. For example, it could impact road construction, the size and space of parking lots and office space, and access to bike and pedestrian trails. In our latest #CitiesWork podcast, WFRC’s Ted Knowlton and UCAIR’s Thom Carter evaluate survey data and take a look with ULCT about what the future may hold.  We invite you to take a close look at the survey data by clicking HERE.

Click to hear #CitiesWork podcast

Special thanks to ULCT’s gold level sponsor, Utopia, for sponsoring this podcast episode.

LISTEN NOW

ULCT Upcoming Events

COVID- Economic Impact Town Hall 

3:00- 4:00 pm Monday, August 10

Be sure to mark your calendar for the next ULCT Town Hall- COVID Economic Impact set for Monday, August 10, from 3:00-4:00 pm. Join our panel of experts for a discussion about the new trends in our state resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Stay tuned for a list of upcoming speakers. 

Virtual Incentives Training Session

Thursday, August 13

The Newstand “Utah’s tax revenues fell 4.2 percent this year due to the impact of coronavirus on the economy” Utah Policy, 7/28/2020 “State health officials ‘cautiously optimistic’ amid Utah’s recent COVID-19 case decline” KSL News, 7/30/2020

ULCT Sponsors