The Vineyard City Council held the first of two public hearings on Wednesday to consider changing the city form of government from a five-member council to a six-member council, a move that the current council seems divided on. 

Currently, the city government has four council members and a mayor who votes on all matters. In a six-member council — five council members and a mayor — the mayor only votes to break a tie vote, when appointing or dismissing a municipal manager, and on ordinances that restrict or expand the mayoral powers. The mayor would still preside over and be the chair of the council.

The city council voted to begin the process of changing the government to a six-member council on June 26, with Councilmembers Jacob Holdaway and Sara Cameron voting against the proposal. 

Two public hearings are required to begin the process of expanding the city council. After that, the council can vote on whether or not to place the resolution on the 2024 ballot, with voters getting the final say on adding another city council member. 

If Vineyard voters approved a change of government, the new form would not go into effect until 2026. 

Councilmember Mardi Sifuentes said she has been looking into moving into a six-member council for over a year. She said she feels the five-member form is “outdated” and there would be many benefits with switching to a six-member council. 

Growth in Vineyard and having more separation between the executive and legislative are two main reasons Sitfuentes has been pushing for this change, she said. 

“I think the main key factors are having more representation, having the mayor not as a voting member of our council, but more as drawing that line between the executive and legislative bodies,” she told the Daily Herald.  

Sifuentes also mentioned that adding a sixth council member would allow for two council members and the mayor to meet outside of a public meeting without violating the Open and Public Meetings Act. 

Councilmember Jacob Holdaway said that while he believes a change to a six-member council would be a slight improvement, he would like to see a move toward a council-mayor form of government. 

A council-mayor form separates the executive branch (the mayor) from the legislative branch (the city council) completely. Under that configuration, the mayor does not vote and heads executive and administrative duties such as appointing municipal officers and executing ordinances passed by the city council. 

The city council would then be charged with passing ordinances, appropriating funds, reviewing the administration and more. 

“Yes, there are better forms of government, and I’m open to moving to the correct one,” Holdaway said in a statement. “The six-member form does not remove the mayor as head of the council or separate powers into two bicameral chambers.”   

One key factor for Holdaway in favoring a council-mayor form of government is having the city council, not the mayor, in charge of appropriating city funds. 

Holdaway has previously raised concerns about some of the city’s spending, including Vineyard’s membership with World Trade Center Utah, which costs $50,000 per year, and various travel expenses, such as a trade mission trip to Europe.  

He also noted that the city council has the power now to reform city spending and provide transparency for residents. 

“We can put city ordinances in place to safeguard city funds,” he said. “We, as the council, hold a majority right now if we want to fix things. We just lack the courage to fix it.” 

Sifuentes said she believes moving to a six-member council will help provide some separation between the mayor and council and help settle some concerns from the city council and the citizenry. 

“I feel like we’ve had a lot of spotlight and excitement and stress and frustration,” she said. “And I see this as a way to help pacify some of the discontentment in satisfying some of the needs that council members have been mentioning.” 

During Wednesday’s public hearing, some citizens also expressed support for a council-mayor form of government over a six-member form. 

Vineyard resident David Lauret said he prefers the council-mayor form as it provides “checks and balances” between government branches and asked the council to consider a council-mayor form instead. 

Karen Cornelius, another resident, agreed with Lauret, adding that her view had nothing to do with the current council but rather having a more representative government. 

“This is not targeted at anyone,” she said. “This is actually just a better way to represent the people and to have a representative government like this country has had for the last 200-plus years.” 

Vineyard resident David Pearce said he believes a six-member form would bring closer cooperation between elected officials and supported the proposal. 

“This structure was chosen by multiple cities locally as the most effective structure for their city government,” he said, adding that it still provides some separation between the mayor and council. 

Elizabeth Holdaway said she supports a council-mayor form of government but also urged the council not to rush the issue and be careful in its consideration. 

“There’s a lot of factors that can go into it,” she said. “And I know that something’s better than nothing, and we definitely do need to change, but I do think that we need to be very thoughtful and considerate.” 

Currently, Provo is the only city in Utah County that operates under a council-mayor form, with other cities having a six or five-member council configuration. 

Sifuentes noted that most Utah cities with a council-mayor form, such as Provo or Salt Lake City, are significantly larger than Vineyard. 

The only disadvantage Sifuentes said she saw with changing the government form is some of the financial costs, including putting it on the ballot and the added salary of a new member. However, she said that’s a “minimal cost to have a better representation.” 

Under state law, if voters reject or approve a change of government, another change of government cannot be considered for four years.