Utah County Commission passed its 2024 budget Wednesday, making some minor adjustments and reducing the projected deficit since the last budget presentation.

Wednesday’s discussion was a continuation of last week’s commission meeting, where a public hearing was held regarding next year’s finances. A final vote was pushed to this week due to Commissioner Tom Sakievich not being present at the last meeting.

The county will be in a deficit next year, but that deficit was reduced from about $10.6 million to $9.6 million on Wednesday.

The commission also approved funds for some additional staff positions in the county jail and the sheriff’s department — four new nurses for the jail and an additional Special Victims Unit detective for the sheriff’s department.

Commissioner Brandon Gordon had previously been against a new school security officer position in the sheriff’s office but later agreed on it after speaking with the department, he said during the meeting.

The commissioners had been divided last week on the contract amount for the Utah County Public Defender Association, with Commission Chair Amelia Powers Gardner proposing no increase, Gordon proposing an increase of around $400,000 and Sakievich lobbying for a $3.7 million increase.

According to Wednesday’s meeting, Sakievich agreed on $423,000 for the association along with Gordon.

During a previous commission meeting this fall, representatives from the county public defender association presented new national workforce standards, explaining that under the new standards, the county needed to significantly increase the number of public defenders and funding.

But in a previous interview with the Daily Herald, Powers Gardner spoke against this ask from the association, saying, “We don’t look at national standards when it comes to workload because we (the county) do so much more with less.”

Last week, commissioners said they had worked to cut many unfilled staff positions within the county and also worked with the Health Department to reduce its deficit by more than $4 million.

The county will be pulling money from its fund balance in 2024, which has also been referred to as a “rainy day” fund.

Resolution supporting Israel and Utah’s Jewish community

The commission also approved a resolution in solidarity with Utah’s Jewish community, stating the county’s “unequivocal” support for Israel and “its right to exist as a sovereign and secure nation.” The resolution also condemned the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and offered support for Israeli people impacted by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The resolution, which was read by Powers Gardner, also generally called on people to promote peace, condemn violence, and foster dialogue and respect with diverse cultures and religions.

“This is very crucial,” Sakevich said while voting in approval. “This is the nature of what the United States is. It embraces all cultures to the level that we’re able to, and this (the resolution) is a correct step in moving forward.”

Newsletter