A budget presentation was given by Weber County Comptroller Scott Parke and included a breakdown of how county government is financed.

Parke noted that the planned spending of all funds in the county for the year to come was expected to total roughly $317 million. He added that around 70% of general fund spending would be designated for employee compensation.

Employee health and dental insurance costs will see increases of 9.5% and 5%, respectively. According to Parke, employee health insurance was initially expected to see a significantly higher cost bump. After receiving bids from different providers, though, the county eventually secured insurance with a lower increase from its current provider.

Parke reported that all county employees would be receiving 1.5% cost-of-living salary increases and that most would also be eligible for performance-based raises of zero to 2%. During the commission’s previous work session, it was deemed that elected officials would not be eligible for performance-based pay increases.

In October, an anonymous group of deputies with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office raised concerns about critical staffing issues and low pay in a letter that was provided to the Standard-Examiner and other media outlets. Those concerns were raised again by others during the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting.

A countywide compensation study was initiated previously by the commission; however, that study won’t be completed until 2025, which could push additional pay increases for deputies to 2026. During the budget hearing, Commissioner Jim Harvey said he would be “resolute” in following the recommendation/results of the study.

It was claimed in the letter sent by the concerned deputies group that a delayed salary adjustment could mean the loss of additional experienced deputies to other agencies — even with a $10,000 retention bonus for employees currently in effect. Concerns about service levels were also raised in the letter.

For his part, Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon told the Standard-Examiner last month that officers in Ogden City boast starting salaries “about $6,000” higher annually than their sheriff’s office counterparts. He added that the starting wage at the Utah Highway Patrol is “$8-$9 more per hour.”

During his presentation Tuesday, Parke noted that most county funds can’t be taken from one department and given to another, per statute. He cited the example of taking money from parks and recreation and reallocating it for public safety as something that cannot be done.

Staffing issues at the sheriff’s office notwithstanding, the county will be adding several new full-time employees across various departments.

Those include three social workers and one legal secretary in the Weber Public Defender Group, three health department employees, three school resource officers and a school security chief through the sheriff’s office, one attorney (as well as one part-time victim witness assistant) in the Weber County Attorneys Office, two Weber County Culture, Parks & Recreation Department maintenance workers, one county library position, two animal shelter workers and two scale attendants (one full-time, one part-time) for the Weber County Solid Waste Transfer Station.

Other budget highlights presented by Parke include building improvements costing roughly $10.5 million, a one-time dispersion of $1.25 million to the parks and recreation department for the improvement/maintenance of facilities and approximately $16 million in federally-funded infrastructure improvements.

Among the changes to the tentative budget that were approved last month was a $1.25 million cost share for road improvements to the intersection at 12th Street and 3500 West.

The tentative operating budget approved last month can be viewed online at https://webercountyutah.gov/documents/2025-tentative-budget.pdf/. A partial recording of Tuesday’s hearing is available on the county’s YouTube channel.

The county will continue to accept public input on the budget over the next week, with the goal of adopting a final budget at 10 a.m. on Dec. 17. The budget must be finalized by Dec. 31.