Toquerville council approves FY2026–27 budget, cuts $50,000 from planning services

The Toquerville City Council voted Aug. 19 to adopt the FY2026–27 budget, approving a motion to delete $50,000 from the Planning & Zoning professional services line (52-290) as part of efforts to reduce a proposed tax increase.

Councilman Todd Sands moved to adopt the budget "eliminating Planning and Zoning line item 52-290, professional services at $50,000," and Councilwoman Jenny Chamberlain seconded. The motion carried 5–0 on a roll-call vote. City Manager Ben Billingsley and City Attorney Kayla Gothard discussed legal fee projections during the budget review.

The change was presented as a bookkeeping reduction in professional services for the Planning & Zoning budget; the council did not adopt alternate funding to replace those services during the meeting. Council discussion also included possible direction to staff on proactive code enforcement and whether hiring a dedicated code enforcement officer should be pursued in a future budget or by separate policy direction.

The council did not specify additional offsets or a final estimated tax-rate impact tied solely to this $50,000 change during the meeting; the mill levy for tax year 2026 was set separately at 1.070 mills.