Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvin Cullimore Jr. has filed for re-election. Cullimore was elected as the first mayor of Cottonwood Heights back in 2004 following a successful incorporation referendum. Cullimore says his administration has done an excellent job of providing services at a reasonable cost.
In his re-election announcement, Mayor Cullimore stressed the important things Cottonwood City has not done under his leadership.
“We haven’t in the nine years since the city started raised taxes," he says. "We haven’t raised any fees. We haven’t created new taxes. We still have no debt. We’ve never bonded for anything.”
But Cullimore says that didn’t stop him from making new investments in the community.
“We’ve been able to make significant improvements in city amenities all through our budgeting process, things like Mountainview Park, the Big Cottonwood Canyon Trail, started our own police department," he says.
Revenues in Cottonwood Heights have fallen by about $1 million since the economic downturn. Cullimore says the city has yet to recover those losses but has obtained a number of state and federal grants to complete infrastructure improvements.
Cullimore says he can find additional savings by possibly looking outside Salt Lake County for a more efficient public works provider and finding a permanent home for city hall while interest rates and construction costs are low.
“We recognize that like any homeowner, you certainly would rather own than rent," he says. "It’s a better long-term use of taxpayer dollars to instead of be paying rent to be paying a mortgage payment.”
The challenge, Cullimore says is finding a space in the mostly built-out Cottonwood Heights.
It’s not yet known if anyone will run against Cullimore. The last day to file for municipal elections is Friday.
