The rumor is false

The City administration has had multiple conversations with the postmaster over the years about the need for a Herriman post office. At this time, with the decrease of traditional mail, the United States Postal Service does not have plans to construct additional post offices. 

For further clarification or understanding of the matter, please reach out to the local postmaster at (801)254-0367.

The rumor is true

The City is working with a consultant to update the current General Plan. The draft plan, available on the General Plan webpage, has been recommended by the Planning Commission and is awaiting City Council review and approval. The City has engaged with the public at City events, public meetings, neighborhood meetings (both in-person and virtual), and through comment forms. The page will be updated as the draft plan is reviewed and discussed by the City Council.

This rumor is true

All drone flights have a specific City or Police Department purpose. The City has purchased another drone with the intent to expand our use and take advantage of the technological advances that make our work more efficient at a lower cost.

The following are the ways in which the drones will be utilized:

• Observe traffic patterns
• Video areas for Planning and Development
• Surface analysis and contours for Engineering, GIS, Parks, and Water
• Search and rescue
• Accident reconstruction
• Aerial photogrammetry of developing areas
• Analysis of drainages
• Aerial photography for City marketing

Additionally, all of our pilots are properly licensed through the FAA which requires them to keep flight logs and submit flight plans to the FAA before they use the drones. These logs track when and where the drones fly, as well as the purpose of the flight.

No pilot will be allowed to use a drone for recreational or spying purposes. Any inappropriate use will result in the loss of drone flying privileges and further disciplinary action.

More drone-related rumors:

Rumor: Herriman City’s use of drones is expensive and will raise my taxes

This rumor is false

Taxes will not be raised to support the use of drones by the GIS or Herriman Police Departments. Herriman City believes in being fiscally responsible. The City portion of resident’s property taxes has not been raised since incorporation in 1999. This can be credited to the strategic planning implementation of tools, like drones, to reduce costs.

Here are two examples of how the drone program, which has been an $8,000 investment, will be financially beneficial.

• In a search and rescue situation on our hillside, the cost for a helicopter to fly for one day is about $10,000 and about $900 – $1200 an hour. Instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars to search for someone, we will be able to fly drones for an extended period of time at nearly no cost
  
• When a car crash occurs in our city, the police perform an accident reconstruction process where they scientifically solve the questions of how and why an accident occurred. With the assistance of a drone, the process will be sped up significantly, often times being accomplished in a half hour verse several hours. This will not only allow roadways to be open more quickly but will reduce the cost of man-hours
  

Rumor: Herriman City and the Herriman Police Department have FAA approval to operate drones, including use at night and over crowds

This rumor is true

The GIS Department already has two drone pilots that operate under Part 107 of the FAA regulations for City mapping and engineering purposes. Four other individuals, from Herriman City and HPD, are currently working to obtain their Part 107 license.

Herriman City and HPD are working with a certified drone training organization and the FAA to ensure all regulations are being met. Additionally, we are working to obtain special waivers that will allow us to fly drones at night and over crowds in emergency situations.

Rumor: City drones were purchased to fly around the city 24/7

This rumor is false

Our drones will not be flying at all hours of the day. Rather, receive FAA waivers that allow us to fly at any time of day or night when it relates to emergency purposes.

This rumor is true

The K9 Memorial Dog Park has been constructed on Main Street, just south of Herriman Boulevard (12600 South). To allow the vegetation grow to full strength before the park experiences heavy traffic, the park will remain closed during the winter and will open in the spring of 2022.

This rumor is false

While the City owns the property of the City Hall and J. Lynn Crane Park, it does not own the commercial area surrounding the City Hall and park. Those areas are owned by a private property owner. Because the land is not owned by the City, the timeline in which the commercial area is developed is primarily in the hands of the property owner.

However, the City’s economic development staff is proactively communicating with the owner and potential business partners in hopes to see development in the area as soon as possible.

For more information on the commercial development process, see the previous section.

This rumor is false

An infographic in a publication shared by our good friends at South Jordan City to highlight their public safety funding to their residents has caused some concern for Herriman residents. The graphic, which can be found on this site, shows that for a home valued at $500,000, $447.70 goes to South Jordan City for South Jordan residents, while over $1,000 goes to Herriman City for Herriman residents. Some confusion exists because this graphic only shows rates for city services and public safety, and South Jordan and Herriman pay for services in different ways. On this graphic, this causes Herriman to appear to have more than double South Jordan's rate. However, you might say that this is comparing apples to oranges.

The South Jordan City portion of South Jordan residents' property taxes pay for:

• 24.2% of City operations
  
• 100% of police operations
  
• 19% of fire operations
  

The Herriman City and public safety portions (Herriman City Safety Enforcement Area) of Herriman residents' property taxes pay for:

• 20.1% of City operations
  
• 100% of police operations
  
• 100% of fire operations

In addition to city and public safety services, property taxes are also assessed by school districts, water providers, sewer services, the county, and so forth. The South Jordan City infographic and webpage note that their numbers for Herriman include city, police, and fire services. Their infographic does not include (for any city) property taxes paid to other non-city services. While it is true that, overall, Herriman property taxes are generally higher than South Jordan property taxes, it is not nearly to the amount implied in the visual infographic. A better snapshot of overall property tax rates in Salt Lake County can be seen in this image below. It includes the total overall property tax rate for Salt Lake County cities; these rates include rates for cities, public safety, school districts, water providers, etc.

*Note: The original graphic in a printed newsletter showed that Herriman had nearly triple the rate of South Jordan, but South Jordan City has since realized a calculation mistake and has corrected the error on their website.

This rumor is false

Fire and emergency medical services in Herriman are normally funded through a taxing district that directs a portion of your property taxes towards fire and emergency services.

In August of 2020, the City opted to leave the Unified Fire Service Area (UFSA), a taxing district that was funding several municipalities’ fire and emergency services, including Herriman’s. Note that the UFSA is not the same as the Unified Fire Authority (UFA), who is the fire department. Starting in 2022, Herriman will have its own direct taxing entity for fire services called the Herriman City Fire Service Area (HCFSA). However, for the year in between the UFSA and HCFSA, the City still needs to pay for its fire services. To do so, the City raised its portion of Herriman property taxes by the exact same rate that the UFSA charged, and the UFSA portion decreased to zero.

Aside from the temporary one-year increase specific to fire service funding, Herriman City has never raised its property tax rate since it incorporated in 1999. All increases in property taxes paid since that time have been due either to 1) other entities (school district, county, etc.) raising their rates or 2) an increase in property values.

Why is this beneficial?

This will allow all fire service funds to remain within our community, rather than losing any surplus to other municipalities.

To learn more, view this webpage.

This rumor is true

Why does the City charge a $200.00 security deposit?

The deposit serves as a security for payment of service. Deposits reduce the amount of bad debt expense and establishes a good credit standing with the City, which in turn, saves customers money by helping to keep utility rates down.

How long will the deposit be held?

The deposit will be held for two years if the resident can demonstrate no more than two past due balances in that time frame. If the account is closed before the two-year period, the deposit will be applied to the termination billing and any remaining balance will be refunded in a check to the resident.

How will I receive my refund?

Once the resident has demonstrated the two-year period with no more than two past due balances, a check will be mailed to the resident.

Can I be exempt from the deposit?

Yes, a resident can be exempt from the $200.00 security deposit if you provide verification of no more than two past due balances in two years from the most recent previous water account holder. It can be a simple email, letter or statements reflecting your payment history.

How can I submit my previous water account history?

You can send it via email to water@herriman.org or you are welcome to bring it in to City Hall.

What if I already have history with Herriman City?

Please let us know of your previous water account with us so we can verify your history before we charge the $200.00 security deposit.

How soon do I have to turn in my previous water account history?

To avoid the $200.00 security deposit from showing up on your bill we suffuse that you turn in your water account history within two weeks after we have received your water application. The due date that is reflecting on your first bill will be the very last day we will accept your previous water account history to waive the $200.00 deposit. We will not accept any account history after the due date on your first bill.

Is there any other payment history that would qualify for the exemption of the $200.00 security deposit?

We will accept a payment history from other cities/water companies, HOAs or landlords.

Do I have to pay the $200.00 security deposit up front?

No, if we do not receive verification of your history with a previous water account holder, we will attach the $200.00 security deposit to your first bill. If the $200.00 security deposit is not paid by the due date stated on the bill you may be subject to having your water shut off.

This rumor is true

Every year, residents are allowed to light off fireworks for a space of eight days. Visit our Fireworks webpage for details on dates, times, restricted areas, and safety tips.

This rumor is false

The City owns and operates five wells and one spring, which supply approximately 50% of the City’s drinking water. The remaining portion is supplied by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District.

Over the many years that Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine has been operating, contamination of a portion of the groundwater aquifer in the southwest corner of the Salt Lake Valley has occurred due to their operations. City-owned water resources are quite a distance from the contaminated water source and are routinely monitored for contamination constituents.

In the late 1990’s, Kennecott, along with the Utah Division of Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have been working together to determine a strategy to clean up the contaminated aquifer. The effort is the Southwest Groundwater Remediation Plan. The communities most effected by the contamination are West Jordan, South Jordan, Herriman, and Riverton. These communities are impacted by the inability to produce groundwater for their communities in the area of the contaminated plume, as groundwater wells cannot be placed in the contaminated area.

The aquifer contamination plume consists of an acidic core with low pH water and elevated metal concentrations surrounded by a partially to fully neutralized zone of elevated sulfate concentrations.

Compliance and Extraction Well Monitoring Parameters

• pH
  
• Arsenic (D)
  
• Barium (D)
  
• Cadmium (D)
  
• Copper (D)
  
• Fluoride
  
• Lead (D)
  
• Nickel (D)
  
• Selenium (D)
  
• Sulfate
  
• *(D) dissolved
  

The main goal of the remediation effort is to contain the contaminated aquifer and in the end, reduce the size of the contaminated area. This effort is being accomplished by pumping water at controlled rates through a series of underground wells in the area of the contamination. The water is mainly used in mining operations, but a portion of the water is extracted and treated using reverse osmosis and distributed to communities through an agreement with Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. The water that is treated is pumped from areas in the aquifer that have lower levels of contamination.

So far, the remediation efforts seem to be working. The plume does look to be shrinking and the contamination levels are reducing as well. The Southwest Groundwater Remediation Plan is in place for 40 years, at which time studies will be completed to determine if remediation has been effective and goals have been met, or if operations need to be modified and continue the effort.

While Herriman does indeed receive water that has gone through a filtration process by Kennecott, it has also gone through the distribution process of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. A link to the latest annual water quality report is below.

Kennecott Environmental Information

Herriman City’s Annual Consumer Confidence Report

It depends

Backyard fire pits and barbecues require a building permit if they are gas fed and a new gas line is being installed (see Electrical/Mechanical/Plumbing information).

Wood/other fire pits do not require a permit. However, please see this Unified Fire Authority handout on burning for clearances.

Residential open burning is not allowed in Herriman. Agricultural open burning is allowed only in Agricultural zones (contact the Planning/Zoning Department to determine your zone at 801-446-5323 or planning@herriman.org. The UFA handout also addresses open burning requirements.