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Meridian City Council - 7/21/26
Published: Jul 21, 2026
Council Approves FY26 Amended Budget, Tentatively Approves FY27 Budget, and Declares Intent for Foregone Property Tax
The council reviewed and approved three items related to the fiscal year budget. Item one involved the approval of the fiscal year 2026 amended revenues and expenditures totaling $250,360,333. Item two concerned the tentative approval of the fiscal year 2027 proposed revenues and expenditures, amounting to $224,442,540, for the purpose of publishing the budget notice prior to a public hearing in August. Item three was the declaration of intent to collect foregone property tax for fiscal year 2027 in the amount of $536,339. Councilman Cavar expressed his support for item two, anticipating revising his opinion for the final vote and encouraging public input at the upcoming hearing. Councilman Governor voted against item three, citing the community's trust in supporting the levy and suggesting a review of the budget to remove the foregone amount, as he believed it was not needed for ongoing expenses.
Mobile Sales Unit License Appeal Denied; Council Discusses ALPR Program
The council heard an appeal from Dalton White regarding the denial of his mobile sales unit license application, MSU26-0146. The denial was based on a prior out-of-state adjudication that, according to city ordinance, disqualifies him from holding a mobile sales unit license, regardless of whether it was a guilty plea or a no-contest plea. Mr. White argued that the adjudication was not a conviction and that he had been advised to take this route by his lawyer at the time. He highlighted his consistent employment and clean record since then. The council acknowledged that while other jurisdictions might handle such cases differently, their ordinance is strict and does not allow for discretion. Ultimately, the council voted to deny the appeal, upholding the original denial of the license. The council also discussed the Axon Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) program, its security features, data ownership, and privacy safeguards. Chief Ambassador Chaff presented on the system's capabilities, emphasizing that Meridian PD owns all data and that Axon does not have access. The retention period is set at 30 days, and data is purged automatically. They also discussed the use of partial plate reads for AI training, noting that Meridian PD currently does not opt-in. The presentation covered security infrastructure, FedRAMP high status, and how Axon differs from other ALPR vendors in terms of data control, sharing, and retention. Council members raised questions about data privacy, misuse, auditing procedures, and the process for handling false positives or incorrect stops. The department detailed its auditing protocols, including daily reviews, supervisor oversight, and the requirement for officers to physically verify license plates before making a stop. They confirmed no incorrect arrests have been made and discussed the process for citizens stopped due to potential false hits. The department is also exploring options for a public-facing dashboard and further enhancing auditing functions, potentially with random auditing. The discussion also touched upon the use of ALPR for Amber Alerts and missing persons cases. Several successful ALPR 'wins' were presented, including arrests related to stolen vehicles, commercial burglaries, drug possession, and fraud groups, as well as locating a wanted suspect for lewd conduct with a minor. The contract with Axon has approximately 85 months remaining and would require further discussion for renewal.
Conditional Use Permit and Development Agreement Modification Approved for Live Well Animal Care Facility
The council considered a public hearing item for Live Well, an animal care facility, at 3175 North 10 Mile Road. This application involved a conditional use permit and a modification to the development agreement. The property, zoned LO, was previously rezoned from R4 in 2021 for an office building. The modification sought to include an animal care facility as an allowed use, as the current agreement only permitted professional, personal, and healthcare/social services. Key aspects discussed included access from Ustick Road (entrance only) and North 10 Mile Road (right-in/right-out only), business hours limited to 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays, a 30-foot landscape buffer along adjacent residential areas, and specific use standards for animal care facilities ensuring animals are indoors except when supervised outdoors, and maintaining practices to prevent nuisance, noise, and odor. The applicant, represented by Chad Jones of ALC Architecture, concurred with staff recommendations and noted the building's exterior would resemble a recently opened Live Well facility. Concerns about parking were addressed, with the applicant providing 43 spaces against a requirement of eight. Questions were raised about surgical capabilities and overnight emergency care, with the applicant clarifying that severe emergencies would likely be referred to a hospital with more extensive facilities. No opposition was voiced during the public hearing, and the commission had recommended approval. The council ultimately approved the application as presented.
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