In a small enclave surrounded by Sandy, White City residents made a historic decision this past fall, electing their first mayor by popular vote, a change that reshapes how the city is moving forward.

Allan Perry, a lifelong White City resident and former two-term city councilmember, was elected mayor in November with 61.87% of the vote, becoming the first mayor chosen directly by residents rather than appointed by the city council. 

Prior to the election, Paulina Flint had served as the appointed mayor beginning in 2017 and had chaired the White City Community Council since the 1990s. She was a key figure in White City’s evolution from an incorporated area to a fully recognized city under Utah law.

“I previously served on the council, so I had a good understanding of how the city functions and what goes on,” Perry said in January about two weeks after being sworn into office. “But it’s definitely different being in charge and feeling the responsibility of keeping things moving and keeping people informed and making sure everyone has the tools and the resources they need.”

The mayor’s role is part time, but in those weeks, Perry said it has been “a whirlwind” of meetings, coordinating with service providers and learning the day-to-day realities of running the city.

“A lot of residents’ concerns come back to costs and taxes,” he said. “That’s a challenge because in our position, all our property taxes are collected directly by our service providers so we don’t have full say in all of that, but I think being conscious of what we do have and what we can spend.”

White City has only one commercially zoned property along with Alta View Elementary School and some churches. Otherwise, Perry said it’s residential and agricultural with some home-based businesses dispersed throughout their borders.

“As far as tax and sales tax, it's not huge amounts of money, but where we've seen benefit is through online shopping. When the state made some clarifications several years ago, that sales tax money collected from a sale goes to the point of sale. So, when people shop online, buy on Amazon, or if they have it go to their home in White City, then their home is considered the point of sale. We get that portion of sales tax, which has been a growing benefit as online sales have increased,” he said.

Traffic safety is another concern, especially speeding on neighborhood streets. White City works with Unified Police to rotate a speed trailer through the neighborhoods, but Perry said additional solutions may be needed.

“We may have to look at some additional kind of engineering traffic calming solutions to see if there are other things that can help slow people down,” Perry said.

Ideas include painted road markings, speed bumps, medians or visual narrowing using poles, all which are aimed at making streets safer, especially or pedestrians. Recent sidewalk improvements already have made a difference.

“There’s been good improvements with sidewalks on Sego Lily (Drive) a couple years ago and that’s been great; people have a safer place to walk,” he said.

Maintaining partnerships is essential for the city. White City not only contracts with Unified Police, but also Unified Fire Authority, who works with Sandy Fire for emergency response, and the city relies on Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation to maintain Big Bear Park. Long-range planning and engineering support comes from the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District. He also wants to strengthen the relationship with Canyons School District.

“A lot of residents don’t fully understand they live in White City or that White City is its own city with its own government,” Perry said. “I think we need to build our identity and help people see it is important. We can do that by public engagement and it keeps residents informed and involved in decisions we make. Residents have put their trust in all of us as the elected mayor and councilmembers, so I want to make sure we work cohesively as a group.”

Even a partnership with White City Water Improvement District is essential as their meeting room is used for city council meetings. He hopes one day in the future, the city will have its own civic center, but there are more pressing aims.

In addition to increasing public engagement and communication, other goals include finishing the canal trail along Big Bear Park to 9400 South and encouraging appropriate home-based businesses.

For Perry, whose parents moved to White City in the mid-1970s and whose son now attends Alta View Elementary, the same school he was a student leader at, the job is deeply rooted.

“I was student body vice president at Alta View. It was fun to be involved and help plan activities,” he said. “A lot of those same reasons are why I wanted to be mayor. It’s fun to be involved in the process and have a voice in what goes on in our community.”