CLINTON — Growing cities lead to growing city staffs, and that means cramped quarters.

Two cities in Davis County are building new city halls this year to accommodate that growth. Other cities are starting to plan for new city halls, as well.

Since 1999, Clearfield, Kaysville, Sunset, West Bountiful, West Point and Woods Cross built or expanded city halls.

This year, Clinton and Syracuse, both cities with populations around 22,000 residents, are feeling the strains of outgrown offices, even though current city halls were completed in 1996.

"We thought we anticipated the needs for 20 years," said Clinton city manager Dennis Cluff. But the city reached anticipated population levels in 10 years. "No one ever expected us to continue growing that fast."

Same story in Syracuse, said community development director Rodger Worthen.

"It was fine when the city was 8,000 or 9,000 people," Worthen said.

The Clinton project is a 57-acre parcel of land near 2300 North and 1500 West that will house a new City Hall, police station and fire station, as well as an administrative office for the city's recreation department and a scorekeepers' and concession building. That project is quite a bit larger than Syracuse's, which is planned to be a one-story, 46,000-square-foot building to house all administrative offices.

Clinton sold its current City Hall and city park in 2006 to Wright Development for $10.7 million. Wright developed the blocks that house the city's Wal-Mart and Walgreen's.

Rising construction costs are forcing the Clinton City Council to look at issuing about $4.9 million in short-term bonds to finish the project.

"It's a major project," Cluff said. "It's the biggest one Clinton's ever done."

The new city hall will be a 21,000-square foot structure. The city plans to finish only 16,600 square feet, Cluff said, so that it has room to expand in the future.

That's what Layton did in 1990, said Layton assistant city manager Jim Mason. Part of that City Hall's basement is still unfinished.

Work in Clinton should begin in April, Cluff said, with a nearby park completed by fall. Buildings will be completed in spring 2008.

Within the next week, Syracuse will begin pouring concrete for its new City Hall, designed by VCBO Architecture, whose portfolio includes the Kennecott Mine Visitor's Center and the Utah State Capitol restoration and seismic upgrade.

Although people are crammed in offices in the current City Hall, Syracuse's project will allow the police department to move out of the city's public safety building, which it shares with the fire department, Worthen said.