Salt Lake County Mayor proposes nearly 20% property tax increase

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Today at the Salt Lake County Council Meeting, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson proposed a 19.63% property tax increase to keep up with inflation and fund essential county programs.

The tax increase, according to the proposal, would go to address inflation, rising costs for operating essential county services, investments in public safety, and funding new state-mandated programs. A portion of the funds will also go to debt service on bonds issued for the new government center campus and a “small share” of the debt service related to the renovation of the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The tax rate will exceed the county’s certified tax rate, which is why it will need approval. That tax increase will generate an additional $48.9 million for the county.

The proposal was presented by Mayor Wilson and Deputy Mayor of Finance Darrin Casper. Mayor Wilson said that it’s been six years since the county raised property taxes, and they need to keep up with inflation.

“You can’t get around the fact that occasionally, you have to adjust tax rates to catch up with that inflationary pressure,” Casper said.

Casper explained that the impact on the average home or business valued at $638,000 is an additional $87.37 per year, or $7.28 per month.

Some of the county services the money would go to include tax administration, information technology, data security, general operations, and the meals on wheels program. The investments into public safety will help the County Jail with increased caseloads, the District Attorney’s Office, and programs that provide alternatives to incarceration.

Casper also stressed that the county is focusing on being fiscally responsible, and that adjusted for inflation, these proposed tax rates will actually be lower than in past years. “Hopefully this makes you feel good that we’re trying to be as fiscally responsible as possible in a pretty difficult situation,” he said.

There will be a public hearing on the tax increase on December 9 at the Salt Lake County Government Center.

Reactions from the public and County Council members

The public comment was generally focused on the proposed property tax increase, and the people who spoke were largely against the proposal.

One member of the public brought up that the people are also struggling financially much like the county, and they can’t just get more money. Several people mentioned that while the county hasn’t raised taxes in six years, taxes have been raised by other entities, and that causes problems for people living on fixed incomes. A few people also mentioned that they may even lose their homes with increased property taxes.

A few people also called for budget cuts rather than tax increases. One woman raised the question of why the county is paying for services that she believes individual people should choose to provide the community.

One resident from Millcreek said that the county appears to be relying solely on property taxes to adjust for inflation and population growth rather than finding other avenues like taxing tourism businesses.

The County Council stated that this is the start of the budget process, and Laurie Stringham stated that they take the budget very seriously. The council will be spending the next several weeks going over the budget and making changes. Aimee Winder Newton of District 3 said that she is confident that they will find places in the budget to lower that proposed tax increase.

Natalie Pinkney, At-Large C, said that she understands that taxes are very frustrating, and that her priority is making sure that the county is building fiscally sustainable services. Carlos Moreno of District 2 stated that the county needs a change, and he is against the nearly 20% proposed tax increase.

Chair Dea Theodore of District 6 said that the council and the mayor have pushed off even making a proposal for tax increases for as long as they possibly could, but inflation has had a big impact, alongside the unfunded state-mandated programs.