Halfway through Utah’s 45-day legislative session, lawmakers have filed roughly 900 bills.
Heber City Manager Matt Brower said city leaders are monitoring several bills that could affect property taxes in the valley.
Senate Bill 97 would limit how much property tax revenue cities can keep in reserve. It would also prevent cities from using leftover property tax revenue for infrastructure projects or other capital improvements.
Brower told the city council at a meeting Feb. 17 that would be a change for Heber.
“Remember, our policy is that when we do have reserves in excess of the state mandate, we transfer that over… to pay for projects like you [city council] did on the Heritage Farms Parkway,” he said. “According to this bill, that could no longer happen.”
Heritage Farms Parkway is the new road that travels east around downtown.
The bill is sponsored by Republican Sen. Daniel McCay, of Riverton. It would also add restrictions to Utah’s primary residential tax exemption. McCay told KSL his bill seeks to incentivize homeownership, rather than renting. Lawmakers’ reactions have been mixed.
Another proposed piece of legislation, House Bill 236, would require public hearings for tax increases to happen sooner.
Right now, Heber City has budget discussions in June and, if a tax increase is needed, a Truth in Taxation hearing is typically in August. If this bill becomes law, Heber would instead be required to finish its tax hearings in the springtime.
“This bill shifts the window of announcing an intent to exceed the certified tax rate to between May 1 and June 8, and the public hearing is held before the annual budget is adopted,” Brower said.
He said city staff would also need to make two budgets: one with the tax increase and one without.
“This almost would increase the work exponentially for staff as they try to comply with this bill,” he said.
Rep. Karen Peterson, the Davis County Republican sponsoring the bill, says it’s meant to create more transparency for taxpayers.
State lawmakers are also considering House Bill 365, which would change taxation notification requirements.
Brower said the bill would require Heber to announce its intent to raise taxes before having in-depth budget discussions.
“This, in my mind’s eye, is putting the cart before the horse, because we’ve not really gone through the budget process with you,” he told the council.
Additionally, once the city announces its intended tax increase, it cannot exceed that request later in the budget process.
Brower said this year’s tax bills are reflective of a national trend pushing back against property taxes.
Utah’s 2026 General Session ends March 6.
Heber City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
