Heber City residents will pay just over 4% more in property taxes in fiscal year 2027, the council decided at a meeting Tuesday, Aug. 19.
The 4.2% tax increase is down slightly from the 4.8% city staff originally requested.
Finance director Sara Nagel emphasized the tax increase is needed to respond to inflation.
“The increase means the city will maintain the same level of real dollars,” she said. “If the city forgoes the increase, the city will have fewer real dollars to maintain the same level of service.”
Some locals have opposed the move, saying it’s already difficult to pay the bills.
Councilmember Mike Johnston argued it’s more fiscally responsible to raise taxes incrementally.
“Is it better to wait five, six, seven years and then have a big tax jump of 20%, 30% like some cities are doing?” he asked. “Or is it better to do every one or two years a small, incremental tax increase to stay ahead of our costs?”
He said Heber’s budget has “no fluff.”
“You should be calling your congressman and senator and talking about the stupid war we’re fighting and the tariffs we’re putting on people,” he said. “Those things are so significantly more costly to you than our $16 a year that we’re asking for to cover staff costs.”
Other councilmembers also favored a gradual approach. Aaron Cheatwood said the city should consider a policy similar to West Valley City’s, which responds to inflation every year.
“I think that is prudent of us to think about staying up with inflation at a minimum,” he said.
The 4.2% increase means a resident with a home worth $850,000 will need to pay an extra $14.96 for the year, instead of the $16.83 originally proposed.
The city also adopted its fiscal year 2027 budget at the meeting Tuesday, including an $18.9 million general fund. For details about the budget, click here.
Heber City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
