Wasatch County offers a tax abatement program for older adults and residents with disabilities, and Heber City is considering a similar approach.
Mayor Heidi Franco says fees from the Jordanelle Ridge development could pay for tax breaks for low-income homeowners over 66.
“For those that are on fixed incomes, that own their homes and are still trying to live at that level in this economy, we really need to help them in our city,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Aug. 19. “The state or county program is just not enough.”
The county and state offer some tax relief to older adults whose annual income is $65,000 or lower.
Based on 2025 data, about 150 households could qualify for the proposed Heber City program.
Heber City councilmembers discussed the logistics of Franco’s idea at a meeting Aug. 18.
One point of debate was whether the taxes should be abated — that is, removed altogether — or deferred to a future date.
Councilmember Mike Johnston supported the latter approach. He said because many Heber residents are “house wealthy and cash poor,” some money should return to the city when the house is sold.
“We’ll use that as a revolving fund, so we can fund it first, but at some point it’s got to come back,” he said.
He also wanted to defer all property taxes for program participants, not just part of their tax bills.
Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood said he’d like to give the program a permanent place in the budget, rather than using impact fees.
“I don’t want to count on something that will go away as funding for something that I think is actually, truly valuable,” he said. “I want to find a place in the budget that this fits and make it a part of our process.”
The council plans to discuss the proposal again at a meeting in September. The mayor proposed implementing the program in 2027.
Heber City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
