A primary home in the district valued at $1 million is looking at a $210 annual tax increase, according to Park City School District Business Administrator Randy Upton. A secondary residence would pay roughly double.
“If I’m in an area that got reassessed and my value is higher, I may see a little more of an increase,” Upton said.
Property values in the district are skyrocketing. The total assessed value is now approaching $37 billion, an increase of about one-third since last year, Upton said.
But the growth in property values does not mean booming revenues for the district. Park City sends millions back to the state each year in a process known as recapture.
The district wrote a nearly $24 million check this year, and Upton said they’re prepared to send back around $29 million next year (PCSD's total budget will be around $134 million).
The Park City Board of Education will move forward with “Truth-in-Taxation” in August, which is a state-mandated process requiring public hearings before a tax increase is enacted.
The increase in tax revenue will help pay for a recently finalized employment contract with district staff, which includes a 16% pay raise.
School board member Wendy Crossland said the salary increase was needed to retain and attract teachers, bus drivers, and administrators.
“We feel that it’s necessary to stay competitive to attract some of these positions that we’ve had open now for a while, and that we need to take care of those that we have such a high expectation of here,” Crossland said. “We’re not so far ahead of districts that are close by, there’s a lot of districts that are going this direction.”
The South Summit School District recently approved a 17% salary increase for its employees.
