The council approved tax increases for both the North Summit Fire District and Basin Recreation.
Taxes for the fire district are going up over 300%, which will add $300 per year to a home valued at $500,000.
The district’s budget will now go from under $500,000 to over $2 million in order to afford equipment upgrades and increase staffing.
Councilmember Roger Armstrong, who also sits on the fire district’s control board, said the tax increase was necessary, but may not be enough.
“Truly, this is not the best number," Armstrong said. "The best number is probably closer to $3 million. That would be fully-staffed.
"Keep in mind, we’ve got potentially Cedar Crest coming. We have a development called Red Hill coming. You’ve got the Wohali development coming on. We have a number of smaller developments that we’ve recently entitled around Hoytsville and some of the canyon areas up there. North Summit is one of the fastest growing areas of Summit County right now.”
With the larger budget, the fire district plans to staff a station in Wanship.
Taxes are set to go up roughly 20% for the Snyderville Basin Recreation District. It’s in order to boost staffing, which has been a struggle at times, specifically for certain jobs like lifeguards. A home valued at $1 million will pay an additional $82 per year.
The purpose of the 10% cost of living increase for all county employees is to increase staff retention, as the county’s turnover rate has hovered around 15% the last several years.
Armstrong was the lone council member not in full support of the increase.
“I think 10% is a bit too far, but it’s inflation," he said. "I asked for a salary survey and we looked at our respective salaries by department all across the county… in virtually every category, we were to some degree above the market.”
One department that is paying less than its peers is the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Justin Martinez separately requested a 12% cost of living increase for his department, and the council approved it Wednesday.
Armstrong said the council is still considering the three candidates for county manager, one of which is interim manager Janna Young. A decision can’t be made until incoming council member Canice Harte is officially seated in January following his election last month.
