Earlier this month, Summit County scheduled two Truth in Taxation hearings. Still, it may not raise taxes by the full amount residents see in the tax notifications they get in the mail.
Utah law requires the county to inform residents of the highest potential tax increase, but county councilmembers don’t actually want to go there.
At a special meeting Nov. 27, county manager Shayne Scott and financial officer Matt Leavitt showed the council where cuts were possible. Still, Scott says any of the cuts will be painful to staff.
“There are going to be winners and losers, there just are. But my major concern today is: I don't want to cut a program that is important to you,” he told the council.
Many of the cuts Scott and Leavitt said were possible are also county priorities, such as child care for staff, a landfill expansion, funding for a housing authority and money for high-profile legal cases.
They also ran the numbers on how much money the county could save by instituting a hiring freeze. The county could also forgo putting funds toward planning and managing major open space acquisitions, like the 910 Cattle Ranch and Ure Ranch.
In total, Scott and Leavitt say about $5.5 million could be theoretically cut from the budget, $1 million more than the council asked them to cut.
Council didn't want to say goodbye to all of those programs trough. Councilmembers each listed items they thought were worth keeping.
Councilmember Chris Robinson says certain items could generate more revenue if they’re funded.
For example, paying federal lobbyists could bring in more federal money going forward, and hiring someone to help manage open space acquisitions would free up Jess Kirby—currently sole employee of the lands and natural resources department—to write grants.
“I think the biggest risk that the county has incurred is in our open space department, where we have optioned some $80 million worth of real estate,” Robinson said.
Most of the other councilmembers agreed with prioritizing federal lobbyists and hiring someone to help manage the new open space, and they also added their own. All the councilmembers were alright with hiring six new additional employees to help departments such as the county clerk, auditor and corrections.
Council Chair Roger Armstrong says it's important to keep the county’s half a million dollar obligation to fund a regional housing authority, because they made a verbal commitment at a recent joint meeting with the Park City Council.
He, along with councilmembers Malena Stevens and Tonja Hanson, said funding child care for county employees is important too.
$2.2 million to fund countywide emergency medical services can’t be cut from the budget without violating state law. But, the $2.5 million for a new landfill cell could be pushed back a year, which councilmembers hope is possible.
At this point, Leavitt and Scott have a list from each councilmember about what they’d like to fund, and what they’d be OK cutting. More discussion is expected at the council’s regular Wednesday meeting, Nov. 29.
Any tax increase wouldn’t be approved until after public hearings Dec. 6 and Dec. 13 in Kimball Junction and Coalville, respectively.
The packet below shows how much different items in the proposed FY2024 budget cost, and how much the county could save by cutting them.
