The county council approved tax increases in three areas Dec. 13: the North Summit Recreation Special Service District, Service Area #6 and the county’s assessing and collecting fund.
North Summit Rec will up taxes by 71%, which equates to $23 for the average North Summit household. It will use the additional $75,000 raised to hire a full-time director and part-time employee.
In Service Area #6, taxes could go up by 69%. That’s $91 for the average household within the service area, which is mostly contained to the Snyderville Basin.
Although the council approved a 69% increase, the county doubts it will levy the full tax. This year it annexed more space into Service Area #6, which provides road maintenance and snow removal, which means more revenue.
The council approved a tax rate that assumed those new areas weren’t annexed.
The 2024 tax levies won’t be finalized until June 2024 when the county will know how much money it can expect from the new territory in Service Area #6.
“When that happens, I anticipate seeing a lower certified rate than was anticipated before the annex plans,” Councilmember Chris Robinson said.
Lastly, taxes are going up 38% in the assessing and collecting fund, or about $23 for the average Summit County resident.
The money funds the county’s process of assessing property values and levying the correct taxes.
“Property values have gone up in the last few years, and it's really put an impact on the assessor, recorder, auditor and treasurer departments,” Councilmember Tonja Hanson said. “We've gone back in history and we don't know of any time when taxes were ever raised in this particular fund.”
The council did avoid raising taxes in its general fund and municipal services fund, which account for 86% of day-to-day operating expenses. The last time taxes were raised in those areas was 2017.
But Council Chair Roger Armstrong says state legislators recommend counties raise taxes every five years.
To avoid a larger increase, there’s a big item the council chose not to fund this year: a $2.5 million landfill cell, which the council agrees must be expanded next year.
That and the $2.2 million restructuring of emergency medical services were the biggest items driving county manager Shayne Scott’s recommendation to raise taxes this year.
Items that did make it in the budget include $500,000 for a potential housing authority; $130,000 for communitywide child care; $94,000 for Summit County seniors; and six new county employees, plus cost of living and merit-based raises.
The tentative budget unanimously approved Dec. 13 can be found below:
