County Chief Financial Officer Matt Leavitt has estimated next year’s budget shortfall could range from $12 million to around $15 million.
He said it can be made up with a new 0.5% sales tax, which the Summit County Council put on the Nov. 5 ballot earlier this summer.
The sales tax wouldn’t apply to gas, prescriptions or unprepared foods like groceries, but voters could reject the measure. If they do, county officials say they don’t want to be forced to cut services.
So the county council and staff are holding preliminary meetings to “preserve the option” of seeking more property tax revenue, as Council Chair Malena Stevens put it Sept. 18.
The process to raise taxes in Utah is called “Truth in Taxation,” and state law says County Manager Shayne Scott has to recommend the process to the council before Oct. 1.
“So that's what happened yesterday,” Stevens said after the meeting. “Ultimately, it's a council decision.”
Because the county’s budget cycle coincides with the calendar year, state law requires the council to vote in mid-October whether to initiate the process, before the Nov. 5 election.
If it does begin Truth-in-Taxation, the council wouldn’t make a final decision on taxes until December.
Scott also said Sept. 18 the preliminary budget Leavitt will present in October will include the sales tax as its main revenue source, not higher property taxes.
