Proposition 18, or the “emergency services sales tax,” won 3 to 1 voter support after 12,000 votes had been tallied. About 8,500 were in favor, 3,000 against.
It would add a half percent to every purchase except gas, groceries and prescriptions, and the council indicated prior to putting it to a vote that they’d prefer it over property taxes.
Still, county Chief Financial Officer Matt Leavitt recommended beginning the property tax increase, or “Truth in Taxation” (TNT), process just in case.
“If the emergency services tax were approved, then your recommendation is to not do TNT?” Councilmember Chris Robinson asked Leavitt in September.
“That is correct,” the financial officer said. Staff expect the council not to change property taxes if voters say "yes" to a sales tax.
That’s because the sales tax would balance the county government’s proposed 2025 budget.
But, during the weekly budget discussion Nov. 6, the Summit County Council didn’t mention the sales tax election or property taxes.
Councilmembers still have another month to adopt a budget. It’s unclear what—if anything—they’ll want to cut from it with the sales tax likely to pass.
The tax will kick in halfway through 2025 and is estimated to cover a $7 million gap in the budget. It would generate double that every year thereafter.
It’s called the "emergency services sales tax" because of what state law allows it to fund: search and rescue, emergency medical services, waste disposal, police, fire protection and avalanche forecasting—freeing up money in the general fund for other needs.
Those who support the sales tax argue it allows tourists and visitors to Summit County to share the cost of the services they use.
Leavitt says visitors account for 65% of county sales tax revenue.
And when it comes to emergency resources like search and rescue, authorities say non-Summit County residents account for nearly all of its rescue calls.
Board members at the nonprofit Friends of Summit County Search & Rescue organized a campaign in support of proposition 18 in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election.
That included a “pro” statement which appeared in Summit County’s voter information pamphlets. No one submitted a “con” statement for Proposition 18, and Utah law does not require both.
Results are preliminary until they’re certified by local canvass boards weeks after the election. Officials in Summit and Wasatch counties have yet to announce when results will be certified.
