The North Summit Fire District has begun the truth in taxation process, referring to the series of public notices and hearings required to raise property taxes.
The district’s board is pursuing a 28% tax increase.
Chief Ben Nielson told the board at its Oct. 8 meeting that North Summit fire still isn’t financially stable since transitioning from a volunteer force to a professional one.
“We have made extreme progress,” Nielson said. “This hole that we were dug into took about 35 years… We knew it was going to take some time to get out of it. We're only in year five. We're still trying to stabilize.”
He said the fire district still has old engines and buildings to repair, for example.
A 28% property tax increase translates to $635,000 in revenue. But the problem, Nielson said, is North Summit’s tax base is small compared to neighboring fire districts.
“People like where they live and they want to be in a rural area. So if that's the case and you only have 6,000 parcels to tax on, it's always going to appear to be high,” he said.
But even after proposing a 5% increase last year, the former board chair said he was “bombarded” with calls and messages from unhappy residents.
“I am not a proponent of raising taxes because I do believe there are citizens in our community that are struggling, especially now with the economy,” northern Summit County Councilmember Tonja Hanson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Oct. 15. “But as I talked to the fire chief, that works for them too: They're struggling as well.”
The district decided not to raise taxes for 2026, so it hasn’t been able to put money into savings.
That’s something Nielson hopes to change. Otherwise, the district may need cash advances from the county government late in its fiscal year.
“Like you may have a cash-flow issue when you’re receiving your money from your job, but your mortgage is going out at a different time and it's not hitting right,” the chief said. “That's kind of our situation.”
The county council has the final say on the tax hike and won’t vote until later this year.
Since professionalizing, North Summit fire has received an improved insurance rating, which can translate to lower home insurance payments.
It was also able to help fight this summer’s Rocky Canyon Fire near Henefer, which topped 16,000 acres but claimed no homes and no lives. The state has promised to reimburse North Summit fire for its efforts.
