Dozens speak out against 48% property tax increase in Utah County

Larry Finch was just one of dozens of community members who spoke out against an almost 50% proposed tax increase by Utah County during a tax hearing Thursday night.

"Here in America we are born free, but now we're taxed to death," he said.

Utah County is proposing a hike that would boost property taxes on a home worth $532,000 home by 48%, from $190.78 to $282.33. This would equate to about $8 a month from each household to "address noted services and deficits," county administrator Ezra Nair said.

This increase comes after Alpine School District voted on a 12% increase earlier this week during a tax hearing Tuesday where public comments were virtually unanimously against it. The increase amounts to approximately $107 per year for the district's median home value of $489,000 and is the sixth increase in 10 years .

The county last increased the property tax in 2019 and then partially reduced it in 2021 . The property tax increase would amount to a 16% increase of the county's total general fund budget, which consists of property tax, sales tax, fees and interest.

Nair outlined inflation as a major reason for the increase during Thursday's truth-in-taxation hearing . The county is dedicated to keeping taxes low and ensuring the budget focuses on providing public safety and essential support services, he said.

"I think we can all agree that taxes suck," he said. "We recognize this is significant."

He said the county has taken steps to reduce the property tax burden, such as cutting more than $2 million from the health department, letting go more than 100 employees, and seeking revenue from other sources such as incentivizing businesses to come to the county in order to increase sales tax revenue, and getting federal aid for certain projects.

"We're not gonna to sit here and try to minimize the impact of this increase and tell you, 'Oh, it would just be a cup of coffee a month.' 'It'd just be a couple movie tickets a month.' We recognize that it's a significant burden and we have done all we can to minimize those tax dollars that are needed."

The revenue from the increase will address the county's projected $12 million deficit in 2024, population growth-related concerns, disaster mitigation, inflation costs of software, gas and other resources, and mosquito abatement, Nair said. The funds will also be used for public safety needs in the special victims unit, public defense spending, emergency operations, police and court expenses, mental health services with Wasatch Behavioral Health, funding for Children's Justice Center victim advocates and wildland fire equipment.

"We've made those cuts. We've raised fees. We've done everything in our power to make sure we keep our tax burden as low as possible and stay the fourth-lowest in the state," Nair said, referencing data that showed Utah County has the fourth-lowest tax burden.

Frustrations

More than 40 people spoke at the public hearing, all of them mentioning how hard it is to continually have property taxes increased each year, especially during a time of inflation.

Shawn Barry said it is "despicable" for the county to propose a 48% increase.

Barry said he attended the Alpine School District hearing where "everyone said don't raise it" and the board still voted yes for it.

"We're angry this keeps happening," he said. All the small raises from other taxing agencies add together creating too much of a burden on taxpayers and the county needs to find other ways to cut costs and balance the budget.

Several citizens mentioned that when they are in debt or running out of money, they "tighten the belt" and "go without" until they can afford stuff, and the city needs to do the same.

Greg Duerden showed the commissioners a petition he started that asks for the the Utah County Commission to halt all pay raises of staff members until the deficit is paid off and the budget is balanced.

Multiple other people mentioned how "ridiculous" they thought it was that the county is in a deficit yet has raised the commissioners' pay several years in a row. The commissioners got paid around $140,000 in 2023 — well over the county's average household income at $95,000.

Karen Adamson said as a business owner, if her company doesn't make enough money, she pays her employees first and she and her husband don't get paid. She said the commissioners need to take responsibility in the same way and they "don't deserve that wage" because they aren't balancing the budget.

Getting priced out

Among the public commenters, a concern for seniors was highly prevalent, as people who have paid off their homes are getting priced out by taxes.

Marilyn Hunt said her house value has increased by $125,000 in the last four years and so her property taxes have also increased. But being on a fixed income in retirement, she said it is hard to keep up and that the commissioners need to consider extra help for seniors.

Olive and James Haupt echoed the same idea, adding that they are worried seniors will start to lose their homes because they can't afford the uptick in property taxes on their fixed incomes.

James Haupt questioned why there would be such a big increase when there is such a massive amount of people moving into the county. Olive Haupt suggested a cap should be put on senior citizen house taxes.

Jean Christensen has been paying property taxes for more than 50 years and said there needs to be more considerations for seniors. She personally has to save more than $500 a month to be able to pay property tax.

Greg Carson said he was told his whole life the American dream is owning your own home. But now, people are working their whole life to pay off their houses and then they are stuck paying property taxes they can't afford, he said.

Also on a fixed income, Carson is worried he will lose his house. And unlike the government which can just raise taxes, he said, "No one is going to give me money."

The commissioners emphasized they were not voting on the increase Thursday night and the hearing is to gather feedback and ideas from the community.

Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner said the commission will be using the feedback to know what services are most important to the community and what can be cut.

The county commission will host a public open house on Sept. 26 at the Health and Justice Building in Provo at 6 p.m. to answer questions and so the commission can know which services the public values.

Another public hearing to adopt a tentative budget will be in October, followed by an additional open house in November or December. An official vote must be made by Dec. 31 when the budget is finalized.