The county’s tax proposal is for an increase of about 48%, or $91.55, on the average home valued at $532,000, with Utah County Assessing and Collecting proposing about a 10% increase, which is $35.55 on the average home.

County residents filled the commission chambers for a chance to speak on the matter, with some residents having to use an overflow room that was set up in the county building next door. 

Ezra Nair, the county administrator, said during the hearing that inflation and budget deficits is why the county is exploring raising taxes. 

He noted that the county had cut $2.5 million from the Health Department this year and cut nearly 100 employees positions that had been related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nair said during his presentation that a large majority of the funding needed is for criminal justice and public safety, adding some federal funding had been cut for the Children’s Justice Center.  

The last property tax increase was in 2019, when the commission voted on a 67% property tax increase. That increase was cut in 2021 by about 25% when commissioners moved to scale back the hike, according to KSL

The commission won’t vote on the final budget, including the final tax rate, until December. There will be an open house in September about the county budget, and a tentative budget will be adopted in October, along with a public hearing. Another public hearing will be in November and the final budget will be approved in December. 

Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner said Thursday’s public hearing was to receive feedback from citizens well before the commission votes on the budget so they can find other ways to cut the budget. 

“We’re trying to seek feedback. We still have our budget open house. We still have our tentative budget,” she said. “We’re still trying to find things that we can cut, and so helping us know which services you value and which services you would prefer we cut, that’s very helpful.” 

Dozens of residents spoke in the hearing, all of them against the proposed increase. Several specifically raised concerns about how rising taxes impact seniors who are on a fixed income. 

Jean Christensen, a county resident near Payson, said she and her husband set aside about $500 a month to pay their property tax bill. 

“Will there ever be any consideration for seniors who only get a certain amount of money,” Christensen said, who is 74. “Eventually, if it keeps going the way it’s going, we’re going to be taxed right out of our house.” 

A resident from Pleasant Grove called for the county to find ways to cut from the budget rather than raise taxes, adding that residents are already burdened by other government entities that are also raising their taxes. 

“We’re burdened by everything else, the county, the school districts, the cities,” he said. “Everybody wants more money, and we just don’t have it to give.” 

Alpine School District approved a 7% tax increase on Tuesday, and several cities have either voted or will be voting on a tax increase this month. 

The Utah County government is experiencing a nearly $10 million deficit this year, with county officials estimating the gap to grow if the county doesn’t increase revenue. 

This year, the commission approved pay increases for each of the county’s 11 elected officials. Elected officials also received a pay bump in 2023. 

With this year’s increase, the county attorney’s salary is at $208,700, the sheriff’s salary is $177,695, commissioners will receive $166,960 and the remaining elected officials’ salaries will be $156,525. 

In response to the tax increase, one county resident distributed a petition calling for the commission to pass a resolution to halt the salary increases from 2023 and 2024 until the budget is balanced. Greg Duerden, an Orem resident, organized the petition. 

The petition was presented to the commissioners during the public hearing, with Duerden saying they had gathered a couple of hundred signatures. 

The public open house on the county budget will be on Sept. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the Utah County Health and Justice Building. County residents can check if they are eligible for tax relief programs at utahcounty.gov.