With the final vote on the Utah County 2025 budget fast approaching, the Utah County Commission provided one last opportunity for public comments on the budget Wednesday afternoon at the county offices in Provo.

The commission is expected to vote on the budget, which includes a proposed tax increase, on Dec. 18.

The meeting wasn’t nearly as crowded as prior public forums regarding the budget; however, one government official, County Attorney Jeff Gray, used it as a chance to publicly request additional resources for the attorney’s office.

Gray told the county commissioners there are general felony attorneys in each of the 10 district courts in the county, but each one is “overloaded,” working roughly 300 cases a year — a number he claims is far above average.

“Ideally, we should have two (general felony attorneys) per court,” Gray said. “We could use it, and I think it’s something we should plan for in the years to come, because we’re only going to grow.”

Gray added that there are only six sexual assault attorneys in his office, which he argued is insufficient because those cases often go to trial. In the months of January and February, for instance, Gray said there are 18 multi-day trials scheduled.

“That’s not doable,” Gray said. “Right now, we’re faced in situations where we actually have to make decisions on what to prosecute and what cases to compromise through deals that, quite frankly, we’re not necessarily comfortable with.”

He requested funds for four more sexual assault attorneys and emphasized the importance of his department.

“Our budget, even with the requests asked, is still less than $20 million,” Gray said. “We don’t want to drop the ball when it comes time for prosecution. It’s so important that we get convictions and that we get the right kinds of resolutions to these cases. We can’t do that without the proper manpower.”

The county’s 2025 tax proposal includes an increase in property taxes to the tune of roughly 48%, or $91.55, on a home valued at $532,000.

The county auditing office also anticipates a 5.2% growth in sales tax and a 12% increase in expenditures over 2024 before transfers.

Aided by the increases, the overall county budget is expected to grow from $134,851,505 in 2024 to $158,525,813 in 2025.