In Utah, and here in Utah County, many revenue streams are siloed. That means they are legally restricted to certain uses, even if elected officials wanted to shift them somewhere else. For example, portions of the sales tax and car registration revenue are dedicated specifically to transportation. Those dollars can only be used for roads, transportation infrastructure and mobility projects. They cannot legally be moved into other service budgets. The same is true for a portion of sales taxes that are specifically for transit and active transportation. Those funds must go toward transit service or transit infrastructure, nothing else.

Tourism related taxes are another example people often misunderstand. Taxes collected on hotel stays, rental cars and restaurants are restricted to uses like recreation, parks, cultural amenities and tourism promotion. By law, these dollars cannot be redirected to general government operations, even when there is pressure in other parts of the budget.

Another example is Greenbelt rollback taxes. When agricultural land leaves Greenbelt status to be developed, a rollback tax is paid to recapture the tax benefit that existed while the land was in agricultural production. Under state law, a portion of those rollback dollars are restricted and must go into a dedicated county fund focused on preserving or restoring open space and agricultural land. These funds can be used for things like conservation easements or similar preservation tools, but they cannot be used to fund general government services.

Utah also has specific property tax levies dedicated to assessing and collecting property taxes. These funds pay for the technical and administrative work of valuing property, maintaining parcel records, processing ownership changes, billing and collections across hundreds of thousands of parcels and businesses. Again, those dollars are restricted and cannot be shifted into unrelated services.

So when you see a project move forward at the same time you hear about pressure on jail capacity or public safety staffing, it can feel like elected officials are choosing one over the other. In reality, it is often two completely different funding buckets. One bucket can legally only be used for recreation or transportation. The other bucket, the general fund, is the one funding public safety and elections is much more limited and relies on property tax. It’s less like one big checking account and more like a series of accounts with strict rules written into law.

None of this means residents shouldn’t debate priorities. They absolutely should. Healthy communities ask hard questions and demand accountability but it is important to understand the guardrails local governments operate within. Many of these funding structures were created by state law or by voter approved ballot measures.

Utah County is a place where people care deeply about responsible government, strong public safety and protecting our quality of life. I share those priorities, both as a public servant and as someone raising a family here. I also believe we owe residents clear, honest explanations about how public funding actually works.

The more we understand the system, the more productive our conversations can be about what should change and how to change it. When we have those conversations based on facts, not frustration, we make better decisions for the future of Utah County.

Skyler Beltran is a Utah County Commissioner.