Nearly 100 Cache Valley residents filled the County Council chambers on Tuesday evening for a public hearing on a proposed 20% property tax increase, overflowing the council chambers. They often erupted in applause as they listened to their neighbors' concerns.
The proposed 20% tax hike would generate over $3.5 million in new revenue for 2025. According to the public notice, the funds would support competitive wage increases, infrastructure projects, inflation-related costs, and additional staffing needs. Despite these explanations, most speakers at the hearing felt the county had not clearly justified the increase.
Here's what some of them said.
“My name is Dirk Howard. My concern coming into this is that the notifications that were sent out contained very little detailed information of what was going to happen, just other than the 20% increase in taxes. Now, that being very vague of where that 20% was going, how it was going to impact a particular home property business. That was very concerning.”
“My name is Lynn Lemon. What portion of the increase is going to competitive wage increases? That’s what new growth is supposed to be used for. What portion of this increase is going to additional staffing needs? That’s what new growth is supposed to be used for. What portion of this increase is going for inflationary cost of goods. That is what new growth is supposed to pay for. Do you know what infrastructure projects you are planning? What are they?”
“My name is Sean Moser, and I just have one question. You mentioned that there hadn’t been any increases since 2020, but that inflation has gone up a lot. We all know that because our inflation has gone up a lot, including our taxes, because our homes almost doubled in value in that same period of time since 2020. So, my house went from being worth about 250 to 500 so my taxes have already gone up big time since 2020, even if the rate itself didn’t change.”
“My name is Anne Neville. We’re retired teachers. We live on our social security and our teacher retirement. When we first moved down here, we could go to a lot of programs at the Eccles Theatre and things like that. We haven’t been able to do that for years. We haven’t been on any vacations so we can pay our property tax. We have 20 grandchildren. We can’t afford to buy them the presents that we would like to because we love them so much, just as you do your grandchildren. I am just asking you to consider the very personal repercussions that this tax increase will have on the people that elected you.”
“My name is Jess Bradfield. I’m the former clerk auditor. The county is known to be conservative and excessively so, and so I would ask the council to please look at incremental changes over time. I'm happy to pay the taxes, but I’d like to be able to come and petition my government in a public forum at the beginning of the meeting. We did it in Logan when I was on the Logan City Council and I remember thinking sometimes I felt like it was a waste of time. And now I look back and I valued that time more than any other time on the council because it gave an opportunity for people to feel like they were actually heard.”
“I’m Sean Thain out of Benson. I am 27 years old and feel like still pretty young. When I was 16, starting my first job making 12 bucks an hour, you what I thought I’d be making now, I felt like I’d be living on top of the world. But more and more often, I see my money goes towards taxes. And at this point, looking up Logan’s average salary in Logan comes out to be about $25. And you guys are saying your average household here in the county’s a little over half a million. How are you supposed to make a payment on a house in the first place?”
Following the public hearing, Council Chair David Erickson, who was recently re-elected unopposed, said the county has been exploring alternative funding sources to avoid a full 20% increase. He and the council explained the hike is necessary, in part, to address crime rates in the valley.
“We are doing the best that we can,” Erickson said. “Again, if you don’t like it, then please vote us out.”
If approved, the 20% tax hike would raise property taxes on an average $528,000 home from $318.86 to $382.62, an increase of $63.76 annually. For a $528,000 business property, taxes would rise from $579.74 to $695.66 annually, an increase of $115.92.
The council will continue discussions on the 2025 budget and the proposed tax increase at upcoming meetings.
