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SANTAQUIN — Santaquin officials are proposing a property tax increase for the first time in 10 years that will help fund public safety and emergency services.
The city portion of property taxes was last raised in 2013, and since then the number of homes in the city has more than doubled, Santaquin Mayor Dan Olson said. The property tax rate, however, has decreased by 57% over the last 10 years because when property values increase, the tax rate must decrease so the overall amount of money the city receives from existing homes stays the same, he said.
"Santaquin city, the little city that you know of, to me has grown twentyfold in my lifetime," Olson said. He was raised in Santaquin, is a retired firefighter and he also served a term as mayor 40 years ago when he was in his late 20s.
"I've seen it go from hundreds (of residents) to nearly 19,000 now. That's a significant jump over time. Especially over 40 years, when I look in this periscope, that goes back to when I tried this job as a 28-year-old to now, it's a whole different view," the mayor said.
In order to balance the budget and keep up with inflation and rising costs, the city has had to cut spending in many areas by reducing staffing, halting repairs, delaying equipment purchases, focusing only on needs instead of wants, Olson said.
Despite these efforts, Olson said the city is at a tipping point and revenue has not kept up with growth. So the City Council met with financial advisers to figure out how to create a sustainable government budget and ultimately decided a property tax raise was the best solution to generate the revenue the city needs to properly fund the police and fire departments, he said.
The new tax rate hasn't been calculated yet because an assessment by Utah County of home values in Santaquin is still being finalized. The proposed increase is expected to produce about $595,000, which averages to about $10 per household, depending on each property's value.
All of the funds will go directly to new police vehicles and increasing wages for first responders.
Olson said the city was losing many of its officers to other agencies while the demand for public safety and emergency services was increasing. The City Council compared its first responders' wages with those in agencies of similar size and economies, and Santaquin landed at the bottom of the list.
It's important to pay the first responders competitive wages because they provide necessary lifesaving services, Olson said. Santaquin has a Paramedic When Available EMS License that covers 366 square miles — providing services to Santaquin, Genola, Goshen, Elberta and areas of unincorporated Utah County.
"It's a big deal with our public safety. We cover an interstate highway and U.S. 6 that goes through here," City Manager Norm Beagley said. "We have a lot of needs and requests. It has lifesaving opportunity for miles around."
The city gets about $1 million of revenue from property taxes each year, but it takes around $23 million to run the city for a year, Beagley said. Through the utilization of grants and other ways the city generates funds, the city is able to balance the budget while still providing for every citizen, Olson added.
The city has followed strict state guidelines throughout the process of making this proposal and followed the Truth in Taxation law to inform residents of the increase, Olson said.
Olson said this proposal has been in the works for more than a year as the city has devised solutions on how to balance the budget while maintaining quality public safety services. He said he and other officials have tried to be open and transparent about this proposal by providing all the information to the public.
The mayor is hosting "Mayor Chats" on June 17 and June 22, where residents can come to the Santaquin Public Safety Building, discuss their concerns and get questions about the tax raise answered by the mayor and City Council members.
Beagley said there are also notices being mailed to every homeowner, and the city's website has a page dedicated to informing residents about the proposal. A tax calculator on the page can be used to approximate the amount a homeowner could see added to their taxes.
The mayor said he has had some negative feedback on the proposal, mainly on social media, as most people don't like having their taxes raised. He said his job as a city leader, though, isn't to please everyone but to better the city.
"My job is to find out how do we run this city. And we run this city responsibly for the majority of the city," he said.
A public open house is scheduled for July 27 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. A public hearing will be held on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. before the City Council will vote on adopting the proposal. If the proposal is enacted, the increase will go into effect for the 2023 tax year.
