May 2021 | Vol. 18 Iss. 05
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HOLLADAY INCHES CLOSER TO FIRST-EVER TAX HIKE By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com
T
he City of Holladay moved closer to its first ever tax increase with the release of a preliminary proposal that would hike the overall property tax rate by 5%, an initiative whose passage will be an uphill challenge for the council, and a hard sell to residents pinched by an ongoing pandemic recession. Raising rates during a downturn presents a forbidding political gambit, and the inauspiciousness is not lost on the council. They are proceeding with trepidation with the knowledge they “may all be voted out of office for even raising the question of lifting property taxes,” said councilmember Dan Gibbons, who believes the city’s current conditions require “a robust conversation about raising property taxes for the first time in a generation.” The willingness to move forward with a tax plan at this moment indicates a growing sense of urgency among city leaders who for years have quietly conceded that its revenue models are unsustainable, and that rate increases cannot be avoided if it’s to keep pace with the growing cost of public safety services and rehabilitate the city’s infrastructural “old bones.” “Flat revenues and increased costs over time means we cannot maintain storm systems, bridges and sidewalks. Holladay has identified $57 million of unfunded project needs. Seventeen percent of our roads are in poor condition or near failing. When they fail, the cost of repair quadruples,” said Sabrina Petersen, the council’s longest serving member. The overture discussed during an April round table
City council promotes tax proposal during round table. (Zak Sonntag/City Journals)
with the public, got off to a shaky start when residents accused the council of manipulating the numbers. “I can agree with you that the roads need repair. But I think calling a 50% increase a 5% increase is disingenuous. I haven’t had a raise in 10 years either. I’d appreciate a more conservative approach instead of 50% in one fell swoop,” said Holladay resident Martin Craven. So is it 5%, or 50%? Actually, it’s both.
Myriad entities have claims on a homeowner’s property tax—including Granite School District, Salt Lake County, and other special service districts. Holladay’s share of the tax pie amounts to 10%. The proposal lifts the city’s share to 15%, which would double its personal levy while only lifting the overall burden by 5%, or about $20 additional dollars per month on a household worth Continued page 3
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