There will be no property tax increase in the Tooele County School District in 2024.
The Tooele County School Board voted 4-3 during its meeting on Tuesday, August 20 to adopt a final budget for 2024-2025 and a property tax rate equal to the 2024 certified property tax rate for the school district.
Board members Robert Gowans, Julia Holt, ValaRee Shields and Elizabeth Smith voted to adopt the certified tax rate and budget. Board members Melissa Rich, Scott Bryan and Emily Syphus voted against the motion to adopt the certified tax rate and budget.
Tuesday night’s decision cancels the Aug. 27 public hearing and meeting, at which the school board had intended to hear public comments and discuss a property tax rate that would increase the school’s property tax revenue by as much as 23% over the certified rate, according to the public notice of the now-canceled hearing.
“While the vote was not unanimous, all board members recognize both the legitimate need and potential benefits of the proposed increase, as well as the financial pressures currently facing many in our community. The decision to approve the certified tax rate was made after weighing these considerations and evaluating what would best serve our community at this time,” the school district wrote on its Facebook page early Wednesday afternoon.
At its meeting on June 18, the Board voted unanimously to initiate the process of finding the truth in taxation and to consider a higher property tax rate than the certified rate for 2024.
Board member ValaRee Shields stated that at the time of voting on the proposed increase in June, the board was not aware of any other factors that would affect property owners in 2024.
“We didn’t know how much property taxes would increase even without our increase,” she said. “We can’t burden our taxpayers even more when they say they can’t pay the debt.”
Shields said the school district needs to work to reduce distrust in the community. To restore that trust, “I can choose not to raise taxes,” she said.
Julia Holt said with the property tax increase to cover the county’s error, inflation and other problems, “we need to balance the budget, but this year is not a good time for tax increases.”
Board member Elizabeth Smith said she learned in her discussions with voters that the tax increase was simply too much for them.
Board member Robert Gowans said that given its growth, the district will soon need to issue bonds for new schools.
“We need to make sure our stakeholders and voters know our history and have all the information,” he said. “When we go into a bond election, we are always plagued by a very controversial tax increase. We need to get our vision out there.”
Gowans said he has spent a lot of time in rural Tooele County, where ranch lands are classified as greenbelt for tax purposes.
“The valuation of greenbelts has changed. Many ranchers are already paying more property taxes due to the revaluation of their land.”
Board member Scott Bryan said he is used to being alone when it comes to proposals to increase property taxes.
“I have often lost tax votes by 6-1,” he said.
This time it’s different, says Bryan.
“I’m seriously concerned about our status,” Bryan said. “What we’re doing is not sustainable. I’m afraid we’re on the brink of bankruptcy if we use our fund balance, our savings, to fund next year. That works next year, but if we do that for many years to come, there will be nothing left in the bank.”
Bryan said the school district has made cuts, but to offset the proposed tax increases with spending cuts would require drastic cuts, such as not opening new schools for two years, closing the Dugway School, furloughing teachers or cutting salaries.”
Board member Emily Syphus said she agrees that property taxes in our county are unsustainable. Part of the problem is that as the county has grown, it has added many residents but without a good tax base that includes business and commercial growth.
As a bedroom community in Salt Lake County, Tooele County School District consistently ranks among the bottom three in estimated per-pupil value, requiring a higher tax rate to generate the same per-pupil revenue as other districts, she said.
Syphus said she would oppose the tax increase if she thought the district could handle it. The reality, she said, is that the district needs $3.3 million in new ongoing expenses to open the two new schools, $2.9 million to cover health insurance costs and $7 million to restore class sizes or keep them at the district’s target.
Board member Melissa Rich said, “I’m going to plug this hole now in a fiscally responsible way. The closer we get to a bond (for new schools), the bigger we’ll get and the more schools we’ll need.”
The proposed increase would have increased the combined property tax for schools in Tooele County to 0.009956. With Tuesday night’s decision, the combined property tax for schools in 2024 will be 0.008954.
