CACHE COUNTY – After weeks of preparation and concern, the long-awaited Truth-in-Taxation public hearing on Nov. 18 proved to be mostly anticlimactic for members of the Cache County Council.
Only a handful of county residents turned up to voice issues with a proposed 18 percent property tax increase that council members hope will raise more than $3.7 million in new revenues to meet the inflationary cost of personnel and public safety.
The public comment portion of the TNT hearing lasted less than 20 minutes, with only five residents appearing to state their views. Facilities were also available to allow residents to participate virtually, but none of the remote viewers volunteered to offer their comments.
After some discussion by members, the council voted unanimously to approve the proposed property tax increase.
The most negative comment came from Chris Neilsen, who said that other more progressive states are moving to eliminate property taxes completely.
Local resident Keith Nelson was equally disapproving of the proposed property tax increase. As a retired Air Force budget officer, Nelson said that he was accustomed to cutting expenditures if he was faced with a deficit in his accounts. The county’s ability to simply raise taxes is problematic for home-owners on a fixed income, he added.
Earlier in the meeting, County Executive George Daines explained that the county was facing a $7.6 million budget shortfall when he assumed the executive role in September.
He attributed that shortfall to the fact that Cache County has experienced a 26 percent increase in expenses since 2019, plus a 11.5 percent growth in population.
Despite that, Daines reports that Cache County collects only $451 per citizen in property taxes, sales taxes and licenses, the lowest rate of any county in the state.
Another factor in the budget equation, he says, is that 70 percent of county revenue is committed to funding personnel, so cutting expenses usually means laying off personnel.
Since taking office on Sept. 16, Daines has been wrestling with the county’s budget. In a joint effort with County Auditor Matt Fund and department heads, Daines has recommended a total of $2.8 million in budget cuts.
The most controversial of those proposed cuts is defunding the Cache County Library at 15 North Main in Providence to the tune of $250,000 a year.
The 18 percent property tax hike approved by the council members is expected to generate $3.7 million in new revenue. That amount, combined with the $2.8 million in budget cuts recommended by Daines, would still leave Cache County with a budget deficit exceeding $1 million.
When resident Christine Christiansen asked how that remaining deficit would be made up, Daines replied that, although he would continue to look for budget cuts through December, some of that shortfall would likely come from county reserve accounts.
In later discussions, council member Barbara Tidwell voiced support for Daines’ proposal to cut the county library. As a Logan resident who is being victimized by double taxation for library services, she believes that the library should go.
Council member Keegan Garrity suggested asking residents in the future which services they were willing to pay additional taxes to receive.
But Daines warned that playing “catch-up ball” with the county tax base would be a five to ten year effort, because it would likely take that long for incremental tax increases to match inflation.