CACHE COUNTY – At the regular meeting of the Cache County Council on Sept. 16, County Policy Analyst Andrew Erickson advised members of the council of the exact timetable for upcoming events if they want to legally consider a proposed property tax increase.
“When we were down at the Utah Association of Counties (annual convention),” explained Council Chair Sandi Goodlander, “the State Tax Commission has gotten very specific and detailed about what has to happen in this process if we’re going to make (a property tax increase) happen.”
To legally consider a property tax increase for 2026, Erickson said, the council members will need to publicly state in their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14 their “… intent to increase property taxes, the dollar amount of the increase, the purpose of the increase and the percent of the increase.”
On Aug. 26, the members of the Cache County Council voted to instruct County Treasurer Craig McAllister to publish a notice of a Truth-In-Taxation hearing for a proposed property tax increase of up to 18 percent for 2026, while still voicing the hope that a tax hike that large will not actually be necessary.
In 2024, the council voted to approve a Truth-In-Taxation notice for a property tax increase of up to 20 percent for 2025, but eventually followed through with a tax hike of only 12 percent.
Other specific items of information required by the State Tax Commission about the proposed tax increase were not discussed at the council gathering on Aug. 26, however.
After that, Erickson continued, the county will be required to hold a Truth-in-Taxation hearing, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Under the state’s Truth-In-Taxation law, taxing entities are required to hold public hearings if they want to increase property tax revenues beyond what their certified tax rates generates.
The TNT law is revenue-driven, meaning the requirement for a hearing is based on the taxing entity collecting more revenue than the previous year, not just on changes in the tax rate.
The purpose of those hearings is to inform taxpayers about proposed increases and allow them to provide input before the increase goes into effect.
Erickson also commented that both Goodlander and County Auditor Matt Funk have suggested holding a workshop prior to the Truth-in-Taxation hearing to better educate the public on the purpose of the proposed tax increase.
Having been sworn-in earlier in the Sept. 16 meeting, new County Executive N. George Daines made no comment on the routine preparations for the proposed tax hike.
Daines is already on the record as opposing tax increases, however.
While running for the post of county executive, Daines promised to defend taxpayers from the cycle of county spending increases that has forced repeated tax hikes on Cache residents and to implement strong fiscal oversight to put county government back on stable ground.
Once those milestones on the tax increase timeline are completed, Erickson said that the council members will be free to legally consider a proposed property tax increase of up to 18 percent for 2026.