CACHE COUNTY – At their regular meeting on Oct. 28, members of the Cache County Council accepted – but did not approve – a tentative budget for 2026 submitted by County Executive George Daines.
That spending plan proposed by Daines for next year called for county expenditures of $65.5 million, about a 7.5 percent reduction from Cache County’s current budget of $70 million.
The components of the tentative budget include $2.7 million in spending cuts recommended by Daines; $3.7 million in new revenues from a proposed 18 percent property tax increase; and, an estimated more than $1.3 million diverted from county reserve funds.
Daines explained that the proposed budget also assumes a cost-of-living pay increase for county employees varying from 3 to 4 percent as well as a 10 percent pay increase for Sheriff’s Department public safety personnel.
While council vice chair Kathryn Beus acknowledged that the council’s vote made Daines’ proposed budget the council’s budget, she also emphasized that much work still remains to be done before the tentative spending plan would be finalized.
That upcoming work includes a public question and answer forum as well as a Truth-in-Taxation hearing slated for Tuesday, Nov. 18. The council will also weigh additional council spending decisions at their regular meetings between now and Dec. 31.
Daines explained that he hopes to use the Nov. 18 public forum, which will begin at 2 p.m., to clear up county residents’ misconceptions about the proposed 18 percent property tax increase.
One of those misconceptions results from the fact that, while the county collects all property taxes, it retains only a small portion of that amount. For example, on a property with a taxable value of about $250,000, Cache County retains only about $350 in tax revenues, while about $1,160 is passed to the Cache County School District.
Daines emphasized that the proposed 18 percent tax increase would therefore only apply to less than a fifth of the total taxes collected by the county.
Council member Keegan Garrity voiced support for similar explanations of complex tax processes, saying that the dollar amount of the proposed tax increase on the average home accessed at $250,000 would only be $52.25.
Garrity also expressed concern about Daines’ intent to close the Cache County Library in Providence in order to save its annual operating budget of about $230,000.
That amount translates to only about $2 in property taxes per county household per year, according to Garrity.
In his remarks, Daines praised county department heads who he said willingly participated in effort to trim the budget and thanked Deputy Executive Curt Webb, County Auditor Matt Funk and Personnel Director Amy Adams for their cooperation.
Daines emphasized that, while the final decisions on the budget would be made by council members, any changes to his proposed budget would likely have to be made up by funds taken from the county reserve accounts of about $22 million.
To submit questions in advance for Daines or other county officials prior to the public forum at 2 p.m. on Nov. 18, taxpayers are advised to send their questions to George.Daines@cachecounty.gov or call 435-755-1852.
The Truth-in-Taxation public hearing at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 will be held in the Cache County Council Chambers in the Cache Historic Court House at 199 North Main Street in Logan.