Farmington adopted a 4.99% property tax increase for firefighters after an earlier posted proposal of 5.84%
On Aug. 18, 2026, the City Council voted 5-0 to adopt a tax rate of 0.001581 and a fiscal 2027 budget with $285,108 in new property tax revenue for three firefighters. An earlier proposal posted by the city described a $300,000 increase and said the firefighters were hired in January 2026.
Continuing story: Auditing Farmington
Farmington's City Council voted unanimously on Aug. 18, 2026, to raise the city's property tax by 4.99%, which the city's finance director said would bring in $285,108 to pay for three firefighters. [1]
Finance Director Levi Ball told the council at the truth-in-taxation hearing that the increase would cost the owner of an average $790,000 home $32.58 more a year and the owner of a $790,000 business $59.25 more, according to the minutes. [1]
The hearing and the votes
The public hearing ran from 7:04 to 7:11 p.m. Four people spoke, raising the cost to seniors on fixed incomes, what the increase would pay for, police calls to Lagoon and how the city pays for services to county facilities. [1]
Councilmember Scott Isaacson moved to approve a resolution (PT-800) adopting "the certified tax rate of 0.001581 as shown in the Staff Report," and Councilmember Roger Child seconded. Mayor Pro Tem Amy Shumway and Councilmembers Child, Isaacson, Melissa Layton and Kristen Sherlock voted yes. [1]
Isaacson then moved to adopt the fiscal 2027 final budget, "which include an additional $285,108 of property tax revenue generated from a property tax increase," and Layton seconded. The vote was again 5-0. [1]
The copy of the minutes posted on the state's public notice website has a blank signature line for the city recorder. [1]
The earlier proposal
A proposed property tax impact schedule the city posted earlier described a different increase: a rate change from .001537 to an estimated .001627, raising $300,000, or 5.84%. It estimated an annual increase of $32.12 for a $650,000 home and $58.39 for a $650,000 business. [2]
That schedule listed the fire department's proposed budget at $3,524,581, compared with $3,224,581 without the tax change. [2]
It said the fire department went from seven to eight firefighters per shift in January 2026 because of rising call volume and response times below industry standards, that three full-time firefighters were hired as a result, and that the fire marshal position became full time. It said those ongoing personnel costs "are currently being paid for with reserves in the General Fund." [2]
The filed budget
The fiscal 2027 budget worksheet the city filed with the state lists $5,987,277 in current-year property tax revenue for the General Fund, compared with a fiscal 2026 estimate of $5,828,406 and a fiscal 2025 actual of $5,300,582. [3]
The worksheet budgets $3,380,410 for the fire department and $144,171 for fire prevention, which together equal the $3,524,581 in the earlier proposal. Its pages carry the header "Period 06/26 (06/30/2026)." [3][2]
The worksheet's General Fund budget totals $19,222,879, including $84,793 drawn from fund balance. [3]
An earlier increase
The city also raised its property tax rate for fiscal 2025. Its annual report says property tax revenue rose $1,019,000 that year "due to the rate increase approved by the city council mostly for public safety wages increases and to cover inflationary impacts on expenses." [4]
The $32.58 and $59.25 figures are the city's examples for the city's own levy on a $790,000 property. They are not estimates of any property's total tax bill.
Sources
- Farmington City Council · Aug. 18, 2026 minutes
- Farmington City · Proposed property tax impact schedule, FY2027
- Farmington City · FY2027 budget worksheet filed with the state
- Farmington City · FY2025 ACFR, management's discussion and analysis
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.