Grantsville adopted a 4.98% property tax increase after considering 84% in May

Grantsville's City Council adopted a 4.98% property tax increase on Aug. 5, 2026, three months after the city laid out a proposal of about 84%, according to council minutes. ^[1][2]

The May proposal

On May 6, Finance Director Aspen Clegg read the required Truth in Taxation statements into the record. The proposal would have raised the city's rate from 0.001368 to 0.002517, about 84% above the certified rate, for an estimated $1,749,701 in additional revenue. ^[1]

The minutes say the city estimated taxes on an average home valued at about $530,088 would rise from about $398.84 to about $733.83 a year. The stated purposes were staffing for Scenic Slopes, a compensation study and an inflationary increase of about 3% across departments, to avoid using fund balance. ^[1]

The council voted 5–0 to set a June 3 hearing and 5–0 to table a separate resolution of intent to exceed the certified rate, pending a May 11 budget work session. ^[1]

The August decision

At the Aug. 5 hearing, the council considered Resolution 2026-59, raising the rate from 0.001417 to 0.001488, a 4.98% increase over the certified rate. The minutes estimate additional revenue of about $110,832 a year, raising the city's property tax revenue from about $2,211,956 to about $2,322,788. ^[2]

The money is for one full-time benefited parks and recreation employee to maintain Scenic Slopes Park, Veterans Park and a park being built by a developer, all expected to open in fiscal 2027, according to the minutes. ^[2]

For a home valued at $563,000, the city estimated the increase at about $21.99 a year. Staff said the amount varies with each property's assessed value. ^[2]

The resolution passed 4–1. Councilmembers Rhett Butler, Brittany Skinner, Jake Thomas and Jeff Williams voted yes; Councilmember Derek Dalton voted no. ^[2]

Clegg told the council that a rise in the police department's professional services line reflected a Tooele County dispatch contract of about $157,000 moved from another line, and that legal costs were moved into a separate department budget. ^[2]

The final budget

On Aug. 19, the council adopted the final fiscal 2027 budget by Resolution 2026-60, 5–0. Clegg said the only changes from the interim budget were moving the new property tax revenue into the regular property tax line and allocating the matching spending to parks salaries and benefits. ^[3]