Nephi council raises property tax rate to 0.001031 on 4–1 vote, citing new police station

The Nephi City Council voted 4–1 on Aug. 18, 2026 to raise the city's property tax rate to 0.001031, and then voted 4–1 to adopt the final budget for fiscal 2027 with that rate. Councilor JD Parady voted no on both motions. Councilors Jeramie Callaway, Shari Cowan, Tate Douglas and Travis Worwood voted yes. ^[1][2]

Ordinance 08-18-2026 adopts the interim budget presented June 16 as the final fiscal 2027 budget and states the levy of 0.001031. ^[3]

What the council was told

According to the minutes, City Administrator Seth Atkinson said the increase is intended to fund a new police facility and additional patrol staff. He said the proposed 109% increase applies only to the city's portion of the tax bill, which he put at 6%, and averages $11 a month for residents. ^[1]

The minutes say the new station would also serve as an emergency operations center, and that some council members raised concerns about the timing of the increase. ^[1]

In a work session the same night, Atkinson estimated construction costs at about $13 million with a $1 million contingency. Council members expressed support for a construction manager/general contractor approach. ^[5]

The tentative budget's tax schedule

A property tax impact schedule attached to the minutes as Exhibit B is labeled as part of the fiscal 2027 tentative budget. It lists the existing rate as 0.000504 and an estimated proposed rate of 0.001073, which is higher than the rate the council adopted. ^[4]

At that tentative rate, the schedule projected $523,000 in additional property tax revenue. It also listed $798,000 in lease payments to the Local Building Authority and bond payments on a police station bond of about $15,000,000. These were estimates in a tentative document, not executed financing. ^[4]

In the final budget

The state-filed fiscal 2027 final budget lists general property taxes at $495,850 and delinquent taxes at $529,000. The fiscal 2026 final budget listed delinquent taxes at $6,000. ^[6]

Police department appropriations are $3,225,340 in the fiscal 2027 final budget, up from $2,204,886 in fiscal 2026. Police miscellaneous revenue is budgeted at $285,000, up from $10,000. ^[7][11]

The Local Building Authority fund is budgeted at $872,567 for fiscal 2027, funded by a line labeled transfer in for debt service. The fiscal 2026 final budget listed $75,217. ^[8][12]

The Oct. 6 agenda

The agenda for the council's Oct. 6, 2026 work session listed alternative funding options for the police station project. ^[9]

Separately, the Aug. 18 work session took up a proposed agreement with federal immigration authorities under which the city would seek grant funding to help pay for a new police station. The city attorney noted that federal oversight could follow if grant funds were used for a police facility, and most residents who spoke opposed the agreement. The police chief said he wanted to rescind his request, according to the minutes. ^[10]