Washington City's 0.33% emergency services tax took effect Oct. 1; voters decide on more in November
After a 3-2 council vote in March, Washington City's emergency services sales tax took effect Oct. 1, according to the Utah State Tax Commission. The adopted budget counts $1.3 million from it, and Proposition 5 asks voters to add 0.67%.
Continuing story: Auditing Washington City
Washington City's emergency services sales tax of 0.33% took effect Oct. 1, 2026, according to the Utah State Tax Commission, which says the city's combined sales tax rate is now 7.08%. [3]
Voters will decide in November on Proposition 5, which would add 0.67% for a total emergency services tax of 1.0%. [4]
How the council got there
The council held a public hearing on Feb. 25, 2026, on a resolution to impose the tax at 0.33%. The notice said the money would fund emergency services such as emergency medical services, fire protection, ambulance services and related personnel, equipment and facilities. [6]
At that meeting, a motion by Council Member Kimberly Casperson, seconded by Council Member Kurt Ivie, to deny the resolution failed 2-3; Casperson and Ivie voted aye, and Council Members Troy Belliston, Craig Coats and Bret Henderson voted nay. The council then voted 4-1 to table the resolution to March 11 and continue the hearing, with Casperson voting nay. [1]
On March 25, a motion by Belliston, seconded by Henderson, to approve a resolution imposing the tax subject to voter approval in November failed 2-3. [2]
Coats then moved to approve that item and the 0.33% resolution with conditions, "to implement a .33% Sales Tax restricted specifically for EMS services," and to send the rest of the tax to voters with a 50% reduction in the city's property tax if they approve it. Belliston seconded. The motion passed 3-2, with Belliston, Coats and Henderson voting aye and Casperson and Ivie voting nay. [2]
The minutes do not record resolution numbers or revenue estimates for these items. [1][2]
What the budget counts on
The fiscal 2027 budget, adopted June 10, 2026, includes a general fund revenue line, EMS Sales Tax, of $1,300,000. The fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 columns for that line are blank. The fiscal year began July 1, 2026, three months before the tax took effect. [5][3]
The budget lists fire department spending of $5,429,032 for fiscal 2027, compared with $4,821,692 in the fiscal 2026 budget and $4,670,353 in actual fiscal 2025 spending. Regular salaries account for $2,752,566 of the fiscal 2027 amount, up from $2,400,102 in the fiscal 2026 budget. [5]
Proposition 5
The city's Oct. 2 explanation says the money must support emergency services, including fire protection, ambulance service and emergency medical response, and that the tax does not apply to groceries, gas or qualifying prescription drugs. [4]
It says the City Council "has committed to reduce the Washington City portion of property taxes by 50% if Proposition 5 is approved." The explanation says that reduction would apply only to the city's share of a property tax bill, not to Washington County, the Washington County School District or special districts. [4]
Budgeted revenue is a forecast, not collections. Budgeted fire spending is an appropriation, not a record of hires or payments. The Ledger takes no position on Proposition 5.
Sources
- Washington City Council · Feb. 25, 2026 meeting minutes
- Washington City Council · March 25, 2026 meeting minutes
- Utah State Tax Commission · Tax Bulletin 15-26, sales tax rate changes effective Oct. 1, 2026
- Washington City · Proposition 5 explanation, Oct. 2, 2026
- Washington City · Resolution R2026-18 adopting the FY2026-27 budget
- Utah Public Notice Website · Washington City Council Feb. 25, 2026 hearing notice
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.