Salt Lake County has a mayor-council form of government. The mayor is the chief executive and administers the budget and county operations; the nine-member County Council is the legislative body that passes county ordinances, adopts the annual budget and approves many intergovernmental agreements. Three council members are elected at large to six-year terms and six are elected from districts to four-year terms. Salt Lake County: Council ↗
The county says public safety is its largest responsibility: more than 74% of general fund taxes go to law enforcement, running the county jail, alternatives to incarceration, indigent legal defense and prosecution. Property tax is the largest source of general fund money, about 40%. Salt Lake County: 2027 budget and tax increase proposal ↗
District Attorney:Sim Gill. Prosecutes all felony criminal matters in the county and handles civil legal work for county government; the county says its 255 staff make it the largest criminal prosecutorial agency in Utah. Salt Lake County: District Attorney ↗
Sheriff:Rosie Rivera. Runs the Metro Jail and the Oxbow Jail facility, plus law enforcement, public safety, and search and rescue, with over 1,100 employees and volunteers. Salt Lake County: Sheriff ↗
Clerk:Lannie K. Chapman. Runs county elections and voter registration, marriage licenses, passports (by appointment) and the Council Clerk's office, which keeps agendas and minutes. Salt Lake County: Clerk ↗
Assessor:Chris Stavros. Sets the fair market value of real and personal property for tax purposes. A parcel search is on the office's page. Salt Lake County: Assessor ↗
The County Council meets Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. in room N1-110 of the Government Center, 2001 S. State St., except special sessions and holiday weeks. Public comment is the first agenda item. From October to December the council works on the annual budget. Meetings are streamed and archived, and the clerk posts agendas, packets and minutes.
Countywide services include elections, criminal justice and public safety, public health, property tax administration, arts and culture, aging and adult services, behavioral health, the county library, conventions and tourism, and regional parks and recreation. The county also serves unincorporated areas. Salt Lake County: 2027 budget and tax increase proposal ↗
Mayor Jenny Wilson presented her proposed 2027 budget, which includes a property tax increase of about 13.53%: roughly $70.21 a year ($5.85 a month) for a home valued near $658,000, raising about $39.5 million a year to repay a $575 million bond. The county says the bond would pay for 800-plus new beds at the Metro Jail, more behavioral-health beds, closing the Oxbow Jail and a transition center for people leaving jail and crisis care. Salt Lake County: 2027 budget and tax increase proposal ↗
The County Council holds the first of two public hearings on the budget and tax proposal at 6 p.m. (the second is Dec. 15). Residents can speak at either hearing or email all council members; the council votes after the hearings and the amount can change. Salt Lake County: how to share your opinion ↗
Elections
The Clerk's Elections Division handles voter registration, ballots and polling places. Registration lookups, ballot tracking through BallotTrax and election FAQs are on the division's page; questions go to vote@saltlakecounty.gov or 385-468-7400. Salt Lake County Clerk: Elections ↗
Checked against the county's own pages and meeting portal on . Dates and schedules change; confirm with the county before you plan around them.
Sales tax. The combined sales and use tax rate in unincorporated areas is 7.45%, and groceries are taxed at 3.00%. Rates differ from city to city, so check the rate for your city. Rates in effect as of Oct. 1, 2026. Utah State Tax Commission: Sales and Use Tax Rates ↗
Officers and races: Lieutenant Governor's certification and county websites. Checked . Schedules change; confirm with the county before you plan around them.
Tooele County government
Tooele County is governed by a five-member County Council, with members elected from five districts, a chair and a vice chair. The council is the county's legislative body and also oversees county administration. Other elected officers include the attorney, auditor, clerk, recorder/surveyor, treasurer, assessor and sheriff. Tooele County: County Council ↗
The council passes laws and ordinances, oversees county government, acts as the county's contracting authority, can hear appeals from elements of county government and supports all elected officials. Tooele County: County Council ↗
The county says the 2020 census put its population at 72,698 and that rapid growth brings challenges and opportunities that the council addresses in planning for infrastructure, facilities, economic development, recreation and government services. Tooele County: County Council ↗
The county has posted a draft data center ordinance and links to information on a nuclear campus and data center proposal at growtooele.com. Tooele County: home page ↗
County offices are at 47 S. Main St. in Tooele; the main number is 435-843-3100 and the council's is 435-843-3150. Tooele County: County Council ↗
Tooele County runs the clerk and elections, a justice court, senior services, and the assessor, attorney, auditor, recorder/surveyor, treasurer and sheriff's offices. The council oversees boards and committees, including a tourism tax grant program. Tooele County: home page ↗
Sales tax. The combined sales and use tax rate in unincorporated areas is 6.60%, and groceries are taxed at 3.00%. Rates differ from city to city, so check the rate for your city. Rates in effect as of Oct. 1, 2026. Utah State Tax Commission: Sales and Use Tax Rates ↗
Officers and races: Lieutenant Governor's certification and county websites. Checked . Schedules change; confirm with the county before you plan around them.
Weber County's updated count Wednesday shows a 47-vote gap in a Weber School Board race. In Cache County, Democrats led both Logan seats on the County Council.
· From Weber County unofficial 2026 general election results, as of 10:12 a.m. Nov. 4, 2026 (state results site)
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Unofficial results show Democrats ahead in six of seven contested county races, and Sandy's proposed $30 million bond for the former Crescent View Middle School property failing by 788 votes.
· From Salt Lake County unofficial 2026 general election results, as of 1:41 a.m. Nov. 4, 2026 (state results site)
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Unofficial results show 60.8% of voters approving bonds for 30 park, trail and recreation projects. The county says tax bills would not change because the new debt replaces expiring 2016 bonds.
· From Salt Lake County unofficial 2026 general election results, as of 1
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Department projections show the state may need about 800 more beds, with current capacity possibly reached by mid-to-late 2028, and no final decision on location or scope has been made.
· From Gunnison City
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The City Council voted 5-0 on Sept. 22 to rezone a medical office property from multifamily to commercial. A neighborhood park playground purchase waits until the park plan is presented.
· From Magna City Council
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A city notice lists four ordinances adopted from August to October. They cap turf in new yards, ease some home-business rules and rezone about 500 West Apple Street to RM-15.
· From Grantsville City
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The Oct. 28 vote replaces the trailer-mounted stage used for Fridays on Vine and the Fourth of July. No one spoke against it, and the permit carries two conditions.
· From Tooele City
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Mayor Wayne Peterson proposed exploring a mapped utility corridor for Washington County on Oct. 14. The town has made no commitment, and residents urged the council to press Rocky Mountain Power for a route away from homes and farms.
· From Town of Leeds
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The council voted 4-0 on each item Oct. 13, approved the final community center plan, tabled a request to lease a landlocked city parcel and heard that the pickleball courts ran over budget.
· From Monroe City
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Regional council staff told the Tooele County Council of Governments on Oct. 15 that adding the valley would let local governments compete for more transportation money. The regional council's board is expected to vote in January.
· From Tooele County
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The Redevelopment Agency board raised the loan's interest rate from 2.5% to 3.5% before its 5-2 vote on Oct. 13. Council members Jeremy Peterson and Dave Graf voted no.
· From Ogden City
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The Planning Commission voted unanimously Oct. 7 to table Chapter 34 and two related zoning changes. Commissioners said the data center definition and protections need more work before the rules go to the County Council.
· From Tooele County
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The Oct. 7 ordinance lowers the depletion rate used for interior water from 100% to 60%, reducing the diversion right developers must supply per home from 0.45 to 0.27 acre-feet.
· From Tooele City
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The drop is mostly at the elementary level, while secondary enrollment keeps growing. A 10-year capital plan presented Oct. 27 may lead to a bond proposal.
· From Tooele County School District
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After interviewing four finalists Sept. 1, the board passed the final motion unanimously after a substitute motion for "Ben's name" failed 1-6. Her term begins in January 2027, per the district's notice.
· From Granite School District
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The board has given initial notice of 2027-28 boundary changes and held a hearing on a potential closure of Liberty Elementary. The records reviewed show no final vote, and the next comment period is Nov. 12.
· From Murray City School District
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District enrollment fell from 31,499 to 30,365 this fall. The board on Oct. 6 gave a first reading to the 2027-28 calendar and approved nondiscrimination and attendance policies unanimously.
· From Canyons School District
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The council voted unanimously Oct. 20 on Ballpark zoning changes and a text amendment that prohibits community correctional facilities and jails on private property.
· From Salt Lake City Council
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Board member Bryce Dunford is resigning Nov. 1, and Juul settlement money is funding a vape detector pilot in middle schools, the district's summary of the Oct. 13 meeting says.
· From Jordan School District
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The council voted 4-1 Oct. 19 on a resolution that limits how the mayor deals with city staff and police, requires council approval for his discretionary appointments and travel, and requires training within 180 days.
· From Magna City Council
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The Nov. 3 agenda proposes Level 2 charging at $0.30 a kilowatt-hour, a Nov. 10 hearing on 3.25% pay adjustments for ten mayoral appointees, and a Sherwood Drive parcel near the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
· From Salt Lake County Council
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The council voted 3-2 Oct. 26 after public comment, according to OpenCity's meeting summary, and then approved Resolution R2026-18 recognizing her nearly three decades of volunteer service.
· From Kearns City Council
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The council voted 5-0 on Oct. 20 to push the ordinance to January 2027. Mayor Dustin Gettel told a league of nearly 300 girls the proposed county recreation center is a five-year plan and the city wants them to stay.
· From Midvale City
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The 5-0 vote on Oct. 21 follows a 2026 state law. The council changed the planning commission's 2-to-1 rule for taller units to 1-to-1, applied it to setbacks as well, and kept the state-code rental periods for now.
· From Taylorsville City
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The council voted 5-0 on Oct. 20 on a satellite water-leak contract and an American Ramp Company concept design. Mayor Tish Buroker and Council member Andy Pierucci said a code-enforcement judge program, with a $150,000-a-year coordinator, is hard to justify for the current caseload.
· From Riverton City
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The council voted 6-0 on every action item Oct. 27, including a new Highbury development agreement, two industrial rezones, $113,050 in chairs and ambulance remounts that save about $248,000.
· From West Valley City
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The rezone and development agreement for the 7.2-acre site passed 5-2, and the general plan change 6-1, after the developer agreed to cap rentals at 20% of units for five years after sale.
· From Sandy City
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A $20 base rate covers one garbage and one recycling can, with a $6.50 monthly fee for each extra can and a one-time $10 delivery fee for each added can.
· From West Jordan City
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Artist Matthew Mazzotta's piece for Glendale Regional Park is expected to be installed when the park's second phase is finished, on pace for spring 2029.
· From KSL
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Auditors found no statistical tie between fees and sale prices, but more than half of nine local governments reviewed in depth misspent fees or broke state rules.
· From Office of the Legislative Auditor General
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The City Council kept the $24.72 total for all three cans but split the bill. Waste Management takes over pickup July 1, 2027, with weekly service year-round.
A weaker system Friday favors southern Utah. A stronger one late Saturday could drop a half-inch to an inch of rain, with snow above 7,000 to 8,000 feet.
· From Salt Lake Tribune
The Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City, where Lee appeared Wednesday. File photo, July 2018. Photo: Ben P L · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Where to send a sick plant or a soil sample, what South Jordan pays for removing turf or swapping a toilet, and how to find a registered apprenticeship. Each page has a limit worth knowing.
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Advising for owners, government-contracting counseling, free classes, employee training that the state pays for and a path for food startups. Each is run by a different agency, and none hands out cash on its own.
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