Mayor Recommends No Property Tax Increase. What Will Council Do?
Budget's not final until the Council signs off. Here's what you need to know.
Hey Provo! 👋Mayor Recommends No Property Tax Increase. What Will Council Do?
🚨The City Council will tentatively adopt Mayor Judkins’ proposed budget at their next meeting (Tuesday, May 12 @ 5:30 p.m. at City Hall).
Here are some highlights of the proposed budget and a few other things on the Council’s agenda:
➡️SALES TAXES & RATE HIKES HELP BALANCE THE BUDGET
A third of Provo’s general fund revenue comes from sales taxes. Thanks to a strong Utah economy and a recent adjustment to the formula the state uses to distribute sales tax revenue back to cities, Provo got a $3.6 million boost this year. Combine that with some proposed increases to fees and utility rates (6% water rate hike, 4-10% electricity hike for business, NOT residential) and Mayor Judkins says the city won’t need to boost property taxes to balance the budget.
The higher revenue will enable the city to avoid major cuts and even give city employees a 2% cost-of-living adjustment, as well as cover the increased cost of basically everything (including health insurance premiums for city workers).
🛑BUT THIS IS ONLY PRELIMINARY. The City Council gets the final say.
There will be public hearings on the budget at City Council meetings on June 9 and 23rd.
Meantime expect debate on:
Proposed water and electric rate increases
Proposed fee increases for everything from business licenses to library room rentals
Paying for major repairs to the Provo Library building
Spending RAP Tax money on arts programs
Financial problems facing the Provo Rec Center
👀READ THE FULL PROPOSED BUDGET HERE.
💰PAYING INCENTIVES TO FOUR PROVO PROPERTIES
During the Council’s Work Meeting on Tuesday 5/12 at 3:30 p.m. they’ll get updates on sales tax rebates worth a total of $186,128 for to 5 properties in Provo.
These are annual payments that were promised by the Mayor and City Council in deals made over the last decade to refund a portion of the increase in sales taxes that would result from a new business moving into the city or an existing one making upgrades in order to stick around. The deals are with: Day’s Market, East Bay Shopping Center (for Ross), The Shops at the Riverwoods and Parkway Village (for renovations related to the new traffic signal across University Parkway). Council will discuss these during their work meeting on Tuesday and officially approve the payments at a future Regular Meeting.
(If you’re curious about the term of these agreements check out pages 59-122 of the Council’s Work Meeting Agenda Packet here.)
📣PUBLIC HEARING ON HOW TO SPEND FEDERAL GRANT MONEY
How do you think Provo should spend money from the federal government earmarked for improving life for low and moderate-income residents?
You can weigh-in during the Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday May 12 @ 5:30 p.m. Here’s the proposal:
CDBG FUNDING: Provo gets about $1.2m a year from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for improvements in “areas of concentrated poverty.” The City is planning to spend about half of that on sidewalk improvements in the Timp and Dixon Neighborhoods. The other half will cover administration costs of the program ($226K), repaying a loan for airport improvements ($307K), and grants ranging from $5k - $20K for nonprofits including Mountainland Community Health Center, United Way, RAH Services, Elevate Utah, My Story Matters, the Community Action Learning Center, Family Haven, The Refuge, Community Action Services Community Garden, and Provo Police Victim Services.
HOME FUNDING: Provo has about $2.6m to spend creating affordable housing for low-income households. The City is planning to spend it on rent assistance and down-payment assistance for Provo residents who qualify.
📣GOT THOUGHTS? Email the City Council at council@provo.gov and Mayor Judkins at marsha@provo.gov.