For example, West Jordan has 32 taxing districts within its boundaries, and taxes can vary by up to $503 on a $200,000 home depending on where residents live. That is the greatest variance among city areas in the county.

The lowest-taxed area in West Jordan is in Granite School District, while the highest-taxed area is in higher-rate Jordan School District. The highest-taxed area also belongs to the recreation district that operates the Olympic Oval ice rink and swimming pools in Kearns.

The lowest-taxed area in West Jordan also is in the Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District for water and sewer service, while the highest-taxed area is in the more expensive Kearns Improvement District.

Residents on Traverse Ridge in Draper suffer a double whammy. Besides having the county's highest taxes, they also have the county's largest tax hike ($85.03 on a $200,000 home).

Residents there pay $385.77 more a year to Draper than residents down in the valley. Draper created the Traverse Ridge Special Service District to cover higher costs of delivering services such as water and snow removal on the mountain. That district had a tax rate increase this year of $42.57 on a $200,000 home. (Jordan School District also raised taxes by $53.90, while most other governments serving Traverse Ridge lowered taxes this year.)

Tax districts with the biggest rate cuts included several unincorporated areas of the county in Magna, Kearns and Cottonwood Heights — which recently voted to incorporate and will form a city government next year.

Those areas benefitted from a cut of $18.92 on a $200,000 home on taxes the county charges to provide city-like services in the unincorporated area. "We haven't raised those taxes in four years," said County Council Chairman Steve Harmsen. "Sales tax and other revenues were sufficient to allow that reduction."

The county also gave each home in the unincorporated area a $75 rebate on garbage collection fees. Harmsen warns, however, that incorporation of Cottonwood Heights and annexation by Murray of other unincorporated areas could lead to higher taxes in the remaining unincorporated areas from a reduced tax base next year.

The entire county also enjoyed a small rate decrease by the county government for countywide services, ranging from providing health and mental health services to funding the Clark Planetarium.

That countywide cut came because the overall value of property there increased.

"Truth-in-taxation laws require that if property values go up, tax rates must go down" to produce the same amount of revenue, said David Marshall, a county administrative assistant who helps oversee its budget.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com