"(The comments) can be used to make decisions down the road," he said.

He said residents may be confused because commissioners are required to hold a second hearing, but the main purpose of the Aug. 9 hearing, besides public comment, is for the commissioners to approve the current tax rate.

The Davis Mosquito Abatement District received no public comment in December when it decided to increase its property tax revenue for this year by just over $2 on a home valued at $200,000 to increase spraying operations to ward off West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes.

The district expects to receive $198,000 this year from the increase.

These four increases affect residents countywide, but those who live in four cities may end up supporting local increases as well.

The North Davis Fire District, which serves West Point and Clearfield, is planning to maintain the same tax rate as last year, which is technically an increase, because local tax rates normally drop every year as property values increase.

That prevents taxing entities from reaping a windfall in revenue just because property is worth more, said Rawlings.

Because the fire district plans to maintain the same tax rate, it will have about $320,000 more to work with than it would without the increase, said district Chief Roger Bodily.

When the fire district was created, plans called for maintaining the tax rate for 10 years, Bodily said, to allow the district to grow as the community grew.

The fire district is building a new fire station in West Point and will need to staff it. Eventually, Bodily said, he would like to double the district's full-time firefighters from 12 to 24 so that each station will have four firefighters 24 hours a day.

Syracuse and Sunset have also proposed tax increases to maintain or increase the level of services they currently provide.

Syracuse city leaders discovered they were underpaying employees and that employees have left city service in favor of higher-paying jobs elsewhere. And they found departments such as police and public works were understaffed, said councilman Phil Orton.

The Syracuse City Council has proposed a $52.93 increase per year on the average home valued at $196,000, said Lamar Holt, the city's director of finance. The city expects to raise $392,000 a year to boost employee pay and hire new employees.

In Sunset, city leaders just want to maintain, said Mayor Fred Childs. He said labor and fuel costs have gone up so much that an increase is necessary.

The increase on the average home in Sunset valued at $122,000 is proposed to be $12.95 per year and is expected to raise $34,600 for the city.