Valuation's impact

Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, warns that even if tax rates went down, actual taxes for a homeowner might still go up.

"Tax rates are only half the story. The other half is the valuation put on property," he said.

Jerman said he expects overall property tax receipts will go up about 5 percent in Utah this year, even though rates have gone up much less. The difference is the higher values that county assessors put on property, which may yield higher taxes.

How high an individual's tax is depends not so much on which city or county they live in — because such governments charge only a small portion of the overall property taxes — but "it depends more on how many different entities charge them taxes," said Deputy Salt Lake County Auditor Mike Reed.

For example, compare taxes charged to Doyle and his neighbors on Traverse Ridge to those charged to Cook and her Cedar Fort neighbors. Traverse Ridge residents pay taxes to nine local governments (at some high rates) while Cedar Fort residents pay taxes to only five local governments (at lower rates for similar types of services).

Look at their tax bills:

• For schools, residents on the Salt Lake County side of Traverse Ridge pay $974.16 on a $200,000 home to Jordan School District. Cedar Fort residents pay $893.09 on a $200,000 home to Alpine School District.

• For countywide services, Traverse Ridge residents pay $309.76 on a $200,000 home to Salt Lake County. Cedar Fort residents pay $156.75 to Utah County.

• For libraries, Traverse Ridge residents pay $80.86 to the Salt Lake County Library System. Cedar Fort residents have no similar tax.

• For water and sewer, Traverse Ridge residents pay $56.65 to the South Valley Sewer District, $43.12 to the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District and $38.83 to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District ($138.60 total). Cedar Fort residents pay only $38.83 to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

• For fighting mosquitos, Traverse Ridge residents pay $3.63 on a $200,000 home to the South Salt Lake Valley Mosquito Abatement District. Cedar Fort residents have no similar taxes.

• For city services, Traverse Ridge residents pay $145.97 on a $200,000 home to the city of Draper plus $385.77 to Draper's Traverse Ridge Special Service District (for a total of $531.74). Cedar Fort residents pay $94.60 to their town government.