Two cities boost taxes — a bit

City councils in both Kaysville and Fruit Heights have voted to increase property taxes, although residents won't notice much of a change.

In Kaysville, the City Council opted to increase the annual property tax by 52 cents on a $188,000 house, the city's average home value.

City leaders want to add four full-time positions and one part-time position to the city staff. They had funded $186,000 for the positions by increasing an energy sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent, said city manager John Thacker.

But the sales-tax increase left $4,800 unfunded in the current budget. So the property-tax increase was intended to close the gap.

Thacker thought the minor tax increase was somewhat funny, and laughed as he said, "You gotta balance the budget."

Three residents came to the Truth-in-Taxation hearing in which the council took public comment on the proposal to raise property taxes, and they were a little late to the meeting.

In Fruit Heights, residents will pay the same property taxes as last year, said city manager Brandon Green. Paying the same is technically an increase because the certified tax rate, which is set by the county, goes down each year to compensate for growth. That way, the city's tax revenue stays the same and is gathered from more residents.

Because of the City Council's vote to keep the tax rate the same as last year, Fruit Heights will take in $355,167. That's a 16 percent increase, or about $51,000 more than previous year's revenue, Green said.

The tax is a $14.92 increase more than what residents would have paid — if the tax rate had dropped — on a $204,000 home, the average home value in Fruit Heights.

The city plans to use the extra money to pay for water and storm-drain projects, Green said.

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