Aging schools drive North Sanpete’s proposed $750,000 property tax increase

MT. PLEASANT—The North Sanpete School District plans to increase its annual property tax revenue by $750,000 to address ongoing capital and infrastructure needs, district officials said during a Truth-in-Taxation hearing Aug. 11 at North Sanpete High School.

The proposed increase would raise the district’s budgeted property tax revenue by 15.46% over the previous year’s budgeted revenue, excluding eligible new growth.

The district board did not take final action on the increase during the Aug. 11 hearing. Instead, board members planned to consider the increase during their next scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 18, giving district officials additional time to explain the proposal and its potential impact to the public.

Superintendent O’Dee Hansen said the additional revenue would be dedicated to capital needs rather than salaries, benefits or additional staffing.

“None of this has to do with any salary benefits, any extra positions or anything like that,” Hansen said. “It’s dealing with some of our major needs in our infrastructure, right? Our capital, so our buildings, keeping them up and going.”

Hansen said the district continues to face a significant backlog of capital projects, including work on aging roofs, gym floors and heating and cooling systems.

Last year, the district received about $4.3 million in requests for capital projects but determined that only about $2.2 million could be justified for funding, Hansen said.

The district has limited money available in its capital budget, he said, making it difficult to address the growing list of needs.

“Having to replace roofs and gym floors and get air conditioning into our schools; all these things, they add up, and we’re not making progress,” Hansen said.

Business Administrator Rickie Stewart said the proposed $750,000 increase does not require approval from voters. Instead, the school board can approve the increase following the Truth-in-Taxation process.

Stewart said the purpose of the Aug. 11 hearing was to explain how the additional revenue would be used and provide the public with information about the district’s financial needs.

“The purpose of the meeting was obviously to inform the public of what the money would be used for, how it would be utilized, continuing to be transparent about the needs of the district, the needs of our buildings, and the needs of our students,” Stewart said.

The board’s decision to delay the vote until Aug. 18 will allow district officials additional time to communicate with residents about the proposal and its effect on taxpayers, Stewart said.

“The board made the decision to push the vote so they could have more time to talk to obviously the public and make sure that they are aware of the limitations and what that does to the taxpayers and make a really informed decision on Tuesday,” Stewart said.

Under Utah’s Truth-in-Taxation law, taxing entities proposing to collect more property tax revenue than allowed under the state’s certified tax rate must notify taxpayers, hold a public hearing and take a recorded vote before adopting the higher rate.

The proposed increase would raise the district’s annual property tax bill on a $400,000 residence from $557.26 to $644.82, an increase of $87.56 per year. For a commercial property assessed at $400,000, the annual tax would increase from $1,013.20 to $1,172.40, an increase of $159.20.

The Truth-in-Taxation process was established by the Utah Legislature in 1985 and is designed to prevent taxing entities from automatically receiving additional property tax revenue solely because property values increase. The state’s certified tax rate is calculated to generate essentially the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year, excluding certain adjustments such as eligible new growth.