We are less than a month away from the 2025 Fiscal Year, and taxing entities throughout the state have been preparing and approving their budgets. The Utah Constitution requires that they adopt a balanced budget, meaning that every dollar they plan to spend must be collected. For some, this means reducing services to account for lower revenues or rising costs; for others, it means a slightly larger budget than last year funded by new growth in the area; for others, it means going through the Truth in Taxation process with a tax hike proposal to fund new services or account for rising costs.
How simple is it for citizens to engage in the budget process? How influential can they be?
In their 2025 Approved Budget, South Jordan City says, “Throughout the year, the city communicates with residents via surveys, focus groups, social media, etc. as inputs to decisions about service levels and preferences, community priorities, and organizational performance. The budget process is intended to provide an opportunity for public participation and full disclosure to the residents of South Jordan as to the intent of the City Council in funding the City’s various programs and services”. They also map out the year-long budget process that includes a public hearing on the proposed budget in April or May which is advertised in the local newspaper at least seven days before it is held.
Many taxing entities post to their social media accounts or announce the budget hearing in their regular newsletters or on their website. But the reach of these methods of communication is limited, whereas the impact of the budget is universal throughout the district or city. In reality, unless a resident is actively-engaged in their local community politics, it’s unlikely they will be aware of budget decisions unless they receive notice of a tax increase. How many of us follow our local mosquito abatement district on Twitter?
And even if residents do know about the hearing and do show up and give comments, how much will their comments impact the final result? That, of course, will vary from entity to entity, the basis of the complaint, and the flexibility of the budget. Not every budget line item is equally important. What is clear is that participating in the budget process early and consistently makes it more likely that input will be well received. This includes communication with the City Council, responding to surveys, and contributing to hearings.
Given that most entities have now published and voted on their budgets, the next step for those who are proposing a property tax increase will be to mail out Truth in Taxation notices and await the hearing. We encourage all those with concerns about tax increases to attend the hearing and give public comment.
Public notices are published on the Utah Public Notice website.
Approved budgets, when submitted, are available on the Utah State Auditor’s website as well as entity websites.