EAGLE MOUNTAIN — While other towns wrestle with whether to raise property taxes, Eagle Mountain residents can rest easy.
The city has canceled the planned truth-in-taxation hearing that would have taken place this week, and it won't be rescheduled. Instead, city officials say Eagle Mountain will get all of the money it needs from the city's growth, not from residents' wallets.
"When we evaluated the growth we would have along with the certified tax number that we got from the county, we determined we would make our budget numbers," said Eagle Mountain City Administrator John Hendrickson. "If the growth can cover our costs, then we're probably going to be satisfied with that."
Hendrickson said the city's tax rate is two-thirds less than what it was last year, but an increase in property values in the city will bring in an equal amount of money.
Last year, Eagle Mountain received about $770,000 in property taxes. This year, the city expects to receive about $780,000 from their tax rate and new growth in the area.
City officials notified the county — and Eagle Mountain residents — that they would hold a truth-in-taxation hearing and possibly increase residents' property tax rates before they actually knew what rate the county would set for the city.
The Utah County Clerk/Auditor's Office doesn't "give you the number before your budget is adopted," Hendrickson said. "We don't get the number of the certified tax rate until the day of or the day after (the budget is adopted) and then you only have a week or so to say whether you're going to (propose raising the tax rate) or not."
In addition to the money the city will receive from new growth, Hendrickson said Eagle Mountain could receive a greater portion of sales-tax dollars from the state if the city is successful at challenging its 2006 population as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Census numbers say Eagle Mountain has a population of about 12,000, but Hendrickson says a more accurate number would be around 20,000.
If the city is recognized as having more residents, it will receive a proportionately larger share of sales-tax dollars from the rest of the state.
"We're in the process of sending in that (appeal) letter (to the U.S. Census Bureau) and asking them to re-evaluate based on the evidence we've given them," Hendrickson said.
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