St. George candidates stress prioritizing public safety while resisting property-tax hikes

Candidates for St. George city offices told voters they prioritized public safety spending and have pushed a more council‑driven budget process to avoid property‑tax increases.

Council member Michelle Tanner said one of her earliest stands in office was opposing a proposed property‑tax increase and that the council subsequently funded large raises for public‑safety personnel without raising property taxes. "We voted down that tax increase as well as fully funded our public safety plan," Tanner said. She later described an approach that prioritizes essential services first and said budget growth has slowed since the current council took office: "The first year the budget increased by 3 percent, the next year 1 percent, this year was less than 1%."

Incumbent Natalie Larson described the difference between adopting a tentative budget and later approving a final budget after public hearings; she said the tentative budget vote she supported triggered a truth‑in‑taxation process that led to more detailed public review. Challenger Greg Allred questioned overall city spending and cited the city's size in dollars and population during remarks, saying "we're at $523,000,000" and noting roughly "110,000 of us in our city." Mayoral candidate Jimmy Hughes said the mayoral role is partly to set agenda and public engagement while council members should drive budget priorities.

Why it matters: Municipal budgeting affects property‑tax bills, services and development approvals. Candidates framed budget choices as a tradeoff among public safety, infrastructure and taxes.

What was not decided: Candidates laid out philosophies and past votes but made no binding budget commitments; no council votes occurred at the forum.