Midvale council creates public-safety property tax, adopts fiscal 2026 budget; approves deeds and pay scales

Midvale City Council on Aug. 19 unanimously adopted an ordinance establishing a Midvale City public-safety property tax and approved the city’s final budget for fiscal year 2026, after a public hearing and more than an hour of public comment. The council also approved two routine items during an earlier regular meeting: acceptance of two executed quitclaim deeds tied to the 2025 utility and street improvement project and adoption of new pay scales reflecting a 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment.

The council passed the public-safety property tax ordinance (2025-O-13) at a rate of 0.000249 for calendar year 2025; staff estimated it will generate about $940,561 for a newly created public-safety special revenue fund. The council then unanimously adopted Resolution 2025-R-47, approving the city’s final operating and capital budgets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

Why it matters: Council members and city staff said the separate public-safety fund is intended to make spending for policing and other public-safety services more transparent and dedicated, after several years in which public-safety contract costs have grown faster than other general-fund spending. Mariah Hill, Midvale’s administrative services director, said the final budget “reflects an effort to maintain the city's current level of service in these uncertain economic times, including capturing rising costs and making cuts wherever possible.”

Budget and tax details - The city presented a balanced general fund of roughly $27 million for FY2026; staff said the general fund total is down about 13.4% from the prior year primarily because of one-time capital carryovers and the reorganization of public-safety funding into a separate fund. - The proposed public-safety property tax was estimated to raise $940,561 and would be paired with a general-fund transfer of roughly $13.7 million to the new public-safety fund. Staff calculated the tax impact as approximately $67.38 annually on a median Midvale home value of $492,000 (the staff presentation translated that to roughly $5.58 per month for an average homeowner). - City staff emphasized that about 99% of the tax increase is intended for the Unified Police Department (UPD) contract and other public-safety expenses; the UPD contract increase in the budget was described as 3.46% over the prior year’s UPD allocation.

Public comment and council reaction The council opened a public hearing before taking the votes and heard more than a dozen speakers. Common themes included concern about rising property taxes, requests for clearer performance metrics tying increased spending to public-safety outcomes, and requests for more transparent, timely communication about budget details.

- Jerry Schmidt (resident) urged income-eligible seniors to apply for Salt Lake County property-tax relief programs, noting the application deadline: “Deadline is Labor Day.” - An online participant identified as Tyler asked for measurable performance indicators and said he had been unable to find recent Midvale-specific crime statistics on UPD’s site: “could you please share the key performance indicators or metrics that you will be using to track the fund's effectiveness?” The mayor and staff responded that crime and monthly UPD reports are available and committed to making the data and the appropriate links easier to find. - Several residents, including Chad Thomas and Diane Bjornson, urged the council to cut spending rather than approve a new tax; others, including Luke Mains and Matt Bjornsson, said they understood the rationale for dedicating funding to public safety but asked for accountability on outcomes.

Council members discussed the tradeoffs between revenue sources. Several councilors noted that property tax is a stable revenue source while sales tax is more volatile; others said the city has examined alternatives and that the UPD relationship provides services Midvale could not easily replicate at the same cost. Multiple council members reiterated a desire for clearer public-facing metrics tying the new spending to public-safety outcomes.

Other actions earlier in the evening At the regular business meeting prior to the special truth-in-taxation session, the council unanimously approved two additional items: Resolution 2025-R-46, accepting two executed quitclaim deeds tied to the 2025 utility and street improvement project and authorizing the mayor to sign public-entity affidavits for recording; and Resolution 2025-R-48, adopting pay scales and setting salaries for elected and statutory appointed officers to reflect a 2.4% COLA. City staff said the two signed quitclaim deeds specify $10 consideration for each conveyance; staff also requested preauthorization for the mayor to execute substantially similar affidavits for future, substantially similar deeds tied to the project. Staff said most additional temporary right-of-way acquisitions for the project were expected to be accomplished by quickclaim deed; if monetary compensation is required in future deeds, compensation would be at market value and paid from the project budget.

Votes at a glance - Ordinance 2025-O-13 (public-safety property tax at 0.000249 for 2025): Motion adopted unanimously (aye votes recorded for Council members Billings, Glover, Robinson, Brown and Mikolash). - Resolution 2025-R-47 (final operating and capital budgets for FY2026): Adopted unanimously. - Resolution 2025-R-46 (accept two quitclaim deeds; authorize mayor to execute public-entity affidavits and record deeds for 2025 utility/street improvement project): Adopted unanimously. Clarifying details included $10 consideration per recorded deed and a request to preauthorize the mayor to sign future substantially similar affidavits. - Resolution 2025-R-48 (adopt pay scales, set salaries for elected/statutory appointed officers — 2.4% COLA): Adopted unanimously.

Outlook and next steps Council members and staff said they will publish or link UPD crime data and budget metrics more clearly on the city website after requests from residents. Staff suggested residents contact city staff for one-on-one follow-up on specific budget line items. The adopted FY2026 budget takes effect July 1, 2025, and the public-safety fund will be operational under the adopted ordinance and associated transfers.

Ending note: The council and staff repeatedly urged residents eligible for county property-tax relief programs to apply before the county deadline; Jerry Schmidt and staff cited the Salt Lake County Treasurer resources and the Labor Day application deadline during public comment.