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Finance director: assessed-value growth offsets mill-levy cuts but gas tax still falls short of street needs
Summary
Park City’s finance director reported year-to-date increases in assessed valuation and sales taxes that offset a two half‑mill reduction in the mill levy, while gas-tax revenues remain far below street funding needs; she noted temporary notes boosted interest income in 2024.
Park City’s finance director reported to the council Oct. 14 that higher assessed valuation and stronger sales-tax receipts have offset council decisions to lower the city’s mill levy by a half‑mill in 2024 and another half‑mill in 2025, but gas-tax receipts remain inadequate to fund the city’s street program.
“Let’s start with the tax distribution sheet. It provides the current year to date collections as well as the annual amounts received in the prior five years,” the finance director told the council, then explained the effect of the council’s two half‑mill reductions: roughly $133,620 less levied for the 2024 budget and about $145,187 less for 2025.
Why it matters: The city’s rising assessed valuation and increased sales-tax collections have mitigated revenue losses from the mill-levy reductions, but the council must still fund street maintenance from other sources because gas-tax revenue — set per gallon and unchanged since 2003 — does not cover streetwork costs.
Details reported by finance staff: - Mill-levy reductions: council reduced the mill levy by 0.5 mill in 2024 and another 0.5 mill in 2025, producing estimated decreases of $133,620 (2024) and $145,187 (2025) in property tax levies. - Sales and county sales tax: year‑to‑date collections through September 2025 were higher than comparable months in prior years; several months in 2025 set record highs for receipts in the ENCODE system. - Transient guest tax: the third quarter 2025 payment was $116,605; staff identified approximately $28,000 in late 2024 collections that were remitted to the state in 2025 and deducted those to normalize comparisons. - Gas tax: the city received three quarters of state and county gas tax payments totaling roughly $256,030. The finance director stressed that the gas tax only covers a fraction of street costs; the 2024 budgeted street improvements were $1,250,000 compared with only about $341,374 in gas tax collections. - Interest income and temporary notes: the city issued temporary notes — $26,900,000 in 2024 and $7,695,000 in August 2025 — that increased cash on hand and produced higher interest income (2024 interest income totaled $1,260,608; the first nine months of 2025 produced $883,985).
Staff noted spending pressures continue: “Please remember, the increase in revenue comes with increases in our costs as well. Streetwork, sidewalks, vehicles, equipment, labor — everything is getting more and more expensive,” the finance director said.
What’s next: The finance director answered council questions and offered to provide more detailed monthly breakdowns on request. She also reminded council that certain distributions — notably the last two tax distributions for 2025 — had not yet been received and could change final tallies.
Attribution: Finance director (Dee) presented the report and provided the figures and explanations recorded here.
