Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Iron County Commission backs modest 2025 tax increase, cites rising insurance and jail costs
Summary
The Iron County Commission voted to adopt additional property tax revenue for 2025 after a public hearing on the proposed budget. Commissioners said higher employee insurance costs and jail medical expenses drove the change; the average primary homeowner would pay about $35.60 more next year under the proposal.
The Iron County Commission voted to adopt Resolution 2024-10, approving additional property tax revenue for the 2025 calendar year after a public hearing on the proposed final budget.
County auditor Lucas Little, the county's auditor, told the commission that while Iron County did not raise its county property tax in 2024, the 2025 proposal reflects several mounting costs, including an approximately $500,000 increase in county insurance and unusual inmate medical expenses in the sheriff's budget. "There is a proposed increase for 2025 that will be voted on later today," Lucas Little said during the auditor's presentation.
The auditor walked the commission and the public through revenue drivers: steady sales tax, fluctuations in building-permit revenue, and centrally assessed properties shifting tax burdens to homeowners. Using a $418,000 typical primary residence, Little presented the county's estimate that the measure would raise property taxes by roughly $35.60 annually (about $2.97 per month) for an average homeowner; for a similarly valued business the impact would be about $64.72 per year.
During public comment, Robert Comstock said his overall property tax bill had increased "about 30% over the last 3 years" and described strain on retirees with fixed incomes. Commissioners and staff explained the county's portion is one slice of multiple taxing entities and reiterated that property assessments and other taxing bodies also affect a homeowner's total bill.
Commission discussion emphasized constraints on the county budget. Commissioner Paul (serving as chair pro tem during the meeting) said the county's 10% share had not been raised in years and that without the adjustment the county could have faced shortfalls. The commission noted roughly half of the requested increase was allocated to cover higher insurance costs and the other half to address corrections-related medical expenditures.
After discussion, a motion to adopt the additional property tax revenue passed by voice vote. The commission indicated final budget formalities and any further adjustments will be handled at subsequent meetings.
The next procedural step is for the commission to finalize and publish the adopted budget documents and provide the public with the statutorily required tax notifications and appeals information.
