Toquerville council adopts FY2026–27 strategic plan and a truth‑in‑taxation policy

The Toquerville City Council voted April 1 to adopt the city’s Fiscal Year 2026–27 strategic plan and to enact an ordinance creating a truth‑in‑taxation policy to ensure periodic public consideration of property tax rate changes.

Council consideration and vote: City staff presented the strategic plan and the proposed Title 1, Chapter 13 ordinance on property tax revenue and truth‑in‑taxation policy. A council member moved to adopt the strategic plan; the motion was seconded and passed according to the meeting record. The council later moved to adopt the ordinance and explicitly asked staff to add a Utah Public Notice website posting to the city’s required public notice methods; the motion passed.

What the ordinance does: Staff said the proposed ordinance would create an internal trigger to require the council to consider truth‑in‑taxation at least every two years as part of budget preparation. The policy does not itself change the certified tax rate but creates a framework for presenting any proposed tax changes to the public with line‑item justification so residents can comment on specific budget elements tied to a proposed increase.

Why it matters: City staff and councilors framed the policy as a transparency measure designed to avoid sudden, large tax increases and to give the public clearer materials to weigh components of any proposed rate change. Staff noted that the ordinance is a local policy choice rather than a state requirement and that the council could choose a different cadence (for example, annual review) later if it wished.

Next steps: Staff will include the policy and any supporting budget materials in forthcoming public notices and the tentative budget packet; they will present the administrative budget at the next council meeting and identify components tied to any future tax consideration.