Pleasant Grove adopts tentative budget including proposed 16.55% property tax increase to fund public safety

The Pleasant Grove City Council voted May 5 to adopt a Tentative Budget that includes a proposed property tax rate increase estimated to generate an additional $683,088 to support public safety and retention efforts. Finance Director Denise Roy presented the Property Tax Impact Schedule, which reported the city’s current property tax rate as 0.000962 and an estimated increased rate of 0.001121 (a 16.55% increase), and said the change would amount to about $49.97 per month for a primary residence with an assessed value of $570,655.

The council debated alternatives and reserve policy before approving Resolution 2026‑21 on a 3‑to‑1 vote (Council Members Rogers, Phillips and LeMone voting yes; Council Member Williams voting no). Director Roy read the proposed impact schedule into the record and noted that the Tentative Budget can be modified before final adoption; Administrator Scott Darrington emphasized the Council may halt the process up to and including the Aug. 11 Truth‑in‑Taxation public hearing. "The following information is intended to provide decisionmakers and the public with an explanation of how the City's operations would be affected," Roy said as she presented the schedule.

The Property Tax Impact Statement identified the Police Department and Fire Department as primary beneficiaries: without the tax increase, the Police Department would not hire two new officers or provide funding for reserves/retention, and the Fire Department would not hire three new firefighters or provide outfitting funds. The Council also approved companion resolutions acknowledging statutory notice and setting the Aug. 11 hearing date; those measures passed largely on the same 3‑to‑1 split, while a resolution specifically notifying intent to consider a public‑safety tax rate passed unanimously.