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Draper council says tax increase needed to retain police, firefighters and paramedics
Summary
Council members said the proposed 21.41% budgeted property-tax revenue increase is aimed primarily at public-safety staffing and pay to address recruitment and retention challenges, after multiple residents raised affordability concerns.
Council members framed the proposed increase as necessary to recruit and retain qualified first responders and to maintain service levels.
The mayor said Draper has not raised property taxes in many years and that public-safety staffing is under pressure: "We are in a crisis level in this country in public safety," he said, describing recruitment difficulties for police and a marketplace for paramedics and firefighters. Council members described meeting with department heads and participating in ride-alongs before concluding the increase was needed to provide competitive compensation.
Council members said the additional revenue is intended to make Draper an attractive place to work for trained personnel rather than to create a long-term expansion of spending priorities; they also pointed residents to the online budget for line-item review.
