North Ogden, Pleasant View, South Ogden and Washington Terrace seek tax hikes
South Ogden City Hall is pictured in June 2020.
Taxes could be going up for property owners in four Weber County cities — North Ogden, Pleasant View, South Ogden and Washington Terrace.
Leaders in the four locales are proposing property tax hikes for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Likewise, trustees of the North View Fire District are also proposing a tax increase.
North Ogden, Pleasant View, South Ogden and the North View Fire District also approved property tax increases last year, while Washington Terrace last boosted property taxes in 2019. The increases are subject of public hearings in August.
Here are some of the details of the proposals from the cities:
North Ogden: The proposed hike would generate an extra $240,477 for the city in fiscal year 2021-2022, boosting overall collections from $1.56 million to $1.8 million, according to figures from the Weber County Clerk-Auditor’s Office. The property taxes on a home valued at $389,000, the average, would go from $218.66 to $252.46, up 15.5%.
City officials are proposing a bond issue of up to $10.5 million to help cover the cost of a new North Ogden Police Department building. Some leaders have said that could necessitate a property tax hike to help cover the annual costs of paying back the funding. But City Councilperson Phil Swanson said the bond plans don’t factor in the proposed tax hike.
A public hearing on the tax plans is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 3 at the North View Senior Center, 485 E. 2550 North.
Pleasant View: The proposed hike would generate an extra $143,303 for the city, boosting overall collections from $857,958, the amount the city could get without the increase, to $1 million. The property taxes on a home valued at $489,000, the average, would go from $247.97 to $289.39, up 16.7%.
Pleasant View Mayor Leonard Call said the increase aims to cover inflationary increases in city costs. He also noted the hiring of another police officer in the city, which creates new costs. “We haven’t heard anything (from the public) yet. We don’t know if we will,” he said.
A public hearing on the tax plans is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 10 at Pleasant View City Hall, 520 W. Elberta Drive.
South Ogden: The proposed hike would generate an extra $413,113 for the city, boosting collections from $3.43 million to $3.85 million. The property taxes on a home valued at $343,000, the average, would go from $454.65 to $509.36, up 12%.
Notably, South Ogden has a fire department, unlike North Ogden or Pleasant View, which boosts the taxes the city needs to collect. The North View Fire District, a separate taxing entity, provides fire protection in North Ogden, Pleasant View and Harrisville.
South Ogden City Manager Matt Dixon noted inflationary increases, including rises in gas prices, in explaining the reasoning for the proposed tax hike. City officials are hoping to “better situate the city financially” so it can focus on areas that need more attention. Moreover, he said, the city “continues to try and be competitive with its employees’ wages and benefits — the struggles of recruiting and retaining not just public safety but parks and public works employees when they can get more dollars per hour working construction jobs.”
Alluding to the relatively modest tax increases of last year and 2018, he said such increases are more acceptable to the public than the larger hikes that might be necessary if the city were to delay hikes.
A public hearing on the proposed hike for 2021-2022 is set for 6:05 p.m. Aug. 3 at South Ogden City Hall, 3950 Adams Ave.
Washington Terrace: The proposed hike would generate an extra $317,376 for the city, boosting collections from $926,098 to $1.24 million. The property taxes on a home valued at $304,000, the average, would go from $272.37 to $365.67, a 34.3% hike.
City Manager Tom Hanson noted that the increase is actually revenue neutral because it will offset a bond issue that the city has just finished paying off. That is, the increase will generate the equivalent to what the city had been paying to cover the cost of a bond issue for a prior infrastructure project that’s just been paid off. Even so, taxes for property owners would otherwise go down without the proposed boost.
Hanson said the increase is needed to help cover rising costs of protection from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, which provides law enforcement protection in the city. He also noted road maintenance costs.
A public hearing on the proposal is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 3 at Washington Terrace City Hall, 5249 S. 400 East.
North View Fire District: The proposed hike would generate an extra $410,392, boosting collections from $2.65 million to $3.06 million. The property taxes on a home valued at $410,000, the average in the district, would go from $197.07 to $227.57, up 15.5%.
David Wade, the district fire chief, said the hike aims to cover inflationary increases. He also noted population growth in the district boundaries, which increases demand for services, and the addition of three paramedics. No one has contacted the district asking about the proposed tax hike, he said.
The fire district, he said, is trying to grow and keep up with demand for services.
A public hearing on the proposal is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at the North View fire station in North Ogden, 315 E. 2550 North.