NORTH OGDEN — The planned new North Ogden Police Department headquarters building will cost more than anticipated, like so many things these days, and it’s got city leaders mulling a property tax hike of up to 47.9% as 2023 budget deliberations unfold.

Last week, the North Ogden City Council approved a measure 5-0 boosting the amount to be bonded to help cover the cost of the new public safety building as inflation pushes the cost of building materials up.

“Obviously, we’ll buy what materials we can ahead of time and store them. But that won’t protect us from all the increases that I think will lie ahead,” Phil Swanson, a member of the North Ogden City Council, said last week when officials acted on the matter.

City officials had already bonded for $6.75 million of what was expected to be a facility costing $9.6 million, securing an interest rate of 1.95%. The estimated cost now totals $12.26 million to $12.6 million, though, and the City Council agreed to bond for an extra $2.75 million, probably at an interest rate of around 4% owing to rising rates. Additional funds are to come from city coffers.

“Not based on building a Taj Mahal, based on building the facility we need,” said Jon Call, the North Ogden city attorney. “Just materials are more expensive.”

The additional bonding will create perhaps $200,000 a year in extra financing costs for the city, on top of the $410,000 for the $6.75 million bond. And parallel to the bonding issue, city leaders last week also gave a preliminary OK to a property tax hike for 2023 to help offset an expected budget deficit next year of $500,000 or more, exacerbated by the higher bonding costs. North Ogden officials also approved property tax hikes in 2021 and 2020.

The proposed tax hike for 2023, still subject to additional discussion, would result in property tax revenues for the coming fiscal year of as much as $2.66 million, a 47.9% increase over the $1.8 million the city collected for 2022. Specifics will be subject to a public hearing on Aug. 9 and the figure could be reduced, though it can’t be increased.

“The pitchforks will fly and the darts are coming in,” Swanson said. Next year’s spending plan includes 5.75% wage hikes for the city’s 79 or so employees, among many other elements, which will result in an extra $253,000 cost, according to Call.

In they end, the council voted 4-1 on the preliminary property tax proposal, with Councilperson Ryan Barker voting no. “I can’t accept that type of a rate increase,” Barker said, indicating he’d favor only a more modest hike. “We have to cut expenses somewhere.”

At any rate, Mayor Neal Berube noted that the increase, when spread among the city’s many property owners, doesn’t seem as dramatic as the overall boost. As is, the average property owner in North Ogden pays around $250 a year in city property taxes, and that would increase to perhaps $375 if the hike is ultimately approved, a bump equivalent to perhaps $10.50 extra per month.

“We’re not putting together a Taj Majal budget for operating, but it involves some tough decisions the council has to deal with,” Berube said.

City Councilperson Jay Dalpias said he feels the weight of responsibility in pursuing a property tax hike, but noted the importance of building a new police headquarters building. The new structure is to be built on vacant land adjacent to the existing facility at 515 E. 2600 North, which is outdated and cramped.

“It’s a necessity. It’s a necessity that has been kicked down the road probably longer than it should have,” he said. The project is expected to be the costliest in city history.

Call said he’d be organizing a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the launch of work on the new police headquarters building. “It’ll start happening fast,” he said.

Work should start in July and finish in 12 to 15 months.

Newsletter