“As I’ve talked with residents, every single one has brought up our 166% tax increase,” said Dan Gilboy, one of four contenders.

Growth and development, too, figure big among the candidates.

Aside from Gilboy, incumbents Grover Wilhelmsen and Blair Christensen are vying along with Karen Taylor-Fawcett. Voting culminates Nov. 21 and the top three vote-getters will win election. Kenny Loveland holds the third City Council post coming open but he’s not running.

Here’s a look at the candidates:

Karen Taylor-Fawcett: Taylor-Fawcett is a nurse practitioner for a physicians group. She’s running for public office for the first time.

Distaste with the 166% tax increase approved last year figured in her City Council bid. She’s lived in Utah for 10 years, seven of them in Harrisville.

Had she had her druthers, Taylor-Fawcett, who describes herself as “very fiscally responsible,” would have raised taxes more moderately years back to avoid the large increase last year. Alternatively, she would have spread the 166% hike over three years to lessen the blow.

Big concerns for her are streamlining the approval process businesses have to go through to operate in Harrisville and making sure high-density housing development has a commercial element to help augment the city’s tax base.

She bristles at the seemingly slow pace of development at the former Ben Lomond Golf Course, where a 130.8-acre subdivision with more than 600 housing units is envisioned. Maybe developers should face fines in instances when their plans seemingly stall, she suggests, “because that is really valuable land” and the city doesn’t benefit when land sits unused.

Grover Wilhelmsen: Wilhelmsen is owner and operator of Classical Strings, which repairs, sells and rents stringed instruments. He has served one two-year term on the City Council along with three four-year terms.

His nearly 14 years in office, he says, give him the experience needed for the job. He knows how the city works, he said, and is attuned to the growth and development looming in the city, prepared to help guide it.

“I want to see the future. I want to see a balance of growth and development and maintain our rural atmosphere,” he said. He’s for commercial growth, he said, “but it has to bring in sales taxes” to help diversify the revenue streams entering city coffers.

He’s aware taxes are on the minds of some. “They’re not letting you forget what you did,” he said.

The City Council unanimously approved the big property tax increase in 2022, meant to create the revenue stream needed to keep pace with growth and increasing demand for city services. Wilhelmsen defended his vote for the change, saying if he doesn’t strive for a balanced budget, “I’m not doing my job.”

The situation came to a head in 2022, he said, because officials had put off a tax increase since the late 2000s. He took the view that leaders had to balance financial considerations with the needs of the public.

A big issue for Wilhelmsen is striving for clarity and transparency in dealing with the public. He wants residents to understand the city’s needs and what officials are trying to do to address them to avoid unnecessary surprises. “It’s transparency in having people understand what the city’s needs are,” he said.

Blair Christensen: Christensen, production supervisor for TreeHouse Foods, is finishing his first term, now vying for a second. He’s lived in the city more than 30 years.

“I just want to continue doing what’s best for our community, listen to the public. (I) want to make a difference, want to be part of it,” he said.

A priority for him is luring businesses, small or otherwise, to U.S. 89, the busy road that cuts through Harrisville, in a bid to bolster sales tax revenue entering city coffers and to offset the need for property taxes. Businesses are coming, he said, slowly but surely.

Making sure Harrisville has green space is also a priority.

Dan Gilboy: Gilboy is pastor at Canyon Road Church in Ogden, vying for office for the first time. “I advocate for fresh, innovative ideas,” he said.

Concern over last year’s property tax hike spurred his candidacy and taxes are a big issue for him. “Many of our residents are concerned with the tax increases and the general direction our city is going. As a committed fiscal conservative, my priority is to maintain low taxes while finding innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by our growing city,” he said.

While lowering taxes would be his top priority, next on the list is promoting “transparency and understanding between the City Council and our community,” he said. “Effective communication is vital in ensuring the voices of our citizens are heard.”

Beyond that, he touted the import of promoting community activities. “I would also like to see more community events and involvement, such as farmers markets and food truck nights in our city,” he said.