Summit County’s 2025 budget is estimated to reach around $90 million, which is a $7 million increase over last year and about $10 million less than what was originally requested.County Manager Shayne Scott and Chief Finance Officer Matt Leavitt kicked off the budgeting process this week with a presentation detailing staff’s recommendations for next year. Requests from county departments increased by more than $17 million between 2024 and 2025, and Scott said it was difficult to trim the overall programming to create a balanced budget — which the county claims it achieved.The $89.5 million total for 2025 includes $49.9 million in the General Fund, $32.7 million in the Municipal Services Fund and $7.2 million in the Assessing and Collecting Fund. It doesn’t include 20 requests for full-time positions, ramping up senior services, funding for housing or master planning other than $250,000 allocated for the regional housing authority or the remodel of the County Courthouse in Coalville.“I don’t want to use the word ugly, but I’m going to: As ugly as the budget maybe looks this year, it was potentially much,much worse. I wanted to put that in the back of your minds that fiscal year ’26 is potentially going to be similar,” Scott said.Funding for many programs or services was pushed off until 2026, when a full year of emergency services sales tax funding can be generated. For example, the hiring of an operations captain in the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, plus dozens of other positions and facility improvements were delayed.Scott explained many people think an increased budget means expenses and spending are too high. However, he said that isn’t necessarily a bad thing if there is enough revenue to support it. “When we talk about budgets going up, there are often associated revenues with those budgets. A good example of that, to me, is the Bike Share. We took on the Bike Share a couple years ago. The Bike Share came with the revenue side as well, so your budget will increase. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars in an increase in expenses because of the Bike Share program. We also have hundreds of thousands of dollars of increase in revenue,” Scott said.The budget increase from last year is also associated with new commitments the county has made. Summit County Chief Finance Officer Matt Leavitt presented the projected revenue sources for next year. Credit: Summit CountyThese include acquiring property and facilities such as the Skullcandy headquarters and funding the Ure Ranch acquisition; the remodel of the Justice Center and Public Works facilities; hiring school resource officers and other school safety amendments; renegotiation of the mental health services contract; the public defender cost for criminal court cases such as Kouri Richins; the possibility of owning and maintaining the Rail Trail; coordinating with the Utah Department of Transportation to address traffic in Kimball Junction; and supporting child care services.“There’s a lot going on,” Leavitt said. “There’s a certain requirement on the county staff and on behalf of the county in order to keep up. So when the county tries to keep up, there’s a related expense to that.”The budget committee also recommended a 3.3% cost of living adjustment for county staff to aid in recruitment and retention efforts. Less than 60% of Summit County employees live in the community, a nearly 10% decrease from 2011.Officials are even considering changes to benefits such as sick leave, bringing a dog or child to work, and remote or hybrid employment.Around 65% of Summit County’s revenue in 2025 is projected to come from property taxes, about $35 million, and sales taxes, almost $17 million. About $7 million would be generated through the new emergency services sales tax if that passed in the general election Nov. 5. Leavitt said that’s because collections would be for a partial year rather than a full year. Between $15 to $17 million could be generated starting in 2026.Officials see the emergency services sales tax as a way to mitigate the estimated $12 million impact from visitors on county services. Summit County voters will decide whether to approve the 0.5% sales tax. Summit County voters will decide whether to approve a new 0.5% emergency services sales tax. The ballot initiative is expected to generate around $15 million, which would offset the $12 million visitor impact on county services. Credit: Summit CountyIf they don’t, the County Courthouse intends to go through Truth in Taxation to raise property taxes by up to 81% to make up the shortfall. Otherwise, officials would have to reduce county services if there isn’t enough revenue to cover the expenses.“We obviously have significant impacts to our community because of visitors. While that’s an important part of our economy, and we appreciate that and embrace it and try to grow it every year, it’s also something that impacts us in the budget, and it’s significant, and it’s been ramped up since COVID, and it’s something we’re trying to mitigate,” Scott said.Summit County has not raised tax rates since 2017. Still, officials will not pursue Truth in Taxation if the emergency services sales tax passes. However, County Councilor Chris Robinson advocated for smaller increases in the future to start a pattern of reviewing the tax rate annually. Chair Malena Stevens agreed.“As the level of service becomes more expensive … then the quality of the service within our county will degrade if we keep funding at the same. The other option is that we could decrease the level of service that we’re providing as a community and go to more basic services,” she said. “But I think if we’re not going to be willing to raise property taxes incrementally or to address that issue through what’s considered to be the most stable funding source, we may be looking at that into the future.”A public meeting regarding the Truth in Taxation process was scheduled for Wednesday. Notices about the potential tax increase will be mailed out to property owners at least seven days before the November election. Summit County officials explained the budget continues to grow year over year because of an increase in funding pressure from various departments. Credit: Summit CountyIf the emergency services sales tax doesn’t pass, there will be tax hearings on Dec. 4 and 11. Budget discussions will continue into December. Officials have until the end of the year to approve the 2025 budget.The post Summit County proposes $90 million balanced budget as funding requests rise appeared first on Park Record.