Cottonwood Heights homeowners could see their city property tax bills jump by 42% if the council approves a proposed levy that would generate $3.5 million in new annual revenue. The council will vote on the increase at a public hearing Tuesday, August 11, at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2277 E. Bengal Blvd.

The formal notice, posted Thursday, July 16, by City Recorder Tiffany Janzen on the Utah Public Notice website, sets the stage for what would be the city's largest property tax increase since incorporation, based on city records. Cottonwood Heights has raised property taxes only twice before: 2% in 2010 and 13% in 2018.

The proposed increase is driven by a projected $2.6 million operating deficit after more than six years of shortfalls, according to a May 4 report in the Cottonwood Heights Journal. Finance Director Scott Jurges told the Journal that inflation has outpaced the city's revenue. "Expenses keep going up. Something that used to cost $100, is not $106 or $107 now; the cost is more like $110," Jurges said in May.

To close the gap, the council asked every department to identify at least 15% in expense reductions. The city has already eliminated its culture manager ($110,000) and culture coordinator ($100,000) positions and implemented a hiring freeze. Additional positions under consideration for cuts include a city planner, a staff engineer, two detectives, and an animal control officer, totaling roughly $786,000 in potential savings.

The Cottonwood Heights Police Department is already down three officers and will not fill at least two of those vacancies.

Mayor Gay Lynn Bennion told the Journal in May that staff turnover compounds the budget pressure. "It costs the city when we have to lose and rehire people," Bennion said.

A seven-member volunteer Citizen Budget Committee formed at the council's request warned in a written statement that a tax increase alone won't solve the problem. The committee called for "a clear multiyear strategy" and said a tax hike without addressing long-term maintenance needs would be "the equivalent of slapping a Band-Aid on a gushing wound."

The council adopted an interim budget, a Property Tax Impact Schedule, and a proposed tax levy on Tuesday, June 16, setting the legal framework for the August 11 hearing. If the council approves Ordinances 2026-471 and 2026-472 that evening, the final budget takes effect immediately and the interim budget expires.

Residents who want to weigh in have three options: speak in person at the hearing, join via Zoom webinar at https://cwh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XG4SCZCyThC-ZBuUJfWf7Q, or submit written comments through the city's public comment portal at https://www.cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/your-government/public-comment. Written comments received before noon on August 11 will be distributed to the council and included in the public record. Each speaker gets three minutes.