Did you know that Utah is a taxpayer-friendly state? Utah is unique in that it has a process that taxing entities, like city governments, must follow before tax increases can occur. This ensures that taxing entities only increase taxes when it's needed.
Utah Law requires that property tax rates automatically adjust when property values increase or decrease so the amount of money the City of South Jordan receives is the same from year to year. This means even as the City gains more residents to protect and more roads and green space to maintain, the property tax dollars the City can utilize to provide those services remains the same. It also means that tax rates have decreased for South Jordan residents for the last five years.
From the 2000 census to the 2010 census, population growth in South Jordan (71%) far exceeded the population growth of State of Utah as a whole (29%). It has grown even more since then, with the 2020 census bringing South Jordan's resident tally to 77,000.
Just within the last five years, South Jordan has some stunning growth statistics:
- Park acres to maintain increased by 7% and trail miles by 108% since 2017.
- Street miles to maintain increased 46% since 2017.
South Jordan residents have let City leaders know over the last few years through surveys and reaching out to the City that having a safe community is a top priority as well as having clean well-maintained roads and parks. In order to maintain our response times and to retain staffing, our City Council committed to increasing staffing and pay for our public safety personnel.
On May 3, 2022 City Council signaled its intent to increase property taxes and to schedule a Truth in Taxation hearing for August. Once the State approves the date, it will be announced and noticed.
The taxes are to be used to fund the hiring of 11 additional fire department staff, three additional police officers, 13 additional staff in various divisions, as well as on-going pay increases for our police officers in order to maintain the service levels our residents expect.
Learn more about taxes in South Jordan, how those dollars are used and more by visiting our Tax Education 101 page.