In short
Mayor Dave Maughan writes about the third point of the four-point plan he presented at the Truth in Taxation hearing: slowing Syracuse’s residential growth rate so the city can avoid a tax increase in 2025. He says he is not asking the council to stop growth, but to be more selective about which residential projects it approves, and to push harder on business development because sales tax starts coming in as soon as a business opens. He cites University of Utah research showing Syracuse has had the highest residential growth in Davis County in seven of the last eight years. He reports 1,005 housing units were already pre-approved by previous councils as of the writing of the article.
Everything else
The growth argument
- The mayor writes that the pace of residential growth has put a heavy burden on residents, and that infrastructure planned for 5 and 10 years out is needed now, before the money for it has been collected. He lists utilities, emergency services, traffic, and other long-range plans as services that are not optional.
- According to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, Syracuse has had the highest residential growth in Davis County for seven of the last eight years. The mayor notes Syracuse is not the county’s biggest city and does not have the most available land.
- He writes that Syracuse has taken on roughly one quarter of the growth in the entire county, and on average 24% higher growth than every other city in the county.
- Previous councils left 1,005 housing units pre-approved as of the writing of the article, which the mayor says is more than double the city’s highest-ever increase in occupancies. He does not expect all of them to be built this year.
- The mayor writes that over the past six years he has hardly seen a residential development application that did not ask the council for additional density, and questions whether the added density has made housing more affordable, given that rent and housing prices are at an all-time high.
- He asks the council to be more selective now, saying it would be less of a burden if Syracuse were the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th fastest growing of the 15 cities in Davis County instead of first by a wide margin year after year.
Why the money arrives late
- Residential property taxes are assessed for the previous year, so new homes do not produce revenue right away. The mayor’s example: a home that gets occupancy in November is assessed the following September for one month of value, and the city does not collect a full year’s value until the year after that.
- He says this timing is one reason he is pushing business development, because the city collects sales tax as soon as a business opens, and businesses generally have higher property values.
Other points of the plan
- The mayor reports the city has captured over $30 million in grants over the last couple of years to offset taxes, and will keep seeking alternative funding and cost-saving measures.
- He writes that the city has taken an aggressive approach to building more business in order to diversify the tax base, and wants a year or two for business growth to catch up to residential growth.
- He closes by citing third-party ratings that rank Syracuse as one of the safest cities and one of the best values for tax dollars per Utah tax watchdogs.
Contact
- Mayor Dave Maughan: [email protected], 801-927-7752.
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