Where does Salt Lake County get funding?

By SLCO Township Services

Last month Mayor Ben McAdams submitted his 2015 budget proposal. As each step of the budgeting process moves forward, this week we’ll be discussing where the county’s income comes from.

The county’s main source of funding is property taxes, levied on land, buildings, and some forms of private property (such as business equipment or construction machinery) owned throughout the valley. The county assessor keeps careful records of these properties and their value in order to determine taxable value for each property owner. In June of each year, the County Council adopts tax rates and the County Treasurer bills and collects property taxes.  These funds are then used for county programs such as the health department, economic development projects, infrastructure creation and maintenance, or the administration of county government.

The county government isn’t the only entity that receives funding from property taxes; school districts, and city governments, also levy taxes on property. The Treasurer is also responsible for collecting taxes for other government entities in Salt Lake County.

Salt Lake County also levies sales taxes, including a 0.1% tax for the Zoos, Arts, and Parks (ZAP) program and a .25% tax that goes into the county’s general fund. This means that for every $10 that is spent within the county, one cent helps to pay for arts, cultural, and recreation programs, while two and a half cents are spent on various county expenses.

Most programs run by the county are not self-sustaining and do rely on tax money to maintain current service levels. Examples include Wheeler Farm, Parks and Recreation, Clark Planetarium, and the Health Department. Many of these programs draw part of their funding from fee revenue, meaning that they don’t have to rely entirely on taxpayers for support.

The 2015 Proposed Budget is structurally balanced and does not feature a tax increase. To help maintain structural balance, the few new requests that were included were funded via re-prioritization.