The Roy City Council adopted a resolution setting the property tax levy for the 2024 fiscal year without a proposed 1% tax levy increase. The increase would have created $875.88 for the city and would have gone into its 2024 budget, according to documents provided to the council at its Nov. 27 meeting.
Resolution 957 passed 3-2. Councilors Jim Rotondo, Yvonne Starks and William Starks voted to pass the property tax levy without the increase, stating that a tax increase, no matter how miniscule, would not be popular in the city, which houses many low-income residents. Councilors Rachel Chavez and Harvey Gilchrist, who both stated during the meeting that the tax increase would be crucial and isn’t a new concept, voted for the increase.
The council deliberated over the resolution during the meeting, coming up with other potential revenue opportunities in Roy should the tax increase be denied. They discussed the possibility of food trucks, a mobile library, selling equipment and creating more community events, as well as budget cuts and decreasing city staff benefits.
“As the cost of living increases, we need to increase because we find ourselves being behind and trying to find money to do things,” Gilchrist said during the meeting. “To be competitive with other towns, to be competitive with finding revenue to pay police and pay people who work in the city, it’s very difficult if we don’t do our part and increase fees and taxes.”
The council also began discussions regarding its 2024 budget, which will now exclude the tax increase, and will vote to adopt it at its Dec. 11 meeting.
