The Carbon County Commissioners final Open House meeting regarding the proposed tax increase will be held on Monday, November 13 at 6:00 pm to 8:00 at the 450 South Fairgrounds Road. This will be an informal gathering where all county department heads will be in attendance, as well as, the elected Commissioners.
The Open House will feature several comparison illustrations for the public, they will include the showing of various home values, businesses and the current taxes compared to the proposed increase. There will be a ten-year timeline of the county’s budget which could give insight of how the expenses and earnings have contributed to the current budget. Tax payers will be able to share ideas through the suggestion box that will be made available throughout the evening.
The proposal to increase tax was a presentation made by Carbon County Clerk Auditor, Seth Oveson during a regular commission meeting on October 18. He outlined the details of how much each increase would equate to and how the 45 percent increase would be affect every person in the county who pays property taxes. The second proposal shows a 707.36 percent tax increase on the Municipal Services Levy that would be assessed only to county residents outside of the incorporated city limits of Price, Helper, Wellington and East Carbon.
It was after the proposals were presented that tax payers became very troubled and questioned the details of the increases. The commissioners took the concerns of citizens serious and immediately organized two Open House meetings. This was a chance for citizens to share their concerns, get any questions answered and possibly get a better understanding of the county’s current budget.
The public hearing for the proposed tax increases will be held on Tuesday, November 14 at 6:00 pm. It’s at this time taxpayers will be allowed to share comments in front of the Board of Commissioners for an allotted amount of time. County officials will take all of the written suggestions from both open houses, along with the testimonies made at the public hearing to guide them with the county’s budget process.