“Nobody wants to be here tonight. We all have other places we’d rather be,” one senior citizen told Salt Lake County officials. “But you’ve really stirred up a hornet’s nest on this one.”
He was one of hundreds who packed a Salt Lake County hearing to speak out against County Mayor Jenny Wilson’s proposal to raise property taxes by 18.9 percent—a figure that drew audible gasps and murmurs from the crowd as it was repeated throughout the evening.
Salt Lake County, which serves nine cities along the Wasatch Front, operates with a budget approaching $900 million for its general operations and roughly $1.7 billion across all funds. For many in attendance, the question was not whether the county needs revenue, but whether residents—particularly seniors on fixed incomes—are being asked to shoulder too much of the burden…