As residents of this Utah city oppose a tax increase, mayor warns a referendum would be similar to defunding police and fire

The Bluffdale Fire Department has gone through a couple of transitions in the past decade but still has a long way to go to become a full-strength force.

The department started with volunteers until 2012, when Bluffdale hired its first full-time chief. Though the growing city of nearly 20,000 residents has added another full-time leadership post in the department, the force remains staffed with mostly part-time, front-line firefighters, who, in the chance of a catastrophic event, could be called to other municipalities’ departments, where they carry full-time commitments.

To change this, Bluffdale formed a Fire and Police Protection Fund, a separate special district, and approved a 27% increase in the city’s share of property taxes to bolster its public safety presence. The planned bump would amount to an additional $8.27 a month on an average $694,100 house. And from now on, 100% of the city’s property taxes will go to that special fund.

“These improvements create a substantial monetary commitment that will need to be paid every year,” Mayor Natalie Hall said in a newsletter. “A stable, consistent funding source is critical to pay that cost.”

But, just like last year, when the city proposed a 31% property tax hike to hire full-time firefighters and provide raises for police officers, a grass-roots group, called Bluffdale Citizens for Responsible Taxation, applied to include a referendum on this fall’s ballot to prevent the increase.

Bluffdale officials and group members have shown frustration in public meetings about the planned tax boost, with city leaders arguing the extra money is needed to fund enhanced services and opponents insisting that budget cuts elsewhere can cover the costs.

“Because the tax increase is only in the restricted public safety fund,” the mayor’s letter stated, “signing a referendum against the tax increase is like voting to defund our police and fire departments.”

Group member Tammy Rasmussen explained that after the City Council approved the earlier tax hike, she and her colleagues saw “plenty of instances in the budget” where money could be shifted.

So they collected 1,565 signatures in 30 days, more than enough to put their initiative on the 2022 ballot. In the end, nearly 69% of voters approved the referendum, and the tax increase failed.

‘The money is there’

Rasmussen said it appears the city hasn’t paid attention to voters since that election. The group acknowledges that firefighters have been underpaid for years but wants that problem remedied through rearranging spending allocations, not raising taxes.

“The money is there in the budget,” she said. “But they choose not to make emergency services the number one priority.”

Property taxes don’t generate enough money to cover all public safety expenses, Rasmussen said, so the city still needs to tap its general fund.

“Having that so-called special fund, what they’ve now done is they can still continue to not have emergency services be the number one priority,” she said. “And they can spend money from the general fund.”

She argues Bluffdale could trim costs from, say, events, fireworks and outdoor youth programs to prioritize emergency services without upping taxes. Though some of those programs are embraced by residents, Rasmussen said, public safety “should never be used as bait” to justify higher taxes.

“It’s only appropriate to raise taxes,” she said, “if you have absolutely looked everywhere and turned over every single stone and cut corners everywhere you possibly can and you absolutely do not have any more money.”

‘We are at a tipping point’

A City Council majority approved the tax increase at a truth-in-taxation hearing this month. Council members explained that some funds go to the city for specific purposes, and other expenses, like the rainy day fund, can be tapped for one-time payments but can’t guarantee a constant flow of money for ongoing costs like salaries.

“Every department that we have runs short and is not fully funded,” council member Wendy Aston said. “...We are at a tipping point where we have to either step up and provide service or look at a contractor to provide it for us.”

Council member Jeff Gaston said he wouldn’t vote for the adoption of the final tax rate, citing residents opposing it.

When the referendum passed in 2022, Bluffdale had to slash its budget, noted Bruce Kartchner, the city’s administrative services director. That meant cuts to city events, recreation and technology upgrades — including the layoff of an events coordinator.

That was the only way the city could pay for bonuses and the 9% salary bump to lift entry-level firefighter salaries to $18.17 an hour.

Though the 27% increase in the city’s share of property taxes may seem large, Kartchner said, the dollar amount is fairly low, because Bluffdale has one of the Salt Lake Valley’s lowest tax rates.

“The city does try to be prudent with our expenditures,” he said. “It’s not like we take the raising of taxes lightly.”

Fire chief’s warning

If this tax hike sticks, it would pay the wages for six full-time firefighters and a 5% salary bump for part-timers.

The Police Department, which works in alliance with Utah County’s Saratoga Springs, would receive money for targeted promotions and market-driven wage increases.

Without the higher pay, Bluffdale Fire Chief Matt Evans warned, the city’s fire stations would sit empty in an earthquake or other major emergency because their part-time crews would be called to their full-time jobs.

“But if we hire these six people,” he said, “at least we would have six people that would be dedicated to Bluffdale and be here to help us.”

The Fire Department currently carries a full-time fire chief and a captain, who also serves as emergency manager. The rest of the roles are part time, including three battalion chiefs, 12 captains, seven lieutenants and 47 firefighters.

Evans noted that the question on the 2022 ballot asked voters only if they were for or against a tax increase, with no context of its purpose.

“The citizens asked us to create a separate budget. We’ve done that now, but [opponents] still want to file a referendum,” Evans said. “If these guys are going to fight against that, then they’re not really supporting public safety, police and fire.”

Correction • Aug. 15, 2023, 11:15 a.m.: This story has been updated to correct the cost of the planned tax increase on an average home and the hourly wage for an entry-level firefighter.

Alixel Cabrera is a Report for America corps member and writes about the status of communities on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.