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Show Many Davis Taxes Drop This Year, But Wait Till Next Year By GARY R. BLODGETT Davis County's ten largest communities can sigh with relief this year. Property taxes in all ten cities dipped below the 1979 level. BIT BEFORE YOU lean back in the lounge chair counting your blessings for having low taxes, keep in mind that there is a drive on to have each of the state's 29 counties re-evaluated bringing them up to 20 percent of the 1978 assessed valuation. And Davis County is one of those counties coun-ties that has not yet been reappraised. When it is, there's no question that it will be higher than the present valuation from which county property taxes are based. BOUNTIFUL, THE largest of the ten cities included in the report from the Utah Foundation, a non-profit research organization, organi-zation, shows a tax decrease this vcar of 2.49 mills. Bountiful's overall property tax including in-cluding county, school district and special districts as well as the city mill levy was 73. 10 mills for 1980. This compares to 75.59 mills for the previous year. OVER THE YEARS, for various reasons, property taxes have fluctuated tremendously. Bountiful, for example, had only 57.0 mills in 1950. This was increased to 85.85 mills ten years later and a near-high 89.75 mills in 1970. In 1975, however, the mill levy total dropped to 60.16 and then steadily rose to 75.10 in 1979. The mill levy reduction this year stems largely from the lowering of county and city mill levies while most other levies remained about the same. Local school taxes, too, dropped about one-half mill while special district taxes showed the only increase, jumping from 5.51 mills to 7.59 mills. A STUDY OF the total tax rate imposed in 68 major Utah cities that were not reappraised reap-praised this year, the overall rate rose in 55 cities and declined in only 13 cities. The reports indicated that the average increase in these cities (including the ten Davis County communities) was 3.28 mills, from 69.58 to 72.86 mills. But despite 1980 s increase, the study also noted that the overall tax rate in Utah has been reduced by approximately 15.88 mills since 1970 but that total dollar in come is higher because in most instances during the past decade the increased valuation valua-tion has offset the reduction in mill levies. OF THE 35 school districts located in the 26 counties not affected by the reappraisal program this year, 23 increased their levy, seven lowered their levy and five had no change in the mill levy. The average increase in the 23 districts that boosted their mill levy, the average was 3.28 mills, for the most part offsetting a four-mill reduction in the state's basic school levy as required by the 1979 Utah Legislature, the study explained. DAVIS COUNTY was last appraised in 1975 and is due for reappraisal in the next few years, according to the State Assessor's Asses-sor's Office. Park City has the lowest mill levy of the 68 cities included in the Utah Foundation report, 41.36 mills. This is a tremendous decline from the 1970 mill levy of 110.45 mills, and is considerably lower than the 89.44 mills assessed in 1979. RICHFIELD is close behind with 44.81 mills in 1980, a substantial drop from 72.10 mills in 1970 but higher than the 36.12 mills of 1979. The latter mill levy was the lowest of the 68 reporting cities since 1950, according to the report. Three of the 29 counties were reappraised reap-praised this year and were not included in the report. Of t e 26 remaining counties, all were lower than in 1979. the report noted. OF THE 26 cities. 17 saw county-imposed county-imposed taxes increased, six were lowered and three remained unchanged. Of the 204 cities. 82 municipalities increased taxes, 16 reduced the mill levy, and 106 left the tax levy unchanged. Centerville's 1980 tax levy is 71 .49 mills, compared to 73.86 mills a year ago. Other cities listed in the report, also in alphabetical alphabetic-al order, are: CLEARFIELD, 77.77 mills (78.92): Farmington. 77.84 mills (79.94); Kaysville. 72.38 mills (73.98): Layton. 76.45 mills (77.49); North Salt Lake. 72.99 mills (75.38); Sunset. 77.30 mills (78.45): Syracuse. Syra-cuse. 66. 10 mills (67.25): and Woods Cross. 69.49(71.86). The Utah Foundation report said the average av-erage mill rate of cities in Utah for 1980 was 72.86 mills. |