Truth-in-Taxation Hearing
For just the fourth time in Canyons District’s 18-year history, the Canyons Board of Education has adjusted the certified tax rate. At the conclusion of a Truth-in-Taxation hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Board voted 7-0 to approve an upward adjustment to 0.005559 in order to collect about $6.9 million in revenue. As part of the hearing, the Board also granted final approval for 2026-2027 budgeted revenues and expenditures, which was tentatively approved in June. In a presentation during the state-required hearing, Business Administrator Leon Wilcox said that $2.2 million generated from the rate increase will cover modest cost-of-living increases for Canyons employees. Under the terms of negotiated contracts with CSD employee associations, .75 percent cost-of-living increases, which will help offset real-wage cuts caused by inflation, would not have gone into effect if the Board ultimately did not approve the rate change after the hearing’s public-input process. Wilcox also noted that $201,000 of the new-rate-generated funds also will be used to hire two additional Career and Technical Education teachers. The new manufacturing and engineering teachers will lead classes at the Canyons Innovation Center, the still-in-development technical-training facility which will be housed at eBay’s former regional headquarters in Draper. The District also plans to use funds from the rate change to accelerate payments on construction bond debt. As debt is retired, Wilcox said, $4.5 million generated by the rate adjustment will be used to address needed school-building repairs without increasing the tax burden on property owners. As a result of the new rate, the annual tax increase for the average home in CSD valued at $770,000 will be an estimated $27, or $2.60 per month. Seven patrons provided input to the Board during the public-input period. For the hearing, patrons could participate in-person, remotely, or by submitting written comments. In addition, President Amber Shill noted Canyons’ cost-cutting measures that have been undertaken in recent years to reduce costs. This includes transferring personnel from the central office to school-based jobs, reducing administrative posts, and consolidating departments. Canyons started informing the public about the proposal to adjust the rate in May, when the proposed budget for the coming school year was made public. Wilcox also presented the budget, which included the proposed rate adjustment, multiple times during regular, public meetings of the Canyons Board of Education. The public additionally was notified of the hearing by newspaper advertisements, tax notices, media reports, information on the Canyons District website and in CSD social media posts.
Patron Comment
The following participated in the Patron Comment portion of the Truth-in-Taxation hearing. Recordings of their comments can be accessed on Diligent.
Mischelle Polish
Richard Moore
Krista Pippin
Joey Cathcart
Anna McNamer
Erika Bradshaw
Benjamin Kiser
