So. Salt Lake Mayor: Increase Property Taxes to Pay Police More
May 9, 2019, 6:37 PM | Updated: 6:38 pm
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — It’s time to increase the pay for police officers and firefighters in South Salt Lake City, says Mayor Cherie Wood.
She’s proposing a significant, 31 percent property tax increase with every penny of the additional $1.6 million in revenue going to the paychecks of first responders.
“I think our first responders deserve something better,” Wood said. “We can’t pay them the least in the valley and expect them to come risk their lives for our families and businesses.”
In her budget memo, the mayor said the pay increase is needed to bring the city’s wages in line with surrounding agencies so that the city can hire and retain experienced employees.
“A recently completed Unified Police salary survey indicates that South Salt Lake officers are paid approximately 15% less than other agencies,” the memo said.
South Salt Lake Mayor Wood
Wood said experiencing the city’s first officer being killed in the line of duty prompted her to make increasing police pay a priority. Last November, Officer David Romrell, 31, died after being hit by a fleeing vehicle.
“Our community needs to say, ‘We appreciate what you risk every day for us and you deserve to be paid a fair wage,’” she said. “At the end of the day it just comes down to doing the right thing.”
If approved, this would be the city’s first property tax increase since 2006. The public will be able to voice their opinions on the proposal during a hearing planned for June 5.
“A typical South Salt Lake homeowner would experience an increase of approximately $71/year,” the budget memo went on to say.
