Written from the meeting recording, not from the approved minutes.
In short: Eagle Mountain's council held a special evening hearing on a proposed property tax increase and then voted on it the same night. A packed room and a full Zoom line produced nearly three hours of comment, almost all of it against the advertised 220% increase in the city's share of the property tax. Afterward the council talked the rate down and voted 5-0 to raise it by 183% instead — about $250 a year on an average home.
Present: Mayor Jared Gray (participating remotely by video, citing a previous obligation); Councilmembers Melissa Clark, Brett Wright, Craig Whiting, Rich Wood and Zac Huish, all in the chambers. No member was recorded as excused.
Staff: Lacie "Lacey" Messerly (city recorder, who ran the speaker list and read written comments), Ben Reeves (city manager), Kimberly (finance staff, who supplied the tax rate and revenue figures), Marcus (legal counsel), Stephanie (recorder's office), Natalie (distributed public packets), Carson (meeting technology), and Sheriff Smith of the Utah County Sheriff's Office, who spoke from the audience at the mayor's invitation.
Decisions
| # | Agenda ref | Motion | Moved / Seconded | Vote | Result |
|---|
| 1 | 4.A | Approve and adopt a property tax rate of 0.001500 for fiscal year 2026–2027, above the certified rate of 0.000530, increasing the city's budgeted property tax revenue by about $5,591,594, or 183.02% over the prior year exclusive of new growth | Whiting / Wright | 5-0 (roll call: Wood yes, Whiting yes, Wright yes, Clark yes, Huish yes) | Passed |
| 2 | 5 | Adjourn | Wood / Wright | Voice vote | Passed |
Settled without a vote:
- The council agreed to bring back an ordinance at a future meeting requiring every future council to review the city's property tax rate each year as part of the budget, after legal counsel confirmed that a council can put such a review in city code even though a later council could change it.
- The council agreed to bring back a separate resolution creating a dedicated public safety fund, after finance staff explained that property tax revenue must first be received into the general fund and then moved by operating transfer; the mayor said both items should be addressed at the next council meeting.
- The council accepted that a temporary increase is not an option, saying state law does not allow a city to raise a rate for a year or two and then roll it back automatically.
- No decision was made about which projects or positions the freed-up sales tax money will actually pay for; the recorder noted that the public hearing on the budget itself is set for August 18.
Meeting map
| Agenda ref | Topic | ~Start (elapsed) | One-line note |
|---|
| 1, 2 | Call to order, prayer, Pledge of Allegiance | ~0:02 | Wright offered a prayer, Whiting led the pledge, and the mayor joined by video. |
| 3.A | Hearing ground rules and packet materials | ~0:04 | Three minutes each, no clapping or booing; in-person speakers first, then online, then email. |
| 3.A | Public hearing on the proposed property tax increase | ~0:07 | Roughly 60 people spoke over nearly three hours; the hearing closed at 9:00 p.m. |
| 3.A | Reading of the property tax impact schedule | ~3:00 | The mayor read the advertised rate, revenue and household impact figures into the record. |
| 3.A | Council, city manager and sheriff respond | ~3:05 | Each member answered themes from the hearing; Reeves and Sheriff Smith also spoke. |
| 3.A | Mayor's data center revenue figures | ~3:35 | Gray reported projected QTS tax revenue and a $5 million road commitment. |
| 4.A | Resolution setting the property tax rate | ~3:50 | Council talked the rate down from 0.0017 to 0.0015 and adopted it 5-0. |
| 5 | Adjournment | ~4:38 | Adjourned at 10:38 p.m. |
Discussed but NOT on the agenda: starting a city-run police department instead of contracting with the county; the tax impact expected next year from the new Lake Mountain School District; data center tax incentives and the municipal energy tax; the widening of Pony Express Parkway; the city's down payment assistance program; a proposed annual rate-review ordinance and a separate public safety fund; road safety measures near schools; sewer and water capacity.
On agenda but little/no discussion: nothing was skipped — the call to order, the pledge and the adjournment were routine, and both substantive items were taken up in full.
What was discussed
3.A — Public hearing: the proposal and the objections
Utah's Truth in Taxation law requires a city to hold a public hearing before charging more than the "certified" property tax rate — the rate that would bring in roughly the same money as last year. Eagle Mountain advertised a rate of 0.001700 against a certified rate of 0.000530. As the mayor read into the record, that would have raised an extra $6,742,938, a 220.88% increase in the city's own property tax revenue, adding about $314 a year on a home worth $488,000 and about $2,988 on an average business property. The affected budget line was the sheriff's contract, rising by about $1.5 million.
That gap between $1.5 million and $6.7 million drove most of the anger. Speaker after speaker said the city had promised that every dollar would go to public safety and only admitted otherwise once residents did the arithmetic. "Eagle Mountain City is proposing a property tax increase with every dollar going straight to public safety, period. So that's a lie, and we all know that now," Duncan Searcy said. Nathan Thornburg put it as a trust problem: "You were either dishonest then or you're dishonest now." Former councilmember Adam Bradley, in a statement read by his wife Melissa Bradley, wrote, "This was never just about public safety."
The second theme was cost of living. Bruno Hunsaker spoke for neighbors on Social Security. Mark Cookston said a $27-a-month Social Security raise was already wiped out by a $250 county tax increase last year. Cheryl Carr, 71, said she and her husband would have to sell and move. Shawna Clark said she earns $16 an hour and has a daughter and four grandchildren living with her. Denver Dorrell described a daughter with repeated Life Flight trips and a son whose bleeding was stopped by a deputy — and said the increase would still break his single-income household.
3.A — Public hearing: alternatives residents offered, and the voices in favor
Residents did not just object; many proposed other places to look. Several pointed to impact fees on new construction, including Dave Bresheenahan, who said he helped write impact fee law as a legislator. Steve Campbell asked whether the city had pursued federal grants. Many asked for a phased increase instead of one jump — Michael Carey proposed a three-to-five-year plan with published outcome measures, and Joel Anderson worked out an alternative that would add three deputies rather than seven and land near an 8% increase. Alex Washburn, online, said he supported raising about $1.5 million to cover the 2027 sheriff's contract and nothing beyond it without a clear list of what the rest funds.
Data centers came up repeatedly. Joy Rasmussen and others cited large property tax incentives given to Meta and later projects and argued the city had traded away revenue it now wants from homeowners. Megan Streeter said the city should "stop acting like we need the data centers and start acting like they need us." Zeke Magdaleno and Michael Valentini, who both work on the sites, described the scale of construction underway. Anthony Wood argued the city should look at Eagle Mountain's low crime rate rather than officers-per-thousand comparisons, and raised the roughly $1.13 million the city lost to a scammer in 2022.
A handful spoke in favor. Matt Everett called 220% "a direct reflection of poor management and leadership" over 15-plus years but urged the council to pass it anyway. Jeff Ruth described calling for a deputy and being told only two were on duty. Charlotte Dukos, who attends most meetings, said the line-item budget is already online in a 200-page document and that the city has run lean for years — while also urging a smaller, phased number. Tony Castillo, a roofing contractor, backed an increase while saying 220% was shocking. Mark McConkey used his time to ask for something else entirely: a cost study for a city police department, arguing Eagle Mountain is the largest city in Utah without one.
3.A — Public hearing: how the council, city manager and sheriff answered
After closing the hearing at 9:00 p.m., the mayor gave each member time to respond. Huish opened with an apology on communication — "we failed you" — and said he had produced a podcast at his own expense to add context. Wood was blunter still about the past: "I think we're here because of your irresponsibility. You left this big pile for us," he said of earlier councils that did not raise water, sewer or property rates. Whiting told residents skepticism of government is healthy and asked them to stay for the explanation. Wright said the easy path would have been to do nothing and keep cutting services, and disclosed he is in his fifth year and will not run again. Clark said she had spent weeks looking for savings and that the real question was what to cut.
Huish also explained why the "100% public safety" message had been so narrow: the application filed with the state was built around covering the sheriff's contract entirely with property tax, and departing from that application would have disrupted the process. He then listed what the freed-up money had been contemplated for in budget sessions — about $525,000 to bring staff to 90% of median pay, and roughly 18 full- and part-time positions, 13 of them tied to parks, open space and trails, plus a streets operator and several engineering and operations roles.
City Manager Ben Reeves said city staff is about a third the size of comparable cities' and that crews have been working "with basically an arm tied behind their back." Sheriff Smith said the deputies assigned here are among his best, that they run call to call, and, "we're not asking for anything that's not needed out here. It is definitely needed. Actually, more is needed." The mayor closed the segment with figures he said came from QTS: the buildings under construction and planned would generate more than $19 million a year across local taxing entities, including about $2.7 million to the city at the current rate and $10.4 million to the new Lake Mountain School District. He added that QTS declined incentives on its next two buildings and, after one phone call, agreed to pay the full roughly $5 million cost of widening Pony Express Parkway.
4.A — Resolution: setting the rate at 0.0015
The resolution was the actual decision: whether to adopt a rate above the certified rate for fiscal year 2026–2027. Clark opened by pointing out the line-item budget already exists online for this year and prior years, and the mayor drew a distinction the council returned to all night — that everything had been done in open meetings, so the failure was communication rather than transparency. Whiting then made the case that the "100% to public safety" statement was literally true but badly explained: property tax would become the pillar holding up public safety, freeing the sales tax now propping it up for other work — school-zone speed tables at $70,000 to $80,000 each, a speed study already underway, and road capacity. He added that the city charges the maximum impact fees state law allows and cannot tax data centers at a separate rate.
Wood said his reason for supporting a rate at all was stability: sales tax collapses in a downturn, and the need for police does not. He said the city has never had a five-, ten- or twenty-year financial plan, and put the master transportation plan's cost at $419 million by 2035 for Eagle Mountain's share alone. Clark named her top three capital priorities as safe roads to schools, expanding a sewer treatment plant already at capacity for load, and water infrastructure — noting the city asked residents, schools, churches and businesses not to water over the Fourth of July week, and that tanks must stay full to fight wildfires.
Huish then argued the advertised number was too high. Benchmarking against Saratoga Springs and the county, he said he could not support 0.0017 and floated 0.0011 as a bare minimum, noting the city is currently the second-lowest rate in Utah County. Others converged toward the middle; Whiting, who had written to a resident weeks earlier that he expected to end below 220%, said he had been looking at about 0.0015. Kimberly ran the numbers: $5,591,594 in new revenue, a 183.02% increase, which Huish described as roughly 70 cents a day for an average household. Whiting moved that rate, Wright seconded, and it passed 5-0 on a roll call.
Notable moments
- Applause got a warning. After the first speaker finished, the room clapped; a councilmember reminded people the mayor's rules barred it and said further outbursts would mean being asked to leave. Duncan Searcy answered from the podium a few speakers later: "I don't think our First Amendment rights care much about his decorum."
- A former councilmember spoke through his wife. Melissa Bradley gave her own comment, then returned to read Adam Bradley's statement. When she tried to add a personal note at the end, she was told she did not get to speak twice.
- A records request became part of the debate. Joy Rasmussen said Alex Washburn's public records request had been denied and priced beyond what he could pay. Washburn, speaking online, said an hour-long meeting the previous day with Mayor Gray, the city manager, Councilmember Clark and finance staff "genuinely changed my understanding of several things" — and he still asked why fully funding the sheriff through property tax was the right policy.
- One resident changed his mind on the record. Jacob Moore said he had strongly opposed the increase until he understood how Utah's revenue-driven system works and that the 221% applies only to the city's slice — about 12% of a typical total tax bill. He still asked for a smaller number.
- The sheriff defended deputies taking breaks in public. Responding to comments about seeing patrol cars at convenience stores, Sheriff Smith said he would rather deputies spend downtime out in the community than back at the office.
- A Civil War analogy closed the case for the increase. Whiting recounted the defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg and the bayonet charge, then said: "Sometimes leadership requires leading people to a place they do not want to go because we see a vision that we know we must obtain."
- Councilmembers were told, repeatedly, they would be voted out. Tracy Perretta said she would spend her time getting Clark and the mayor out of office. Daniel Lob said passage would be "a death knell." An email from Ethan Neal, read into the record, said he would make it his mission to publicize how each member voted.
- The state legislature loomed over the timing. Several speakers, including Chris Waldron and Kristen Meyer, said raising taxes now because the state might cap increases later is not an ethical reason. Councilmembers confirmed a cap bill was floated and defeated and said they expect it back, along with an effort to spread the municipal energy tax from data centers across other cities.
- Wright announced he is leaving. "I've started into my second term. This is my fifth year. I'm not going to rerun," he said, framing his vote as free of re-election calculation.
- The mayor's absence was itself a comment. Mark Espinoza told the council, "I wish he was in front of us looking at all these people here," while several others thanked the city for keeping the remote option open.
About this transcript
The recording was made from speech-to-text, so proper nouns are the least reliable part. Councilmember Zac Huish appears throughout as "Hewish" or "Dewish"; City Recorder Lacie Messerly appears as "Lacey." Resident names were read aloud from sign-in forms and are approximations: "Shedrick D. Shermond" was corrected on the record to Cedric DeChermond, "Joseph Pill—" to Joseph Pedlow, and "Daniel Lamb" to Daniel Lob. "Dave Bresheenahan," "Tracy Perretta" and "Steve Pereda" (who identified each other as spouses), "Charlotte Dukos"/"Duco," and "Zeke Magdalio"/Magdaleno are all rendered inconsistently. Place names suffer too: "Lehigh" is Lehi, and "Corey Ride," "Quarry Ride" and "Cory Bee Ride" all appear to be Cory Wride Memorial Park.
Attribution during the public comment period is solid, because the recorder called each name before the person spoke; the transcript now carries those names, taken from the call-out before each speaker. The five council responses are equally firm — the mayor hands off to each member by name — as are the city manager's and the sheriff's remarks, which he invites by name. After about 03:42, when members begin interrupting each other and nobody is introduced, the transcript is deliberately left unlabeled. Where a voice could not be tied to a specific member — including the councilmember who enforced the no-clapping rule — this summary says "a councilmember." Two staff members, "Kimberly" and "Marcus," were referred to only by first name; their roles are inferred from what they were asked to answer.
A few numbers were garbled mid-sentence and have been reported as read: the sheriff's contract budget change was stated as "$1,507,000. $939," and speakers alternated between 220% and 221% or 210% for the advertised increase. The mayor also misspoke the time twice near the opening and corrected himself. Some late-arriving emails were summarized rather than read in full, and one written comment was declared inappropriate and not read aloud.