Inexcusable. That is the conclusion after months of studying how Summit County property owners were given an unjust, unfair application of the tax burden, distributed with favor and discrimination. I am currently advocating at the state level for those property owners. The tax valuation process has failed and is not being addressed because existing laws have not been enforced — yet.
As I outline in detail on my website, multiple state laws are in place to protect property owners from what has occurred. I started this quest for answers and accountability by visiting the county offices in Coalville. I met with County Auditor Michael Howard, and Deputy Auditor Jared Brooks, who works as the clerk of the Board of Equalization (Summit County Council). Both were very helpful in explaining their roles and that of the assessor. It was surprising to me that the tax dollars windfall I searched for was nowhere to be found. Most of our taxation increase went to state and local budget increases that were voted on. My question remained: how could my neighbors’ tax bills increase over 100%, when the auditor collected taxes almost 20% more than last year?
Fortunately, Jeff and Theresa Danos bought the county data and shared it with my campaign. We analyzed the 43,000-plus properties in Summit County and confirmed the problem. The valuation process was not carried out lawfully because the tax burden was distributed unfairly, unjustly and with favor and discrimination. Of Summit County properties, 60% received valuation increases and 40% decreased or were unchanged since 2021. Given the macro and micro economic factors impacting county real estate, the increase seemed reasonable. What was unbelievable and illegal is that 34% of properties decreased in value and 6% had no change compared to 2021. The 60% up and 40% down or unchanged breaks the law as written, by being an unjust and unequal distribution of the tax burden. Winners and losers were chosen by the county assessor — voluntarily or involuntarily, it makes no difference. This resulted in a targeted campaign against county citizens and their property. Translated into raw numbers: 25,000-plus properties increased in value while the remainder went down or were unchanged.
I responded to these findings, lack of transparency and accountability at the Tax Summit event at the Park City Library on Sept. 15. This provided property taxpayers an open forum to hear and be heard. There, I presented the inequitable output and used a teeter-totter visual to demonstrate. Utah incumbent state legislators Sen. Ron Winterton, Sen. John Johnson, Rep. Michael Kohler and Rep. Kera Birkeland talked about legislation they are working on to improve upon or change the exiting laws and the Utah Constitution. Holly McClure, who is running to unseat 12-year incumbent and Council Chair Chris Robinson, presented available relief and deferment programs and handed this information to attendees. Heidi Matthews kindly presented the largest line item on our tax levy from the Park City School District. We heard from an outraged crowd with personal stories of assessment increases well into the triple digits. I left more frustrated than ever.
This scenario is one example of why I decided to run for Summit County Council along with Holly McClure. There has not been a choice on the ballot for council in eight years. Without checks and balances, inequitable, unfair and unjust situations increase. I’ve been busy working on the state level to address this local problem. You can voice your concern by filling out the valuation form at jackforsummitcounty.org/project/valuations and see the laws referenced. I will post updates during the advocacy process.
John “Jack” Murphy
Candidate for County Council Seat E