What you should know about the “Truth in Taxation Meeting” on August 7 in St. George

The Washington County School District will be holding a “Truth in Taxation Meeting” on August 7 at Dixie High School.

What does “Truth in Taxation” mean? It’s essentially a briefing on a possible “tax increase” for residents of Washington County. I put quotations around “tax increase” because it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be paying more.

To explain what I mean, I spoke to Steve Dunham, who’s the Director of Communications and Foundations for the Washington County School District.

Here’s the proposed tax change in Dunham’s words.

“It’s not going to be a true tax increase on each house. So, what we’re doing is the school district is trying to be more fiscally responsible and pay cash for all future construction. In order to do this, we’re moving our revenue from our debt service levy to our capital levy, which according to state law, must be shown as a tax increase.”

Dunham said they’re asking residents of Washington County to look at their tax statement line item for the local school fund with their 2022 taxes, and then compare it to their proposed tax changes for the 2023 school year.

“In most cases, they [the taxpayers] should not see an increase," Dunham said. "For example, the people I’ve talked with recently, one is seeing a $17 decrease, even though her property tax notices a 44% increase, and another one is seeing a $4 increase. The increase comes because of a change in their property assessed value.”

What Dunham is saying is that it differs depending on the taxpayer, but it will benefit everyone in Washington County in the long run.

“In long term, this is much more in the best interest of the taxpayer," Dunham said. We will pay cash, and we will begin accruing interest on our money instead of paying interest. In 2022, we paid $10.6 million in interest alone on our debt, and we’re trying to eliminate that.”

If you would like to know more about this proposed change for the taxpayers of Washington County, then attend the “Truth in Taxation Meeting” at Dixie High School at 6 p.m.