Lehi City News
Lehi mayor proposes tentative budget with tax increase
Nichole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
Mayor Paul Binns opened Lehi City’s budget season with a proposed tax hike.
Building on this proposal, the tentative budget plans to increase revenue by $1,729,474. This will be achieved through increased property taxes.
The average Lehi homeowner would see an increase of $35.52 per year for a home valued at $600,000. Meanwhile, a similarly valued commercial property faces nearly double the change, at $64.58 per year.
As a result of this revenue increase, four city departments—police, fire, parks, and the justice courts—will see their budgets increase.
The largest portion of the increase is for the police department. The department would gain three patrol officers, one new school resource officer, and one records clerk. Implementation of a shift differential pay program is also planned. With these changes, the budget would increase by $730,215.
Similarly, the fire department would receive an additional $621,428. With this funding, personnel pay will increase, keeping wages competitive and aligned with those in neighboring jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, as the city’s park acreage grows, the parks department has requested funding for three additional positions. The result would be a $285,294 increase to its budget.
Meeting the growing demands on the justice court system requires hiring another position. In addition to these increases, this need would be funded by the tax increase.
With these departmental changes outlined, the city council will now begin reviewing the tentative budget. Over the next few weeks, council members will ask questions, culminating in the public hearing for the budget scheduled for May 12, 2026.
By June 30, 2026, the budget must be finalized and approved.
