The annual Davis County budget represents a lot of work and expertise. Every year from summer through fall, hundreds of hours are invested to wisely allocate taxpayer revenue to fund services in Davis County.

One of the duties of every county in Utah is to assess and collect property taxes for various entities and create a balanced budget of projected revenues and expenses. Multiple elected officials have state-mandated responsibilities in this process.

From July through September, County department heads prepare budgets for the next calendar year. These proposed department budget requests are completed in September.

In October, a Budget Committee holds a week of budget meetings to hear and consider the department budget proposals. This committee includes all three Commissioners, the Clerk/Auditor, and department heads from Human Resources and Information Systems.

Human Resources provides wage comparisons and “benchmark” recommendations every single year to help officials compensate employees competitively, in addition to benefits. Davis County employees are eligible for merit increases every year and some years include additional market adjustments across the board.

The budget meetings are governed by the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act and are open to the public. In any given year, total requests exceed projected revenue by millions of dollars. The Budget Committee works thoughtfully making hard decisions as they prepare a balanced budget. The final budget is presented in a public hearing and must be adopted no later than December 31st.

Many residents are surprised to hear that less than 25% of property taxes collected each year goes to Davis County Government for the services provided. The majority of the property tax revenue go to other entities including the school district, cities, fire and water districts, and other services.

Utah’s “Truth in Taxation” law requires the County to hold a public hearing to receive public input prior to increasing the certified tax rate. The tax rate calculation established by the State legislature limits the ability to collect new tax revenues from market value growth alone. In other words, as property values increase, the tax rate decreases such that new revenue is only generated from new growth (new properties/development). Davis County has not proposed an increase to the certified tax rate since 2017.

The right to vote in a free and fair election is one of the most basic civil rights in the United States. Confidence in the election process and its ultimate outcome is essential. Election security and integrity are important topics that impact all of us and recently have been brought into question by many in our community. It’s important for citizens to understand the safeguards in place to protect our elections and know how they can be involved.

If you are interested in learning more about how elections work in Davis County, please reach out to the Clerk/Auditor at ClerkAuditor@DavisCountyUtah.gov.

You may also be interested in joining us for the
Pre-Election Logic and Accuracy Test on October 8, 2021
or the Post-Election Audit on November 5, 2021.

Municipal General Election is November 2, 2021.

Fall is officially here and we are ready for corn mazes, hay rides, pumpkins, caramel apples, and colorful autumn hikes! Here are a few things to do this month in Davis County:

• Visit Cross E Ranch for tons of family fun, including a 14-acre corn maze, food, treats, and other activities.
• Check out Black Island Farms with a haunted corn maze, "Nightmare Acres'', and a new feature this year - zombie apocalypse laser tag!
• See the dark side of our amusement parks and enjoy spooktacular fun and skeletal thrills at Scary Hill and Frightmares!
• Head to Antelope Island on October 30th to view the annual bison roundup! You won't want to miss this highly anticipated, authentically western event.

Click below for all the details and more October events in Davis. Follow Discover Davis on Facebook, Instagram and our blog for more upcoming events and things to do in Davis County!