Weber County sales tax taking effect Oct. 1 expected to generate $13.1M a year

OGDEN — The sales tax hike in Weber County taking effect in two weeks will generate an estimated $13.1 million per year, much of it to be used for transportation and public safety initiatives.

Weber County commissioners in June approved a 0.2 percentage point increase in the applicable sales tax rates in the county, which will boost the overall rate from 7.25% to 7.45% in most cities in the county. In the cities where the 7.25% rate is currently in effect, the increase amounts to an effective 2.8% hike in sales taxes that consumers will pay.

Weber County officials provided only limited information about the increase when they approved it last June, but an informational document prepared by the Wasatch Front Regional Council and supplied to KSL offers additional details. Davis County commissioners approved a similar 0.2 percentage point sales tax hike on Tuesday.

While the Davis County increase doesn't go into effect until Jan. 1 next year, the Weber County increase takes effect on Oct. 1. When approved last June, County Commissioner Gage Froer touted the tax — allowed under state law — as a means of generating new revenue while avoiding an increase in property taxes.

According to the Wasatch Front Regional Council, which aids communities along the Wasatch Front with planning issues:

• The 0.2 percentage point hike in Weber County will generate an estimated $13.1 million in new revenue a year in all in Weber County.
• A quarter of that total, around $3.27 million in all, will be distributed to Weber County's 16 cities for use in transportation initiatives.
• Another $3.27 million will be earmarked for Weber County for use in transportation or public safety projects.
• The rest of the funds, some $6.54 million a year, will also be earmarked for the county, at least initially. The county will be able to use the funds generated through Sept. 30, 2029, as it sees fit. Starting Oct. 1, though, half of the money from the stream will have to be used for transportation initiatives and half will be earmarked for FrontRunner projects in Weber County.

The new tax rate across most of Weber County come Oct. 1 will jump from 7.25% to 7.45%, factoring the rate assessed by the state and other varied elements. In Riverdale, the rate will go from 7.45% to 7.65% and in Huntsville it will increase from 8.25% to 8.45%.

Here's how much additional sales tax revenue Weber County's varied locales will get each year, according to Wasatch Front Regional Council estimates:

• Farr West, $93,569;
• Harrisville, $83,685;
• Hooper, $77,175;
• Huntsville, $9,080;
• Marriott-Slaterville, $60,993;
• North Ogden, $194,712;
• Ogden, $1,179,776;
• Ogden Valley, $45,557;
• Plain City, $70,289;
• Pleasant View, $111,043;
• Riverdale, $311,778;
• Roy, $338,175;
• South Ogden, $211,486;
• Uintah, $15,148;
• Washington Terrace, $72,611; and
• West Haven, $270,851.

Another $127,934 will be earmarked for use in unincorporated areas of Weber County.

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