Midvale finalized its $96.6 million budget for the 2026 fiscal year on Aug. 19, which includes funding to hire in-house building inspectors and renovations to the Public Works Campus. The budget also includes a property tax hike to fund public safety.

Sales tax, the primary source of revenue for Midvale, is projected to see a 1% decrease in 2026, amounting to $113,952 loss in the general fund. 

“We saw some good growth [in sales tax] over Covid, and then we have seen some decline as there's more economic uncertainty,” Administrative Services Director Mariah Hill told the council in August.

The city will not increase sales to make up for the shortfall. However, Salt Lake County raised the sales tax by 0.2%, and Midvale will see a portion of the revenue increase for public transportation, Hill said in May.

The 2026 budget also establishes a new Public Safety Service fund, reserved for spending on policing, animal control, and emergency services facilitated through the Unified Fire Authority.

Midvale resident Ken Harper addressing the city council regarding the property tax increase. (Giovanni Radtke/City Journals)

Property taxes will increase to help cover the public safety budget. The increase will add $67.38 to the tax bill of the average house, valued at $492,000 last year.

Ken Harper, a homeowner who has lived in Midvale for 42 years, shared his concern with the council about the tax increase taking a bigger chunk out of his Social Security check.

“The last 12 months have been the most unsafe part of my life in Midvale,” Harper said, pointing to the city starting to provide free curbside parking to accommodate the “four-floor monstrosity” recently built next to his home as the culprit.

“I risked my life, as contractors were just coming out of my driveway because of cars parked [on the curbside],” Harper said. “Can I expect something to be done to help me solve that problem so that I can feel good that I can get out of my driveway without being hit from cars coming here or cars coming there?”

The city put $32 million toward capital projects. Of which, $21 million will go toward renovations for Midvale’s Public Works division. The department will get a wastewater treatment station, vehicle repair shop and more space for offices and storage.

Construction on the public works facilities will finish up in 2027.

Funds for building inspection will jump by 65% in this year’s budget. Partly due to Midvale starting to hire its own building inspectors in 2025, instead of outsourcing to a third party. Administrator Hill told the City Journals in an email that the city did not account for how long it would take to hire employees and how much new building development would take place. 

“Additionally, we contracted with a new outside inspection service … that was more expensive than our previous contract,” Hill wrote, adding that inspection fees collected from last year and projected revenue will cover the costs for the building department. 

Midvale City Hall’s entrance. (Giovanni Radtke/City Journals)

Spending on telecommunications infrastructure will see a 3% increase, primarily to repay the debt for Midvale’s partnership with the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency, which builds a network of fiber optic cables that connect to homes and businesses in 20 cities in Utah.

Stacy Phillips, who has lived in Midvale for 58 years, asked the council why the city is still paying for its membership with UTOPIA.

“I remember seeing the start of UTOPIA years ago, and eventually it was promised that we would be free and clear of it,” Phillips said. “Then I’ve noticed over the past several years an increase in payments … why are we still paying for UTOPIA? I don’t understand it.”

City Manager Matt Dahl acknowledged the increased payments to UTOPIA, but noted that Midvale is also receiving annual disbursements from the agency to offset the city’s debt payments.

“So it is accurate that the amount is going up, but we are not coming up with new property tax or sales tax revenue that is necessarily covering that.”