In its meeting on Aug. 26 — after a public hearing was held on Aug. 19 — the Iron County School District Board of Education approved a modest property tax increase. Despite the district’s efforts to follow the Truth in Taxation process, the Utah State Tax Commission issued a letter on Sept. 19 informing ICSD that it failed to meet a new requirement of the code, 59-2-919(8), which states “A public hearing shall be available for individuals to attend or participate either in person or remotely through electronic means.” Even though the district livestreamed the public hearing on YouTube, which made it available for taxpayers to attend or participate remotely, the tax commission’s interpretation of this requirement resulted in the denial of the adopted certified tax rate.
The school district was informed by the tax commission that over 60 percent of the entities across the state that went through the Truth in Taxation process were also denied for various reasons.