Washington Terrace held a town hall meeting on July 28, 2026, to provide educational information regarding a proposed 2026 property tax increase. According to meeting minutes, the proposed increase is intended to fund contractual increases for law enforcement services provided by the Weber County Sheriff Office.
City Manager Tom Hanson stated that the proposed tax rate increase from 0.001590 to 0.001697 would result in a 6.7% increase in property taxes. For a primary residence valued at $430,699, the estimated annual increase is $25.33, while a business valued at the same amount would see an estimated increase of $46.05.
Hanson noted that the city works to maximize grants to lessen the burden on taxpayers, having received over $20 million in grants over the last 20 years. He stated that contracting law enforcement services is more cost-effective than operating a local police department, noting that having a local service would cost three times as much due to overhead.
Representatives from the Weber County Sheriff Office, including Sheriff Arbon, Lt. Sean Endsley, and Chief Josh Guard, discussed the need for additional staffing. Sheriff Arbon noted that the cost per officer rose from $134,000 in 2019 to $194,000 currently due to wage wars and staffing issues. The proposed tax revenue of $98,100 would be used to fund contractual increases for these law enforcement services.
Lt. Endsley stated that insufficient staffing can lead to case backlogs, longer response times, and reduced proactive enforcement. He noted that while enforcement numbers have dropped from 97 officers to 78 deputies since 2013, the population of contract cities has increased by 20,000 people.
Regarding technology, Lt. Endsley and Sheriff Arbon clarified that Flock cameras used in the area recognize license plates and vehicle makes but do not have facial recognition capabilities. Sheriff Arbon stated that Weber County has strict rules and quarterly audits to manage the use of drone and camera technology to prevent misuse.
Mayor Mark Allen opened the meeting by discussing a recent large grass fire in the Terrace that resulted in a fatality and an injury to an officer. The meeting concluded with Mayor Allen stating that both the Sheriff Office and the City Manager maintain an open door policy for resident inquiries.
