The Lehi City Council is working to streamline the PARC Tax grant application program, according to a report published August 20. During a work session on August 10, Matt Lee with the Lehi City administration department presented several possible updates to the PARC tax policy based on feedback received during the previous year's process.
Currently, the Lehi City Council divides PARC tax revenues between city parks and recreational facilities and the PARC Community Grant Program, which supports community-benefiting arts and nonprofit organizations. While previous councils set the revenue split at 70 percent for parks and 30 percent for the grant program, council members discussed adding flexibility to this allocation. Council member James Harrison suggested articulating the policy as being up to 30 percent to allow for more funding toward park capital projects in certain years.
Council member Rachel Freeman expressed support for the flexible wording due to population demands for parks and recreation. Council member Michelle Stallings noted that state law intends to provide predictable and substantial funding for these organizations, while council member Emily Lockhart suggested the policy should specify that the tax serves as supplementary funding rather than a primary income source for nonprofits.
The council also debated the necessity of the current PARC tax grant committee, which consists of city employees and community volunteers. The committee currently reviews requests, narrows the applicant pool using a rubric, and presents recommendations to the council for approval. Council member Freeman suggested that presenting these applications during council work sessions could streamline the process and reduce redundancy.
However, council member Lockhart expressed concern regarding moving away from the committee model, noting the importance of resident engagement in an opt-in tax. Matt Lee noted that while the committee does not require a large lift from city employees, it does require significant time from volunteer members.
Additional discussions focused on clarifying policy language regarding whether nonprofits must be physically located in Lehi City to qualify for funding. Last year, the council shifted certain programs from the general fund to the PARC tax budget to balance the city budget, which contributed to no tax increases for Lehi residents this year. Matt Lee will rework the PARC tax policy based on this feedback, with an updated policy scheduled for a September meeting. Applications for the 2027 PARC tax grant program are set to open in November.
