Three people addressed South Ogden leaders Tuesday at a hearing on the proposed hike in the city’s 2019 budget, with just one expressing reservations.

“Long-term, property values are going up,” David Dyer told the officials. “But my income didn’t go up the way my property went up.”

“It’s a lot less painful to have a little stubbed toe than a sledge hammer on your foot,” she said.

As cities and other taxing entities prepare new budgets for the coming year, proposals to boost property tax collections, per state law, are getting hearings before the public. The city of Ogden also held a hearing Tuesday on its proposal to boost property tax collections in the 2019 budget, generating numerous questions and comments from the public. Weber School District officials are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the system’s planned property tax increase, and West Haven officials hold a hearing on the proposed take hike there Aug. 15.

In South Ogden, the city proposes a tax hike of around $310,000 in its 2019 spending plan that would boost property tax collections to around $3.01 million, up from $2.7 million for 2018, according to City Manager Matt Dixon. The extra funds, he said, are meant to keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of running a city.

“It’s going to go to roads and parks and police and fire,” Mayor Russell Porter said ahead of Tuesday’s comment period.

State law gives cities and other taxing entities leeway to increase property tax collections only to reflect new development. To collect additional property tax revenue above and beyond that — as proposed in South Ogden — taxing jurisdictions must first hold public meetings, called truth-in-taxation hearings, to let local residents sound off. The Ogden School District held a hearing Aug. 2 on its proposed property tax hike, generating vocal opposition from many, and school officials voted the increase down.

Most other cities and taxing entities in Weber County are keeping tax collections at levels permitted under state law, so truth-in-taxation hearings aren’t required.

South Ogden officials didn’t take any action after Tuesday’s hearing. They are scheduled to vote Aug. 14 on the 2019 budget, including the property tax hike. The city’s proposed general fund budget for 2019 totals $16.1 million, up from $11.6 million for 2018. Much of the difference stems from the transfer of unspent grant and capital funding from 2018 to 2019, not new spending, according to Dixon.