The pile-on effects of ongoing inflation loom large this year for Salt Lake City’s budget and for regular people who visit or call Utah’s capital home.

Years of inflating costs have meant, for one thing, that proposals for a property tax hike and for substantial bumps in utility rates are not the only ways the city is exploring to keep up with its own rising expenses.

Parking fees on some public lots could go up, too. So could parking fines when you get a ticket. The city is eyeing a brand-new system for licensing short-term rentals as well, along with an associated fee there.

And that’s after city bean counters considered and then set aside two other potential new taxes for this year — while saying those could surface in future budgets.

Property taxes on an average home could rise about $10 a month

Big picture, Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s latest spending plan calls for a 12.5% increase in the city’s share of property taxes, for a bump of $9.87 a month on a typical homeowner’s bill and a $28.74 hike monthly for commercial properties valued at $1 million.

If approved by the City Council, that would bring in $13.5 million for the mayor’s $498.9 million proposed budget for the city’s general fund — a hike Mendenhall says is critical to continuing key services and capital upgrades as inflation and many costs have surged.

Budgeting work this year, the mayor said, “has been especially difficult.”

“It has required months of complicated calculations and a gross cut from every administrative department,” she said, “even as the demand for our services continues to grow.”

As the council starts to pore through the mayor’s proposals, it issued its own budget statement last week, calling the public’s input on this latest 2026-2027 budget “crucial” — whether it comes at public hearings or through surveys, online comments, email or by phone.

“The more we hear from residents,” said council Chair Alejandro Puy, “the better decisions we can make for Salt Lake City and our future.”

The council is enmeshed in budget hearings for the next several weeks, under a deadline at the end of June to get it all reviewed and approved.

Utility rates could go up even more

In what council member Dan Dugan referred to at one point as “a perfect storm,” that 12.5% property tax bump is being sought along with proposed utility rate increases for residents and businesses that would push up costs for water, sewer, garbage, street lighting and stormwater services.

Those hikes — estimated to total about $32 more a month for a home with low water usage — would help to cover required and ongoing capital improvements to many of the city’s utility systems. The increases would break out on the average monthly bill at about $14 more for water; $11 for sewer; $3 for waste and recycling; $2.60 for street lighting, and $1.75 for stormwater.

As this latest budget was being drafted, Mendenhall’s staff also took a hard look at imposing new fees on tickets for events at certain publicly supported venues, including sports arenas, movie theaters and performance halls.

In addition, the administration examined a new transportation utility fee, recently enabled by the Utah Legislature and to be levied for road maintenance and repairs.

Those were both ultimately shelved for now as being too complex to get fully in place for this year’s budget cycle, but according the city’s chief financial officer, Mary Beth Thompson, refined versions of both taxes could be on the table next year.

Parking fees, fines — and short-term rentals

On Tuesday, members of the mayor’s financial team outlined additional fee bumps aimed at bringing more revenue into city coffers, some of those more narrowly crafted to avoid a broader hit to taxpayers.

They include:

• The city’s first crack at licensing short-term rental properties in the areas where those are allowed. That would make for a relatively small lift in city revenues, though, estimated at a total of $177,000 a year.

• Increases in all parking fines, with more substantial increases for safety-related fines, say, for blocking a driveway or an intersection.

• Potentially expanding a parking revenue tax now applied to lots at Salt Lake City International Airport, putting it into effect on other parking lots the city owns or financially supports. That is expected to raise about $500,000.