TODAY, WE COVER…
- Fire safety message
- Highlights from this week’s County Council meeting including the Emergency Services Sales Tax and a presentation celebrating Civic Health from the Health Department
- A reminder to look out for your Notice of Valuation in the mail
- The 2024 Summit County Fair
- Updates from the Sustainability Department
Alright, let’s get into the news!
TOPIC 1: FIRE SAFETY MESSAGE
Summit County has seen four wildfires in the last week. With conditions remaining hot and very dry, it’s so imperative that we all follow our local fire restriction orders and continue to practice our fire sense.
Here in Summit County, the use of any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition, or exploding targets is prohibited on unincorporated and state land within the County. Any of the above acts is a violation of state law and is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
For tips on fire sense best practices, visit https://utahfiresense.org.
As always, you can text SCFIREINFO to 888777 for updates on Summit County’s fire outlook and conditions, Red Flag Warnings, prescribed burns, active fire updates & more.
We’d also like to take a moment to express gratitude to our first responders, including our local fire agencies, Sheriff’s Office, and the Summit County Public Works Department, who act quickly to make sure our residents and their property remain safe.
TOPIC 2: EMERGENCY SERVICES SALES TAX
At this week’s County Council meeting the Council approved a ballot proposition that will pose the question to Summit County voters during the November General Election if they want to approve a .5% sales tax increase to help the county mitigate the impacts of tourism on residents.
A .5% increase on sales tax is the equivalent of one penny for every two dollars spent. The tax is not applicable to gas/diesel, medical prescriptions, groceries and unprepared foods.
Approximately 65% of sales tax revenue is generated by non-residents, which means nearly two-thirds of the revenue generated from this tax would be paid by visitors.
Revenue generated from the Emergency Services Sales Tax could support these emergency response services in Summit County:
- Emergency Medical Services
- Search and Rescue
- Law Enforcement
- Fire Protection
…and other vital services impacted by tourism, such as solid waste collection and the Three Mile landfill cell expansion.
If approved by voters in November, the tax is in place for 10 years. Summit County Council cannot raise or alter the tax without voter approval.
TOPIC 3: HEALTH DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION (ISAAC)
Also at this week’s County Council meeting, Kendra Babitz, Deputy Director of the Summit County Health Department, gave a presentation on the county’s civic health, which refers to the specific health conditions that support local health and wellbeing.
There is a saying out there that says your zip code matters more than your genetic code when it comes to length and quality of life. This is because there are more factors to health than just your health care! Things like your behaviors, your physical environment, and socioeconomic factors along with age, race, or ethnicity also play a huge role in your overall health. These factors are often called social determinants of health.
A healthy geographic area, like Summit County, achieves great health outcomes by coming together as a community at an individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community level to influence public policy and social drivers. The Summit County Health Department works on all of these levels to ensure the health of our community.
In the state of Utah, Summit County ranks number one in the areas that most influence social determinants of health including: tree canopy where people live, work and play, number of people with a bachelor’s education or higher, good hardship index score which is a measure of economic conditions based on crowd housing, dependency, education, income, poverty and unemployment.
We are also number one in areas related to mental health. In fact, here in Summit County, 93.2% of adults report that they always or usually have the social or emotional support that they need. No county in the rest of the state comes close to this data point. In addition, our physical health is in the top 1%.
Overall, Summit County is in the 88.5 percentile of a healthy county.
Shout out to our Health Department, County Council, Board of Health, County Management, all the partners in the community and our staff. Summit County wouldn’t be the healthiest place to live in Utah without you!
TOPIC 4: NOTICE OF VALUATION IN MAIL
Summit County Residents should keep an eye out for their Notice of Valuation statement in the mail. They were sent by the Summit County Auditor’s Office last week.
There is a 45-day window of opportunity to review your property. As the taxpayer, you should be watching for market changes and whether your property is coded correctly, and receiving any exemptions that may be available.
If you have questions on your property valuation information, please visit summitcountyassessor.org.
If you have questions on how to appeal your property’s value through the Board of Equalization, please visit summitcounty.info/boe.
TOPIC 5: SUMMIT COUNTY FAIR
The 2024 Summit County Fair is finally HERE! Fair activities kick off tomorrow, Saturday, August 3, with the Demolition Derby happening at 7 PM!
Other key events include:
- Youth Pet Fest on Wednesday, August 7 @ 1 PM
- Little Buckaroo Rodeo on Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 @ 6 PM
- Jr. Livestock Auction on Thursday, August 8 @ 12 PM
- PRCA Rodeo Night 1 on Friday, August 9 @ 8 PM
- Parade on Saturday, August 10 @ 10 AM
- PRCA Rodeo Night 2 on Saturday, August 10 @ 8 PM
For a full schedule of fair activities, please visit summitcountyfair.org.
Please note: the Fair is not hosting any events or vendors on the freshly planted grass at the fairgrounds. They have instead moved the entertainment tent, carnival and food vendors to the fields to the east, across the creek. So, while it will look a little different this year, you can still expect the same fantastic Summit County Fair!
TOPIC 6: CONCERT SERIES
Speaking of fun events happening in the county this month, in case you missed it, Summit County is proud to be presenting Rodney Atkins in Concert on August 17th at the Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena. All tickets are $15! Buy yours today at summitcounty.info/rodneyatkins.
TOPIC 7: SUSTAINABILITY UPDATES
Finally, we have a few updates to share with you from our Sustainability Team:
Are you looking for a place to charge your car in the Kimball Junction area? Check out the new fast chargers at the Kimball Junction Transit Center (behind the Kimball Junction library branch!). These four new “Electrify America” brand chargers are owned and operated by Rocky Mountain Power. They were installed thanks to a partnership between RMP, High Valley Transit, and Summit County.
Are you interested in finding out how your home may be wasting energy and therefore…money!? You can now check out a FREE energy detective kit from any Summit County Library branch. Whether you are a homeowner or a renter, this interactive kit can help you find where energy and money are being wasted in your home.
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