It is the Mayor’s responsibility to make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly with a taxpayer return on investment in mind. By keeping taxes as minimal as possible, carefully prioritizing spending projects, and focusing on increased revenue through responsible growth, we can ensure our city remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
Provo tax revenue has been fairly flat over the last four years. Sales tax is the economic driver of our city, makes up 30% of our budget, and is the biggest source of our revenue. When sales tax decreases or doesn’t keep up with inflation, it puts more pressure on other sources of revenue. We receive sales tax based on population and point of sale: ½% of all sales tax in the state is divided out to cities according to population, and another ½% is returned to cities at point of sale.
Provo is missing out on a lot of point of sale sales tax, and it is vital that we start bringing some of this back to Provo. Here are four things we can do:
1. Vitalize and better support the businesses that are already here. They create jobs, generate revenue, and give our city its unique character. Provo’s Downtown has the potential to be one of the best in Utah, and there is much more Provo City can do to make it a destination.
Let’s bring back the Rooftop Concert Series and do more things like the First Friday Art Stroll or the Antique Car Show that bring people downtown. The goal is to increase access to businesses and encourage more visitors.
We need a vision and plan for Downtown, and this has become increasingly urgent after the wakeup call from the geyser in July. As mayor, I would collaborate with business owners, city plannrs, and residents to create this vision for downtown. Center Street has to be torn up to replace the pipes, and before we do that, we need to know how we want downtown Provo to be. What would be the best configuration? A couple of the questions we could ask are,
- Do we want a center island?
- Would we rather have wider sidewalks, cafe seating, and parklets?
- Do we want to change traffic flow?
- How do we make it safer for pedestrians and bikers
- What are we going to do about parking?”
2. Support the smart redevelopment of Provo Towne Center Mall and East Bay.
3. Make it easier to open and grow a business in Provo by removing the red tape that holds entrepreneurs and business owners back.
4. In areas that are currently underserved, like West and Southeast Provo, change the zoning to allow for neighborhood friendly retail, restaurants, and services.
Susan says:
I try to shop local but I love Costco, what can I say?
Marsha Judkins says:
Susan, you are definitely not alone!! I don’t want Provo to look like Orem or Spanish Fork, and I realize that some of our sales tax dollars will always end up somewhere else. We need to play to our strengths and create a unique and fun feel that will draw people to Provo. Our downtown has great things going for it, and with a little support, can become the destination for music, art, unique shopping, shows, and restaurants. In addition, creating small shopping/service spaces in our communities that need and want them strengthens thsoe neighborhoods by creating a place where neighbors can connect and interact. These are just two ideas taht will strengthen our sales tax revenues and elevate Provo.
Jim Brookhart says:
This is wildly inaccurate. The city was able to confirm 2025 numbers and it was an all time high. $28 million.
Marsha Judkins says:
Jim, the numbers I used were taken directly from the published budgets of Provo City, presented by the Mayor and voted on and approved by the City Council. I know how to read a budget and have been very interested in Provo City’s. When I was told there was a new, unpublished, number for the sales tax revenue for 2025, I checked with Provo’s finance department, and they verified that their published number will be updated from the published number, $27,560,624, to $28,840,095. (The State made an accounting error.) This is great news for the city and is an all-time high, in nominal terms, exceeding 2023’s revenue by over $1 million. I can only be as accurate as is publicly available. I have changed my website to state the the sales tax revenue has been fairly flat, which it has been, especially if you account for inflation.