In a private utility, the "profit" portion of revenue is turned over to shareholders. Brigham City Public Power is a public utility, so the taxpayers are the "shareholders." BCPP aims to charge rates comparable to a private utility and turn the "profit" back into the general fund through the transfer. This does at least two things:

It benefits the community by making up a significant portion of the general fund, thus allowing the City to provide the services it does without raising property taxes as much as they otherwise would need to; and
It means that property owners who do not pay property taxes (government entities, school district, nonprofits, etc.) contribute in some way to the general fund because they DO use water, power, sewer, etc.

The utility transfer has allowed Brigham City to keep property taxes relatively low and still offer a pretty high level of services. In 2021, the average home in Brigham City was worth about $363,000 and paid about $360 to Brigham City for property taxes. And in that year, the City transferred about $4 million from the utility fund to the general fund. To make up that $4 million difference if we stopped doing the transfer, the City would have needed to increase its property taxes by 241%, which means the average homeowner in Brigham City would have paid $867 in property taxes, an increase of $507. If this same average homeowner were to reduce their utility bills by 15 percent over a year, it would only decrease by about $350. In other words, the utility transfer shifts part of the tax burden away from residents.

The City could definitely do away with the utility transfer AND opt to not raise taxes. It would just be a matter of determining which services should no longer be available. Finance Director Tom Kotter explained this really well in the Truth in Taxation hearing on August 11, 2022, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3arS-emHpQ.

For many years, the city transferred 15 percent of utility revenue to the general fund. In the last two years, that amount has been decreased to 12 percent.

We encourage all residents to get involved by attending City Council meetings or watching them online, giving feedback to council members (see https://www.bcutah.gov/page/mayor-and-city-council for phone numbers and links to contact forms), running for office, etc. We work better when people are informed and involved.

I'd Like to Know...

Fees and Money

Why do our utility bills go up every August?

How do we know Brigham City is honest in its use of taxpayer dollars?

Why does the city transfer money from the utility fund to the general fund each year?

What are all the fees on my utility bill?

Development

What's going in on 1100 South?

What other projects are being built?

Why is the city building so many apartments?

Why does the city let so many Subways and 7-Elevens be built?

When will Brigham City get a Lowe's/Target/Home Depot/etc.?