Summit County Selling About $92M in Bonds for Snyderville Basin Improvements

Summit County completed a bond sale of roughly $92 million to finance transportation and infrastructure improvements on the western side of the county, financing officials said. The bonds, authorized last year for up to $99 million by the County Council, landed below the original cap as staff adjusted the issuance to match project needs and current economic conditions.

County Finance Officer Matt Leavitt said the county expects an interest rate near 4% over a 21-year term for the debt. The financing is being implemented as a two-part strategy: the bond issuance provides immediate capital to build roads, transit upgrades and other infrastructure in the Snyderville Basin, while a new county-level sales tax created by the Council in late 2025 will generate revenue to retire the debt over time.

The state Legislature established the Impacted Communities Taxes Act in 2015 to help resort communities pay for infrastructure stress tied to heavy tourism. Summit County staff had long urged lawmakers to allow counties, not only municipalities, to use the law. Lawmakers granted that change last year, enabling the County Council to impose a sales tax of up to 1.1% in unincorporated Summit County for transportation infrastructure and transit projects without voter approval.

County staff project the new tax will produce about $17 million annually. County Manager Shayne Scott has said the tax is expected to take effect in mid-February. The ordinance carves out exemptions for unprepared foods, prescription medications, gasoline and automobile sales, mirroring exemptions used in the emergency services sales tax voters approved in 2024.

Leavitt identified resort lodging and short-term nightly rentals, utilities companies, online sales, retail stores and home improvement stores as major industries impacted by the new tax. The County Council’s initial authorization of the tax drew one dissenting vote last year from Council Chair Canice Harte, who represents Pinebrook and argued the levy would disproportionately affect his unincorporated Snyderville Basin constituents. Harte and the rest of the council, however, voted unanimously to finalize the bond issuance last week.

With the new levy in place, unincorporated Summit County’s overall sales tax rate is about 8.75%, compared with 9.55% inside Park City, 8.25% in Salt Lake City and 7.55% in Heber City. Comparable resort towns such as Aspen and Vail carry higher rates near 9.3% and 9.4%. Park City remains the only municipality in the county already using the Impacted Communities Taxes Act and levies a 1.6% tax on qualifying purchases under the statute’s eligibility rules.

For Snyderville Basin residents the immediate impact will be construction and mobility upgrades paid up front by the bond sale, followed by a modest, ongoing cost shift to purchases that fall under the new sales tax. Expect the county to begin phasing projects and tracking revenue as the tax starts in mid-February and the 21-year repayment schedule unfolds.