The Wasatch County budget increased by 35% from 2024 to 2025, rising from $77.3 million to $118.8 million. This year, the county is staring down about a 1% increase, with a $129 million budget for 2026.
The $77.3 million 2024 budget did not include two projects that were accounted for in the 2025 budget: the expansion of the Wasatch County courthouse and the first-year cost of the new administration building construction.
A total of $1 million was added to a general use fund for the jailhouse renovation project. The courthouse expansion project is also entering its final year.
This year, the latter comes with another price tag: increased staffing in the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office to man bailiffs in additional courtrooms.
With the general fund sitting at 41% of the overall budget — that’s $52.16 million — the county has yet to grant the $2.2 million for public safety initiatives proposed by the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Jared Rigby attended the County Council meeting Wednesday to run over his reasoning for the requested sum, which includes funding for eight new full-time positions and one part-time role.
Rigby said there are plenty of positions to fill in the Sheriff’s Office, but filling those roles takes time and money. He estimated that it takes $100,000 to train deputies through the academy, field training and additional per person training. He said it can be challenging to keep deputies and staff working in the Sheriff’s Office when other agencies offer competitive salaries.
“Love them to death, the Heber City Police Department, but they pay more is the bottom line and they recruit our employees,” Rigby said.
He said that if there are to be targeted savings, they would come from cutting costs in two positions, including the emergency management coordinator and one patrol deputy. Some roles, including the school resource officer and two bailiff positions, would have supplementary funding from the Wasatch County School District and the state.
Wasatch County leaders held a public hearing Wednesday, though budget approval has been pushed to the next County Council meeting. The County Council must approve the 2026 budget before the end of the year.
The County Council also included a 3% cost-of-living increase in this year’s budget for all elected and executive positions. This year’s budget does not include Truth in Taxation processes.