Davis County residents will pay a new 0.2% sales tax on general purchases starting Jan. 1, 2027, after the County Commission approved the levy Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The tax does not apply to groceries. It is projected to generate roughly $16 million a year for road maintenance, transportation projects and public safety across the county and its cities, according to an Aug. 4 presentation to the Commission reported by the Standard-Examiner.

On a $10 purchase, the tax adds two cents.

Commission Chair Bob Stevenson said 14 to 15 cities sent letters supporting the tax. He said it should protect the county from future property tax increases.

"What's important about that, for Davis County specifically, is that to be able to put this in place it should protect us for a number of years from having to do any type of property tax increase," Stevenson said at the Sept. 15 meeting.

Stevenson noted that Utah, Salt Lake and Weber counties had already adopted the same tax, authorized by the state Legislature nine years ago. Davis County was the last Wasatch Front county to act. He said Davis and Weber counties worked with the Legislature last year to broaden how the revenue could be spent, adding public safety as an eligible use.

Under the breakdown presented in August, 0.1% goes to county-determined purposes, 0.05% goes to cities for transportation and 0.05% goes to the county for transportation and public safety.

Commissioner Lorene Kamalu said Utah's property tax law has no built-in inflation adjustment, leaving local governments squeezed by rising costs since 2016. She said tremendous needs in public service and criminal justice drove her vote.

Commissioner John Crofts acknowledged the decision was difficult. He said he ran on a platform of not raising taxes and called the sales tax "the better of all the tax options." He also noted the grocery exemption, saying the Legislature's decision to exclude food was welcome.

The commission approved a 14.9% general-fund property tax increase in late 2025, the first for that fund since 2016, according to a Davis County newsletter. That increase generated about $7.7 million annually. The new sales tax is expected to bring in roughly double that amount.

Some members of the public pushed back on the tax at the Sept. 15 meeting, though specific objections were not detailed in available records. Kamalu noted the tax could only be imposed by the Commission, not put to a public vote.

Farmington approved a separate 4.99% property tax increase in September, as we reported Sept. 13.

The new county sales tax takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. Commission meetings are held at the Davis County Administration Building, 61 South Main St., Suite 303, in Farmington.