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According to a report this morning in Weekly Real Estate News, the city of Ivins, Utah, approved a stunning 34% property tax increase for local homeowners. For a community already wrestling with the rising costs of housing, inflation at the grocery store, and energy bills climbing every season, this is more than just another line item on the household budget — it is a financial punch in the gut.

And yet, as shocking as it may sound, this isn’t just a local issue. What happened in Ivins is a snapshot of a larger, nationwide trend. Cities and counties across America are playing political games with taxpayer money, delaying tough decisions until the budgetary hole is so deep that the only solution they can offer is a drastic tax hike. This is not fiscal responsibility. This is not leadership. And it should deeply concern every homeowner in this country.

The Politics of Delay

Too often, we hear elected officials proudly proclaim, “When I was in office, we never raised taxes.” On the surface, that sounds like a badge of honor. But when you dig deeper, you realize it’s usually nothing more than political theater.

Refusing to raise taxes while continuing to overspend is not courage — it’s cowardice. It means the hard work of governing is being replaced with soundbites. Instead of aligning budgets with reality, cities are rolling out new projects, expanding payrolls, and growing programs without any plan to pay for them. They don’t want to deliver the bad news to voters, so they push the problem further down the road.

But every time they kick the can, the problem grows. Eventually, the day comes when the bill can no longer be ignored — and it is homeowners, not politicians, who are forced to cover the tab. Ivins’ 34% increase is the inevitable outcome of this cycle.

The Human Cost of Tax Hikes

Families across America already understand what it means to make sacrifices. If the paycheck won’t cover it, you wait. If the budget is stretched, you cut back. That is how households and small businesses survive.

But when cities fail to live within their means, it’s not numbers on a spreadsheet that pay the price — it’s people.

What about the retiree who worked his entire life, paid off his home, and now lives on a fixed income? A sudden 34% increase in property taxes isn’t just a nuisance for him — it may mean the difference between affording medication or skipping doses, keeping the lights on or turning them off early to save money.

Or when a young family just bought their first home, carefully stretching their budget to cover the mortgage, utilities, and rising grocery bills. How do they absorb a tax bill that suddenly jumps by a third? Do they cut the gas they need to get to work? Do they cancel daycare that allows both parents to earn a paycheck? Or do they sacrifice the college fund they hoped to build for their children?

And then there’s the single mother juggling rent, food, clothing, and transportation. She doesn’t have time to attend city hall meetings or pour through budget documents. All she knows is that every time her property taxes rise, her already tight budget gets pushed closer to breaking.

Government should never treat these people as afterthoughts. Yet far too often, officials behave as though tax dollars are an infinite resource. That mindset is corrosive. It undermines public trust, weakens communities, and threatens the foundation of homeownership itself.

A Nationwide Pattern We Can’t Ignore

Ivins is not an outlier. Across the country, local governments are following the same tired script: delay responsibility, overspend, avoid accountability, and then drop a sudden tax hike when the budget collapses.

The ripple effects are enormous. Housing affordability, already in crisis, worsens with every increase. Retirees are squeezed harder. Families delay buying homes because ownership feels out of reach. Communities that once thrived begin to hollow out as residents move elsewhere in search of lower costs.

When you add in inflation, high interest rates, and stagnant wages, runaway property taxes are not just a local inconvenience. They are a national warning sign.

A Path Back to Discipline

So how do we fix this? It starts with changing the way local governments think about money. Instead of governing for the next election cycle, leaders must start governing for the next generation. That requires planning 10, 20, even 30 years ahead, not just patching holes to get through the next budget vote.

It also requires transparency. Taxpayers deserve plainspoken answers about where every dollar goes. Not vague line items buried in hundreds of pages. Not carefully worded justifications delivered after the decision has already been made. Real transparency builds trust.

It requires priorities. Roads, infrastructure, and public safety must always come before pet projects and political vanity projects. Cities have to distinguish between “wants” and “needs,” just as every household does.

And it requires accountability. When governments overspend or mismanage, officials should answer for it. Right now, the default solution is always to dig deeper into taxpayers’ pockets. That cannot continue.

Citizens also play a role. If we shrug at every new increase, politicians will keep taking more. Homeowners, voters, and community members must demand honesty, discipline, and respect for their hard-earned money.

A Wake-Up Call for All of Us

The 34% property tax hike in Ivins, Utah, should not be dismissed as just another local story. It should be a wake-up call to every homeowner across the United States.

Fiscal responsibility is not about boasting, “We never raised taxes.” It is about having the courage to make hard decisions, the foresight to plan ahead, and the discipline to respect the people who pay the bills.

For the retiree, the young family, the single mother, and millions of others like them, this is not an abstract debate. It is about keeping homes, building futures, and preserving dignity.

Now is the time for citizens to act. Attend your city council meetings. Ask hard questions about how money is being spent. Hold elected officials accountable when they dodge responsibility or prioritize vanity projects over essentials. Demand transparency. Demand responsibility. And above all, demand that government live by the same principle every household in America already does: if you don’t have the money, don’t spend it.

Ivins may have learned this lesson the hard way. The question is whether the rest of the nation will pay attention — or whether we’ll all be blindsided by the same story in our own backyard.

About the Author:
John G. Stevens is a longtime advocate for fiscal responsibility and housing stability. He served as the President of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (2017–2018) and is the owner of Weekly Real Estate News. John writes regularly on housing, finance, and public policy, offering straightforward solutions grounded in accountability and real-world impact.