OGDEN — Weber County Commissioners have given their preliminary approval to the proposed $348.59 million spending plan for 2024, which calls for a $3.9 million hike in property taxes.

Final action isn’t expected until December and the 7.25% tax hike — $35.19 a year for the owner of a home worth $486,000, the average in the county — will be the focus of a Nov. 28 public hearing. But Tuesday’s preliminary OK moves the process forward.

Weber County Comptroller Scott Parke presented the plan to commissioners, explaining the rationale for the proposed tax increase: Lack of funding has made it tough to keep certain jobs filled. Notably, 22% of front-line Weber County Sheriff’s Office posts are vacant, he said. Moreover, inflation is pushing the price of key materials and fuel up while utility and health insurance costs are rising.

“It’s becoming a challenge to provide the same level of services that we have been providing for our citizens with the resources that we have,” Parke said.

Commissioners last increased property taxes in 2021, when they approved a 4.5% increase to augment funding for flood control and the county’s libraries. The current proposal calls for a hike in the general fund rate.

The proposed spending of $348.59 million for 2024 represents a 6.4% hike from spending of $327.71 million for 2023. Employees would get a 3% pay hike plus a performance-based rise of up to 2%. A net of 11 jobs would be eliminated, many of them funded by grants provided during the COVID-19 pandemic that have since lapsed.

Notably, six grant-funded jobs would be added to Weber County’s Center of Excellence to aid the group in its efforts to combat intergenerational poverty.