Summit County Proposes Ending Unusual Chalk Creek Road Assessment
County staff recommended removing a decades old special service area tax that had charged a small group of remote property owners in the Chalk Creek and Upton area steep road maintenance fees, some paying roughly $5,000 each. The draft FY2026 budget sets the service area budget to zero while the county council pursues longer term options, a change that would halt extraordinary assessments pending the council vote on December 10.
On December 5, Summit County staff presented a proposal to eliminate the line item that funded a special service area responsible for maintaining a paved county road serving properties in the Chalk Creek and Upton area. The assessment dates back decades and applied to a relatively small set of remote property owners who in recent years faced unusually high bills, with some paying roughly $5,000 each for road upkeep.
Under the staff recommendation, the draft FY2026 budget would no longer include the special assessment. The service area budget would be set to zero, which would stop billing those extraordinary assessments while the county council considers longer term solutions. Staff made clear the proposal does not immediately dissolve the special service area, but it would effectively pause the financial obligation for affected residents through the next budget cycle.
Council members pressed staff for more data and debated the fairness and legal limits of altering who pays for the road. Elected officials noted they cannot single out specific private businesses for taxation even if those businesses, including oil companies, benefit from the improved paved access. That legal constraint narrowed the range of remedies the council can pursue without broader policy changes or alternative funding sources.
For residents in the Chalk Creek and Upton area the decision promises immediate financial relief if the council approves the draft budget as presented. It also leaves open crucial questions about how the county will fund maintenance of a paved road that serves both local property owners and commercial users. County leaders will need to weigh equity, statutory limits on assessments, and the potential for shifting costs across a larger taxpayer base.
The council is scheduled to vote on the FY2026 budget on December 10. The outcome will determine whether the extraordinary assessments end while the county develops a stable, legally sound approach to maintaining the road and distributing costs among beneficiaries.
