Park City collected more than $3 million in sales tax revenue in July, a nearly 15% increase over July 2025 that gives the city a boost to open fiscal year 2027 after a winter that cut ski-season revenue by nearly 10%.

The July figure, which excludes transient room taxes from hotels and short-term rentals, was disclosed in a city staff report first reported by KPCW. Deputy City Manager Jodi Emery credited the rebound but said staff are already preparing for the possibility of another lean ski season.

"We're aware of the realities that we are dependent on snow," Emery said. "… We will be doing some modeling to prepare in case we do have another rough winter."

The warm 2025–2026 winter forced early ski area closures and cut the city's sales tax revenue. Total collections from December 2025 through March 2026 fell nearly 10%, or about $2.8 million, compared to the same stretch a year earlier.

For the full fiscal year ending June 30, Park City brought in almost $48 million in sales taxes, down about 4% from fiscal year 2025. The city still finished within 0.1% of its adjusted budget.

City Manager Adam Lenhard said on KPCW's "Local News Hour" on Sept. 2 that a second consecutive 4% decline would force budget adjustments. He called such a drop "material," according to a Sept. 15 KPCW report.

The effects reached beyond City Hall. The Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau cut more than $1 million from its budget after Summit County's transient room tax posted the largest drop of any Utah county in 2025, according to a University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report. Chamber CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said the organization avoided layoffs but lodging occupancy was down about 11% over the prior six months as of late August.

Councilmember Tana Toly, at the Aug. 20 council meeting, pointed to growing competition. She named Deer Valley Resort's new East Village, Ogden's revamped Main Street and Snowbasin Resort events as threats pulling visitors away from Park City.

Wesselhoff said forward bookings for the next six months were running about 5% ahead of pace as of late August, a sign the tourism pipeline has not dried up.

Emery said she is hopeful the July numbers point to a strong fiscal year but that the city plans to model low-snow budget scenarios for fiscal year 2027, which runs through June 30, 2027.