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Alarmed by skyrocketing home values, two key Utah lawmakers want to prevent cities and counties from raising property taxes unless residents sign off at the ballot box.
Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, who leads the Legislature's Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee, along with Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, unveiled the plan to tweak Utah's truth-in-taxation process in a blog.
Bad idea, said some local officials.
"The notion that we would go to a public referendum for any tax increase is burdensome on the voter, who would have to spend an exorbitant amount of time to understand the complexities of every jurisdiction," Democratic Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said Monday.
But Niederhauser is determined to move forward.
"I feel strongly about this," he said.
The Sandy Republican, who works as a developer, noted that he already has drafted legislation to require entities wanting to boost taxes to take it to a general-election vote.
Under the state's current system, taxpayers can sound off about tax hikes at truth-in-taxation hearings. But with a public vote, they would have the final say.
Dougall likes the idea.
"Given government's propensity to spend money," he said, "requesting permission from the taxpayer before increasing the tax burden provides greater respect for the taxpayer's property ownership."
Utah's tax woes partly stem from flaws in the five-year county assessment cycle, Dougall said. "Everyone's not being reappraised every year, so you have huge corrections every five years."
Whatever the cause, many Utahns now feel the pain of rising tax bills.
"I hear anything from 'This hurts but I know I have to pay for schools' to 'I'm outraged and want to hang somebody,' " Dougall said of his Utah County constituents.
But Republican Salt Lake County Councilman Marv Hendrickson argues constituents have entrusted those tax decisions to their locally elected leaders.
"If they don't like the way we vote," he said, "they can vote us out of office."
While Niederhauser's bill would seek to bridle taxes, Democratic County Councilman Randy Horiuchi fears it could do the opposite: Voters could tilt too readily toward voting for tax hikes.
And he may be right - at least in Salt Lake County. Of the 13 countywide tax initiatives pitched since 1990, voters have approved all but two, according to county clerk records.
In Davis County, officials refused to shut the door on any option that could help calm the "perfect storm" they recently encountered when last year's tax increase collided with this year's spike in real estate values.
"I look forward to meeting with Sen. Niederhauser and other legislators," said Commissioner Louenda Downs.
But there could be drawbacks to a referendum-driven tax system, Downs conceded.
"If every taxpayer were engaged and informed, not just in their own little arena but on all the issues, that would be a perfect world," Downs said. "In reality, you'd have to spend three-fourths of your time educating, leaving little time to do the rest of the job."
In Weber County's Huntsville - another area where folks recently gasped over their tax bills - GOP Rep. Gage Froerer said lawmakers need to come up with a more equitable policy.
"None of us want to hamstring our local school boards or counties so they can't operate," Froerer said. "But we really need to come up with a method that removes these spikes in assessment."
Froerer said he is working with Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, to limit assessment jumps. He also would explore funding schools through sales taxes instead of property levies.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper and president of the business-backed Utah Taxpayers Association, likes the referendum idea. So does Bountiful homeowner Gordon Tyler, calling it "a step in the right direction."
"[Legislators] can either use a Band-Aid or do major surgery," Tyler said. "And if it's a Band-Aid, there will be a tax revolt."