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Provo • Organizers of a group pushing Pleasant Grove City to earmark $2.65 million — about 18 percent of its general fund budget — for fixing up local roads submitted 1,636 signatures to the Utah County clerk-auditor's office Friday in its effort to get an initiative on the ballot.
Residents fed up with what they say are neglected and crumbling roads formed the group "Fund Roads First." If the petition signatures submitted by Friday's deadline are certified, the proposal could go on November's ballot.
The group is promoting its earmark initiative despite city warnings that such a mandate could gut vital city services — from shuttering the local library to eliminating the Miss Pleasant Grove Pageant — or force a significant tax hike.
Initiative sponsor and leader Jacob Zonts believes the city is more financially stable than it claims and could afford the $2.3 million without cutting too deeply into other services or programs.
"They're just making us out to look like we hate the old city services, but that's not really the case, we just want them to look at their budgets," Zonts said.
Currently, the city general fund budget is about $12.5 million.
The City Council late last month approved a resolution opposing the initiative based on the belief it would hamstring budget writers and hinder city operations.
The public library "could be completely shut down. There would not be funding available to provide books; children, teen or adult reading programs; literacy center services; or public computers," according to an analysis by City Finance Director Denise Roy.
Roy's overview, which she described as an "unbiased, good-faith estimate" of the initiative's fiscal impact, also warns of possible closure of all city parks, the city swimming pool and senior center, halting custodial services in public buildings and snow removal from sidewalks outside these properties, and elimination of outdoor recreation programs, flower and tree planting.
Other likely cuts would scrap the Miss Pleasant Grove Pageant, annual fireworks display, city Christmas lights, the Children's Choir and Center Stage Youth Theater.
Overall, these cuts could mean layoffs of five full-time and 170 part-time employees. Alternatively, Roy said, if the city made up the funds diverted to roads with new revenues, it would require a $214 property tax hike for homeowners and $389 for businesses.
Mayor Mike Daniels has proposed the council take the time to look deeply into the $12.5 million budget in sections for the next six months to help the public understand where the money is going and, hopefully, to "identify additional dollars" for road work.
Daniels said he hopes residents will appreciate "that their elected people actually took the time to go through and study what's currently being collected and spent before asking for an increase and made adjustments where they can."
City leaders remain optimistic they can work out a reasonable compromise.
"I have not seen this type of initiative before and would hope that we as a council can come up with a maintainable option that is less impactful and creates a long-term solution for our community," Councilman Eric Jensen said.
Editor Dan Harrie contributed to this report.