Residents in Salt Lake County's unincorporated suburbs could pay more for electricity, natural gas, phone service and cable TV if county leaders succeed in changing state law.
In exchange, those residents could find themselves free of another controversial fee, one for police protection.
County Council members revealed Tuesday they are lobbying the Legislature to allow Utah's most-populous county to impose, for the first time, utility fees on residents and businesses in unincorporated areas -- a power already provided to cities.
If lawmakers sign off, the county could replace a newly imposed and widely disliked law-enforcement fee that is set to cost homeowners in unincorporated areas an extra $174 a year. Businesses are pegged to pay even more (Kennecott's annual tab would top $1 million), depending on the demands they place on police.
It's only fair to let the county assess city-like utility fees, Councilman Michael Jensen insists, since it provides city-like services to tens of thousands of residents in townships such as Kearns, Magna and Millcreek.
"Give us the same tools," Jensen urged, "to manage the unincorporated area as cities have."
He suspects residents would be more willing to pay a utility tax -- which he described as a "traditional" revenue stream -- than an obscure police fee. Jensen also suspects it could be cheaper.
Two big questions surround the proposal: Would the Legislature, in an election year, give the county power to impose the new fees?
And, if it did, would County Council members follow through since some of them face voters this year as well?
At least one key legislative leader seems willing to consider a change.
Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said the fallout from the police fee has given the proposed switch some traction at the Capitol.
"That is one way we can avoid a [police fee] fiasco for people like Kennecott," he said, "and still have the same result."
The county has tapped Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, to sponsor the bill. The measure is still being drafted and likely will apply only to Salt Lake County.
The lobbying push comes weeks after the county's law-enforcement district board -- comprised of Jensen, Mayor Peter Corroon and Councilman Jim Bradley -- approved a police fee to pump about $13 million into the new Unified Police Department.
The cost of law enforcement had not gone up. It actually had fallen. But the county suffered a bruising budget year that left a multimillion-dollar hole in its ledger for city-like services in unincorporated areas.
Bradley warned his colleagues Tuesday not to turn so quickly from the police fee. He defended it as "good policy," saying it would charge homes and businesses based on how much those kinds of properties use the service.
For example, a church would pay less than a Walmart Supercenter ($1,008 a year compared with $81,912). A car dealership would shoulder a smaller bill than a convenience store with gas pumps ($756 compared with $4,548).
"I wouldn't be so quick to throw the fee under the bus," he said.
For one thing, the police fee is transparent. Residents know what they are paying for. That may not be the case, he said, with a utility fee.
"There is a great deal of charm with a franchise fee," he mused, "because I've heard politicians say, 'Nobody knows we did it. It is hidden in your utility bill.' Well, there's transparency for you."
Corroon leans toward keeping the police fee, although he's willing to consider other options. The mayor said he hopes the law-enforcement levy will taper off over time as sales tax revenues recover.
"At this point," Corroon said, "the [police] fee is the way to go."
The county hasn't yet crunched numbers for the proposed utility fee, but officials expect it to generate enough to eliminate the police levy.
If not, the county would make up the difference with a modest property-tax increase next year.
There is another political wrinkle in the debate: The county could decide to exempt its largest energy user, Kennecott, from paying a fee on electricity or natural gas. Why?
"The political reality," Councilman Joe Hatch said, "is that we won't get the franchise fee [through the Legislature] if we tax them."
