Logan City voters go to the polls Nov. 6 to determine the fate of a proposed .25 percent transit tax increase. Those voters may be surprised to learn that the Logan City Council will soon vote on a separate transit tax proposal.

City officials, who met in a regular meeting Tuesday night, only recently learned that a law passed in the 2007 Legislature to reduce taxes on unprepared food will result in a decrease in funding for transit districts throughout the state. The law goes into effect Jan. 1.

To offset the losses, the Utah State Tax Commission is giving cities, counties and towns the chance to increase the .25 percent Public Transit Systems Tax to .30 percent.

"Based on the projections, if this adjustment to the rate doesn't happen, we will lose over a half-million [dollars] of revenue. That's a pretty significant hit to the budget," said Curtis Roberts, finance director for the Cache Valley Transit District. "This [.05 percent increase] holds our funding neutral."

The City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance at a special meeting on Oct. 30.

Meanwhile, the ballot proposal to increase the transit tax by .25 percent could make a much bigger difference, more than doubling the district's revenue if approved. Cache County Attorney George Daines spoke against the tax increase during the public comment segment of Tuesday's meeting.

"We [the county] believe we need to make a major effort to improve roads in this county," Daines said.

Along with Logan's transit tax proposal, Cache County voters will decide the fate of a proposed .25 percent road tax, which has the unanimous support of the Cache County Council to buy rights of way and develop roads.

Daines said Cache Valley's rural areas are not ideal settings for bus routes and that increasing the transit budget will not bring more riders to the system.

"Buying more buses and adding more routes, or spending $3 million of public money to gain this marginal increase in ridership is not wise," he said.

Daines' suggestion that the Logan City Council pass a resolution opposing the transit tax didn't rest well with the group.

Councilmember Laraine Swenson said she'd be happy to recommend a resolution in support of the transit tax. Councilmember Tami Pyfer said she didn't think it would be appropriate for the council to "strong-arm" the voters, who are capable of making their own decisions.

"I will add my voice on voting day," Pyfer said. "I do not think it is the council's responsibility to pass a resolution to tell voters how to vote."

abrunson@sltrib.com