What if Salt Lake County could replace its unpopular police fee with a utility tax?

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, has proposed a bill that would give Utah's most populous county the power to tax energy, telephone and cable television bills in unincorporated areas — a power now available only to cities.

The county pushed unsuccessfully for a similar bill last year, arguing that residents might find a utility tax more palatable than a police fee. But the measure went nowhere. Now, with bills in the House and Senate seeking to eliminate the police fee, the county hopes for better success with Stevenson's measure.

But Stevenson's SB284 wouldn't give the county taxing authority forever. Instead, the bill would allow the county to collect the tax only until June 30, 2016.

Jeremiah Stettler