With the Legislature poised to eliminate Salt Lake County's unpopular police fee, county officials are trying to broker a deal that would give them more time to make up for millions of dollars in lost revenue.

But such an agreement remained out of reach Thursday as talks hit an impasse before the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee about when to eliminate a law-enforcement levy that now provides about $12 million for policing in unincorporated burbs such as Kearns, Magna and Millcreek.

If the county gets its way, the police fee would disappear "on or before" Dec. 31, 2013.

But that date seems awfully far away for lawmakers such as Sen. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, whose HB226 is the focal point of the negotiations. He originally called on the county to revoke the fee immediately and refund money collected since the beginning of this year. He later conceded to a one-year transition period, which would do away with the levy no later than Jan. 1, 2012.

"This will prolong the agony and the misery," Harper said, speaking out Thursday against further delays.

By all indications, the county has resigned itself to the fact that the police fee won't make it through the Legislature. It's a question of "when," not "if," the fee will be erased.

The proposed deal would allow Harper's bill to pass, with a later implementation date. A similar anti-police-fee bill by Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, would be pulled off the table. That measure, SB43, would wax the fee this year.

In exchange, the county no longer would pursue a utility franchise tax. Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, has proposed SB284, which would give Salt Lake County the authority to impose a citylike tax on power, cable TV and telephones. The county would agree to drop the measure until the police fee is gone.

The compromise also would include several outwardly unrelated issues. It would do away with a SB158, which would place restrictions on what money the county can use for basic government services to Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. It also would stipulate a settlement with Salt Lake City over alleged double taxation for bomb squad and hazmat services.

Salt Lake County Council Chairman Max Burdick compared the proposed deal to a report card for the county during his testimony before a Senate committee. "We have a lot of homework to do," he mused, "or we may be facing some summer school."

Burdick urged lawmakers to give the county more time to rejigger its finances before doing away with the fee, saying it would lead to a more orderly, public-inclusive transition.

But talks stalled — over questions of timing.

Afterward, Thatcher criticized the county's bartering, saying it short-changes residents of the unincorporated areas. He unsuccessfully urged the committee to allow his bill, with a more immediate remedy to the fee, to reach the Senate floor.

"We are trading away the rights of residents in Magna and Kearns," he said, "for a concession that the county was out of bounds."

The Senate committee is expected to raise the police fee issue again next week.

jstettler@sltrib.com