Committee recommends that Taylorsville join UPD

By pamela manson

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published May 16 2012 08:21 pm • Last Updated May 17 2012 08:32 am

Taylorsville • A budget advisory committee recommended to the City Council on Wednesday that the city join the Unified Police Department.

Lynn Handy, chairman of the budget committee, said the committee "wholeheartedly" backs membership in the regional police force.

Mayor Russ Wall has proposed merging the Taylorsville force with the UPD, a move that his administration believes would save more than a half-million dollars in fiscal 2013. The budget committee, which is made up of volunteers from the community, agreed that membership in the UPD is a good idea for the west-side suburb of about 60,000 residents.

The 60 police officers now employed by Taylorsville would retain their positions under UPD.

In his fiscal 2013 budget proposal, Wall said UPD membership would save the city $557,331. That move, coupled with a 38 percent increase in Taylorsville’s portion of property taxes, would cover a $1.5 million gap, he said.

City administrators have said a survey of 354 Taylorsville residents taken in March found that more than 53 percent were in favor of joining UPD, while 19 percent opposed joining and 25 percent were neutral on the issue. The survey, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, a Salt Lake City public opinion and market research firm, had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percent.

pmanson@sltrib.com

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC

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