Salt Lake County dems pushing property tax hike

It amounts to three matinees at the movies, eight gallons of gasoline or 20 orders of dollar-menu french fries.

That's how much more Salt Lake County could ask you, the taxpayer, to give up next year to help balance a financially bruised budget.

With the county ledger at a historic low because of sagging sales taxes and a downturn in the national economy, the Democratic-controlled County Council voted along party lines Tuesday to move forward with plans to raise property taxes next year by $13.4 million.

It's a decision that could cost the average homeowner, living in a $260,000 house, about $21 more a year. A $1 million business would pay an extra $171 annually.

"Do I wish it were different? Absolutely," Democratic Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said. But "I really don't see another option looking into the future."

Neither do Wilson's Democratic colleagues, who argue that additional budget cuts could cripple critical services in a county that already plans to shrink spending more than $140 million.

Republicans remain wary of the planned tax increase, however, saying the county should squeeze more from its coffers and snatch more from user fees to avoid a tax hike.

"The timing is just, to me, it's immoral," said Councilman David Wilde, a Republican, citing continued unemployment and job losses. "In the midst of all this bad news, we are saying, 'Let's raise taxes.' "

The council still could change its mind before

adopting the 2010 budget next month. But it appears doubtful, considering several Democrats argued Tuesday for an even more extensive tax increase than the one favored by Mayor Peter Corroon and ultimately endorsed by the council majority.

The Democratic mayor pitched a spending plan this fall that would dramatically downsize the county's once $800 million budget. Corroon's ledger landed at $659 million. It would shave employees' salaries and benefits, close some recreation centers on Sundays, order departmental cuts (some topping 10 percent) and leave more than 300 county positions empty.

It also proposes a property-tax boost to help pay down debts no longer covered by sales taxes. That bump would generate $13.4 million in 2010. It would drop by $5 million in 2011 as some of those debts are retired.

Councilman Jim Bradley, a Democrat, urged the council to look at a longer-term fix to the county's financial woes. He unsuccessfully advocated a more permanent tax hike.

"Would you veto it?" Bradley called across the boardroom table to the mayor.

Corroon chuckled. "I was just thinking about that myself."

This summer, Corroon, who is weighing a run for governor in 2010, bucked the Democratic majority and vetoed a proposed tax increase in this year's budget, arguing for further cuts before resorting to tapping taxpayers.

The Republican minority, still smarting from several failed attempts to snip spending and ratchet up fees, voted as a bloc Tuesday against the proposed 2010 increase. Although the council backed higher fees in the Recorder's Office that could generate about $600,000 a year, it didn't go along with GOP measures to boost recreation and golf fees, charge admission at the Salt Lake County Fair and reduce government's subsidy to some organizations benefiting from Zoo, Arts and Parks funding.

"At the end of the day," Republican Councilman Max Burdick said, "I just feel like it is the wrong time for a ... tax increase."

jstettler@sltrib.com