An amendment by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, called for exempting Sandy from paying $150,000 in innkeepers tax for the expansion. That spooked representatives from Davis, Utah and Weber counties, who are pumping in car-rental revenue for upgrades to the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City and South Towne Expo Center in Sandy.
But the arguments revolve around a minuscule amount of the overall $82 million expansion price tag.
More substantive changes - added by Waddoups earlier Thursday - have officials in both Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County feeling uncomfortable.
But members of Japan Town, a historic ethnic neighborhood just west of the Salt Palace, may rest easy.
The capital city must still pay $1.9 million in innkeepers tax annually, but only from 2005 to 2011. That represents an overall taxpayer savings of $8 million from the original plan.
Waddoups rejected a plan pushed by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson to collect that money from a retail and restaurant tax instead.
Meanwhile, the $8 million saved by the city will have to come out of county coffers, meaning other county projects could see leaner budgets over the next 10 years.
"Neither party is [happy]," Waddoups said. "That's why I figured we probably have the right number."
New language in the bill allows the convention-center cash to alleviate the impact on Japan Town.
Floyd Mori of the Japanese Community Preservation Committee called the amendment a "very good first step. People are now understanding that there was a problem there. In the past, the community was totally ignored."
Japan Town was destroyed in the 1960s when the county built the Salt Palace.
The Japanese community hopes to revive it by locating its churches near each other.
City Councilman Dave Buhler said he is "very grateful" the bill limits the city's contribution to six years. But he prefers the city choose how to pay in order to prevent hemorrhaging in the general fund.
"I don't think we've made any headway," Buhler said. "We're just not real players in [the debate]."
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon concedes the financial strain, but says, "We can live with it."
