The reason: Part of the money for the expansion of the downtown Salt Lake City center will be used to build a parking garage at Sandy's South Towne Expo Center. But there is a $5 million shortage overall.

So today, County Mayor Peter Corroon will appeal to Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan for some South Valley dollars.

"We cannot in good conscience ask [countywide] taxpayers to fill this gap," the county's chief administrative officer, Doug Willmore, said Tuesday.

"It's news to us," said Sandy spokesman Ryan Mecham, who knew only of the meeting, not the subject.

Sandy, originally on the hook for $150,000 of the Salt Palace expansion budget, wiggled off before the funding bill passed in the waning hours of the Legislature. Yet the plan has always called for a new parking terrace in the south Salt Lake County community, which convention planners say is essential for Expo Center success.

If today's negotiations yield nothing, County Councilman David Wilde suggests playing hardball: Strip the county's $300,000 annual subsidy for the Sandy Amphitheater.

"If we're not going to get a dime from them, I think we ought to consider it," he said.

Wilde questions the "special dispensation" for Sandy that he insists puts a pinch on county coffers.

Tuesday's debate came as council members reviewed the economic impact over 10 years for funding the expansion. Continuing to fund the amphitheater would dip certain funds into deficit, while withholding the Sandy money would keep various county programs solvent.

"I'm not advocating for it, but based on the [projections], you can't argue with that," said Council Chairman Michael Jensen of Wilde's suggestion.

But threatening Sandy may mess up the "cosmic assemblage" of the expansion deal, Councilman Randy Horiuchi countered.

"I don't want to tick people off," Horiuchi said. "When you make a commitment, you honor it. That's what being a public official is all about."

While Corroon finesses Sandy, the County Council also is preparing to pry more money out of Salt Lake City. With the city slated to contribute $13.8 million, County Councilman Mark Crockett proposed bumping that portion closer to $15 million, if the taxing method is approved during next month's special legislative session.

During that session, city officials will lobby lawmakers to allow a special service district to collect sales tax funds from businesses near the Salt Lake City-based convention center. Crockett and Wilde suggested increasing the tax - projected to yield $13.8 million for the expansion - by a tenth of 1 percent.

"We have no good news at this point," quipped Councilman Marv Hendrickson, while a representative for Salt Lake City looked on.

Crockett later explained that he wants to keep expansion costs easy on the city, "but we can't make it harder on the county in doing so."

Meantime, County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson suggested the money could be made up if the council "politely" asked for $2 million from the state.

That didn't work during the last week of the Legislature, when the council was reprimanded by state lawmakers for being compared to children. After council members wrote an apology, the funding deal was preserved.

"We could politely make the request," Wilson said sheepishly. "Maybe move the burden over to them."

djensen@sltrib.com