Several hundred property owners from Millcreek Township are expected to jam the Salt Lake County Council Chamber tonight to protest a new fire-protection tax for 5,800 people that will cost an average of $1,600 per parcel.

If more than half, or 2,900 owners, express opposition, the use of a special-improvement district as the taxing mechanism would be doused. Some 900 already have expressed opposition, in writing. That deadline was Monday afternoon.

Officials have scheduled the 6 p.m. public hearing to give property owners another chance, but it would take 2,000 of them to show up and register their opposition.

County leaders insist the money - the total project is expected to cost $13.8 million - is needed to replace "ancient" pipes, add hydrants and improve the water flow from 700 East to 2700 East between 2700 South and 3900 South. If the County Council agrees - a vote could come tonight - 4-inch pipe will be replaced with 90,000 feet of 8-inch and 12-inch sections along with 350 new hydrants.

Public Works Director John Patterson says the system that originally was installed in the 1920s and '30s will be upgraded to ensure each property has a hydrant within 500 feet. Assessments would be based on 50 percent taxable value and 50 percent per parcel.

"This isn't government ramming something down somebody's throat," Patterson said Monday. "This has been 40 years in the coming."

But Bonnie Cavill, who stands to pay $4,600 between her two Millcreek properties, shivers at the sticker shock.

"My assessment is more than the property tax" she already pays, she lamented. "It won't be easy to come up with that."

Cavill, who fired off a form letter and personal protest to Mayor Peter Corroon, also questioned the boundary and immediacy of the move.

"I live down at Old Farm. Does that mean the pipes are OK at Old Farm, but they're not two blocks up the street?"

A fire-protection overhaul for Millcreek has been discussed for years, but first began taking shape in 2004.

After letters went out to the public, a public hearing in April drew nearly 500 people, with the majority of those opposed to the assessment.

But Patterson says phone calls to protest the plan have steadily decreased since.

He also argues that inaction has cost plenty, with some owners paying up to $5,000 for water-line repairs.

"This is going to clear all that up," Patterson said.

If approved, the levy may be paid in a lump sum or over 10 years at 4 percent interest, making the average cost $200 a year.

Salt Lake City, which will assume ownership and provide future maintenance on the lines, will pay $3 million, while the county will pump in an additional $3.7 million for administrative costs.

Even so, Scott York, another Millcreek owner, maintains that revenue from a 2001 property-tax increase would be "more than enough" to cover the cost of the upgrade. He suggests the fight could land in court if residents fail to sway the council.

"Their whole scheme might be just fine, but I don't like the precedent of letting them tax us anytime they want to."

djensen@sltrib.com

Public hearing

What: Hearing to decide on a special-improvement district to raise money for fire-flow upgrades in Millcreek Township.

Where: County Government Center, 2001 S. State St., Salt Lake City.

When: 6 p.m. today.

Who: Open to the public.