A public forum on tax reform is set for Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Weber County Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave., Ogden.

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OGDEN - Angered by what they consider a slight by the legislative task force considering tax reform, residents here are organizing their own public hearing.

The task force scheduled public hearings in seven Utah cities to gather public comments about tax reform, but left Weber and Davis counties - the state's third and fourth most populous counties - off the schedule.

The two closest hearings - one in early August in Logan and another in Salt Lake City in October - are not close enough, said Ogden City Councilman Jesse Garcia.

“For them to bypass one of the largest cities in Utah . . . I don't understand their reasoning,” Garcia said.

The Coalition of Religious Communities has enlisted Garcia to host a public forum Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Weber County Library's main branch in downtown Ogden.

Weber County residents are especially interested in one of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s campaign pitches - removal of the sales tax on food - and would like the chance to discuss it with legislators, Garcia said.

The Rev. Nancy Groshart, a deacon at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Ogden, said Huntsman's desire to make the income tax flatter, also concerns charities and nonprofit groups that rely on tax-deductible donations.

The Logan hearing, she said, was poorly advertised. “No one here knew about it.”

“The problem is the people of Davis and Weber [counties] are not given an opportunity to voice their opinions,” Groshart said.

But Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, co-chairman of the task force, said residents in Weber and Davis counties can drive to Salt Lake City to be heard.

The task force could not visit all 200-plus cities and towns in the state, Bramble said.

“We just tried to spread it around geographically," he said. "We left it up to the will of the task force.”

kmoulton@sltrib.com