“We make some people unhappy because we just say, 'No, not this year' ” to requests for more money, White said Tuesday after voting with colleagues to pass a $62.17 million “no-frills” 2006 budget.
It was a fiscal feat not easily achieved for the coming tax year.
The initial $58 million budget the commissioners unveiled in early November showed a $4.7 million shortfall in the general fund. Balancing the budget required a fiscal high-wire act in addition to saying no to most department heads' petitions for more money.
Among other things, the commissioners-turned-number-crunchers had to pull $2.5 million from fund balances. Most of that total is leftover money from the $3.9 million the commission set aside last year to pay for a market study of wages for county employees.
As a result of that study, the budget contains $2.6 million for salary bumps and another $1.1 million to increase benefits. The budget further shows more law-enforcement funds earmarked for Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs, which contract with the county for police services. The money will be used to pay for more officers to patrol those mushrooming cities.
New growth, in addition to the transfer of cash reserves, also is helping the county balance its books.
“Our growth in property tax will result in another $700,000 or $800,000 a year, and I think our growth in sales taxes will be about the same,” White said.
Even so, county residents will pay higher taxes in 2006. The commissioners unanimously approved a judgment levy that amounts to a one-time yearly hike in property taxes of $1.29 on a $180,000 home and $2.34 on a $185,000 business property.
Commissioners said the tax boost is necessary to offset the Utah Tax Commission's decision in August 2005 to reduce retroactively the value of Qwest's property for the 2001 through 2004 tax years.
County officials said decision cost taxing entities throughout Utah about $13 million. Utah County's cost was $192,000, the amount of the refund check the county had to send Qwest.
To recover the refunded money, the county is tapping taxpayers.
“It does precipitate a tax shift to others,” Commissioner Jerry Grover said. “We have to make up the difference.”
meddington@sltrib.com
