But the primary argument Salt Lake County Council members made Tuesday while putting an $895 million property-tax bond to expand TRAX on the fall ballot is that residents should have the right to vote on their transportation preference.

"We're simply talking about giving the people a right to choose," said an impassioned Jim Bradley, who noted public officials across the Salt Lake Valley and opinion polls from various sectors consistently have supported the move. "How can we be so arrogant not to listen to [them]?"

Bradley's plea, along with those of the other three council Democrats, played well with colleagues. Ultimately, the council turned an expected-to-be-close vote into a 6-to-1 rout with two abstentions.

Now, if voters agree to the tax increase in November, four TRAX lines - to Draper, West Valley City, West Jordan-South Jordan and Salt Lake City International Airport - will be running within five to seven years.

"This tells me there are leaders in the community," John Inglish, Utah Transit Authority general manager, said moments after the vote.

He praised the council for a "very honest debate" and called it encouraging that "not a person here questioned the need for this."

Instead, council members wrangled over the funding mechanism. All nine agreed sales tax - or some combination of sales, property, gas and even hotel tax - is preferable.

If it passes at the polls - a recent survey for The Salt Lake Tribune shows 60 percent support - the TRAX property tax will cost residents $108 more a year on a $200,000 home.

But, due to growth, that amount will drop nearly in half over the 30-year life of the bond, Inglish notes.

"It's one of the most important decisions [residents] will make in their lifetime," said Councilman Randy Horiuchi, who later joked, "I'd like to ride the lines before I die."

Meanwhile, the resolution, written by Councilman Joe Hatch, calls on county leaders to lobby the Legislature for a different revenue stream between now and November.

Hatch insists some funding source is needed now to maximize federal matching dollars.

"This is a gut vote," he said. "If you're ever going to utilize bond capacity, what better use than rebuilding a total, complete transportation network? That's what government is all about."

County Auditor Sean Thomas reassured the council the county's triple-A bond rating would be OK if it proceeds with the TRAX bond.

House Speaker Greg Curtis has said he prefers tapping sales taxes - and recently suggested the hotel tax be used if Sandy's soccer-stadium pursuit collapses - though there are no guarantees the governor will call a special session.

Council Chairman Cort Ashton, Tuesday's lone dissenter, argued the county has a "higher duty" to take the right funding plan to the public and questioned the move.

Another question: Is the bond legal if the county leases the asset it purchases to the UTA? The "unconditional" answer will be provided by Aug. 1, vowed council attorney Karl Hendrickson.

Regardless, West Valley City Mayor Dennis Nordfelt cheered the possible TRAX trains as a boon for the entire region and a benefit to ease east-west congestion.

"When the north-south TRAX line was proposed, I was one of the naysayers," said Nordfelt, whose City Council balked at light rail in the mid-'90s before he was mayor. "Boy, was I wrong. Ridership is far greater than what was predicted."

Every mayor in Salt Lake County, including County Mayor Peter Corroon, endorses the transit tax.

County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson says accelerating the TRAX lines - the tax money would fast-track completion of all four by 2014, instead of 2030 - also may promote business. Construction is expected to begin next year, starting with the Jordans line.

In Salt Lake City, officials were pleased. A line to the airport could revitalize a west-side neighborhood and draw more conventions to downtown. And even the spurs to the suburbs aid the capital because they will lead downtown.

"An elected body with courage," City Councilman Carlton Christensen said of the vote.

His northwest district includes the airport and residents there have felt "slighted" since the airport line was skipped over for the University of Utah spur. He expects the line to spark development.

Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, said a line will keep Salt Lake City competitive with other light-rail-rich cities.

"We are ecstatic about a possibility of a light-rail extension out to the airport. From a convention perspective, it's one of the best things that we could do."

For Bradley, it's also about the "politics of energy" and cutting consumption.

"You can't have the cowboy mentality: Get in your car and ride anywhere you want on the prairie," he said. "All that's got to change."

djensen@sltrib.com

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Tribune reporters Heather May and Cathy McKitrick contributed to this story.

How they voted on whether to put the TRAX bond on the ballot

* Cort Ashton - No

* Jim Bradley - Yes

* Mark Crockett - Abstained

* Joe Hatch - Yes

* Marv Hendrickson - Yes

* Randy Horiuchi - Abstained

* Michael Jensen - Yes

* David Wilde - Yes

* Jenny Wilson - Yes

Horiuchi follows Crockett's lead on abstention

Randy Horiuchi was passionately in favor; Mark Crockett, staunchly opposed.

Yet both County Council members abstained from Tuesday's vote on the TRAX tax - once they knew the outcome was not in doubt.

Crockett initiated the move, calling on Councilman Joe Hatch, then Horiuchi, to abstain due to declared conflicts of interest - albeit minor - with the Utah Transit Authority.

His offer: He also would abstain, so the vote would not tilt in either direction.

Hatch passed on the deal, while Horiuchi obliged.

In the end, the council's nine-member tally wound up at 6-1 in favor - with those two abstentions.

Granite, White City townships?

Copperton and Co. may be getting company.

On Tuesday, two southeast Salt Lake Valley communities took another step toward township status, after the County Council agreed to schedule public hearings on the issue later this summer.

White City and Granite, both in the Sandy area, long have pursued the township stamp. They were buoyed by the Legislature, which passed a bill this year allowing a "census-designated area" to be considered for the label. Officials from White City and Granite insist they have the population numbers to qualify, meaning the move could be decided by the end of the year.

- Derek P. Jensen