Anything that might encourage any household, business, public agency or church to use more water than it absolutely needs is a bad idea in a climate such as Utah’s.
That’s why, when members of the Board of Trustees of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District open their public hearing Monday, they should hear a lot of opposition to a proposal to increase the district’s property tax levy by 11%.
This is not to argue that the district doesn’t need the money. Keeping up with water infrastructure demands in most of the rapidly growing communities of Salt Lake County (other than the Metro Water District of Salt Lake City and Sandy) is not cheap.
It is just that using property taxes to support a public water supply, especially in a drought-prone area such as ours, hides much of the true cost of water from many of those who use it.
Utah should be using every tool in the shed to encourage people to use less water. The best way to do that is to charge every user for every gallon consumed, with per-gallon rates that climb as usage goes up, and not bury costs in property tax bills. Tax bills that do not reflect whether a customer is a good conservationist or a water hog.
Because the JVWCD gets some 30% of its total budget from property taxes, individual taxpaying property owners are shouldered with a burden that escapes tax-exempt properties such as cities, counties, churches, state agencies, schools and universities.
Such properties often have large land areas to maintain, but dodge a significant portion of the cost of keeping those acres green. It thus falls to taxpaying homes and businesses to bear more of the cost, even if they choose to let things go a little bit brown.
The proposed property tax hike will, according to the district, cost the average homeowner an estimated $11.78 annually. For a business, it’s more like $21.42 a year.
By itself, that’s not a lot. Piled on top of all the other city, county, school district, library, mosquito abatement district and other special assessments that abound, it adds up. It adds to the burden on pinched working families and seniors who might choose to cut back on water use but can’t legally avoid paying their taxes.
Funding large portions of a water agency’s budget through property taxes is common in Utah. The argument is that it provides water districts with a stable revenue base. It also bills property that isn’t, yet, using water for future system development.
Some other states, however, fund their entire public utility operations through fees for water (or electricity) consumed.
Going forward, that’s the way Utah should do it, too.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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