Wasatch could reap a windfall

Sales in Deer Crest have propelled this singular mountain retreat to generate 12 percent of Wasatch County's total general fund this year (about $218,000).

That nearly matches the portion of general fund county taxes coming from neighboring Midway ($259,000), according to Don Wood, director of Wasatch County's data processing department.

On top of those figures, nearly $1 million from the Deer Crest project is projected to go to the Wasatch County School District this year.

Approximately $353,000 will go directly to the Wasatch County district, the state will capture nearly one-third of the money, and the remainder will go to pay down the district's general obligation debt.

"That's been going down year after year. Big developments like Deer Crest are a great benefit to the district," said Keith Johansen, business administrator of the district.

"Jordanelle is going to provide the same kind of property tax base as Summit County has in Park City, which is a lot of high-priced homes that don't require additional schools (and) not a lot of increased law enforcement," Gully said. "Park City has an incredible school system simply because they have the money to do it. They can raise that kind of money without really pinching local residents."

Ordinarily, most residential developments don't pay their way. A study by American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to protecting agricultural resources, reports that for every dollar of residential property tax collected, governments provide $1.15 in services.

But Wasatch County's Jordanelle developments are anything but typical.

"When you are talking about a community that has a large percentage of second homes, you don't see the same pattern. It doesn't cost as much to service because you have so many homes that are not putting children in the school district, and that is always the major expense associated with residential land use," said Jennifer Dempsey, a spokeswoman of American Farmland Trust.

And second homes, unlike primary residences, are taxed at 100 percent of their valuation.

In 20 years, that means $10.3 million annually funneled into Wasatch County's general fund from the Deer Crest development alone, according to the county's fiscal analysis projections.

Nearby Victory Ranch, a 7,000-acre private golf and fishing hangout located on the southeast arm of the reservoir and still in the planning stages, will generate $18.1 million annually for the county at build-out, according to estimates.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com