Salt Lake County has lined up behind its capital city to impose additional sales tax on the downtown area to fund Salt Palace expansion.

The County Council voted Tuesday to support Salt Lake City's attempt to impose an additional sales tax in downtown of one-tenth or one-eighth percent (the city has not yet decided how much it wants to impose).

According to legislation passed a month ago, Salt Lake City is on the hook to fund part of Salt Palace expansion through its innkeepers tax. The city, however, prefers to provide the funds through a limited sales tax increase, and after much discussion county officials have decided they're good with that.

"I know I've gotten in trouble for saying this in the past, but I'll say it anyway in a more positive way: We need to be the adults in this process," Councilman Joe Hatch said. "We need to work with the city and present something to the Legislature that will work."

The council has been looking at different scenarios in which the city contributes between $13.8 million and $17.4 million toward the $68 million project (not including $14 million to $22 million for a new parking terrace at Sandy's South Towne Expo Center), which, along with the way it's structured, will have a heavy impact on the county Tourism, Recreation, Cultural and Convention facilities fund, drawing it down to very low or even negative levels during the next 10 years.

The sales tax increase would require approval in the Legislature's special session, scheduled for later this month. There is no guarantee that that will happen, since the proposal hasn't yet even been added to the session agenda, not to mention the question of whether legislators will go for it.

The city's plan is to impose the tax on all retail sales except sales of automobiles and automobile repairs.

Even with the city's portion still up in the air, the County Council Tuesday went ahead and passed a "parameters resolution" on issuing $75 million in bonds toward Salt Palace expansion.

"This isn't pulling the trigger; this is just cocking the gun," Hatch said, characterizing the council's action. "It doesn't commit us, but it starts the process."

The county is required to go through a 30-day protest period and a public hearing before issuing any bonds. Actual bond issuance would likely occur later this spring or summer.

Things are happening fast with regard to Salt Palace expansion — which officials maintain is necessary if the county is to maintain the construction schedule it promised Outdoor Retailer convention organizers, who agreed to keep their conventions in Utah based on that promise.

"There is very little time," Salt Palace general manager Alyson Jackson said. "It's a very minute time window."

In addition to the bonds, the council Tuesday approved a budget adjustment of $13 million so that steel and related items can start being purchased even before the final financing package is in place.

"To get the contract into the system we need to have the money," council fiscal analyst Darrin Casper said.

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