Fund the arts in Orem

Doctors check a patient's vital signs to see if he's healthy. Outsiders check the vital signs to see if a community is healthy. And three of those vital signs are the vibrancy of the arts, the quality of recreation and the pleasantness of the parks.

Given that, Orem's RAP tax — a one-tenth of 1 percent hike — offers a real shot in the arm for the city. Arts, parks and recreation all have people as a focus. Such taxes don't create embellishments on life, they create the most impressive manifestations of life. Some see music and theater as "nice" — like lace on a bonnet. But they are more than that. They reveal the heart of a community, its priorities and sense of itself. With a RAP tax, Orem would make the statement that people are the bottom line.

With the money, Orem is thinking about enhancing the area with new public artwork, sponsoring music and art festivals, producing a citywide arts calendar, fostering more dance companies, constructing a children's museum, renovating SCERA and laying the foundation for a new Orem Art Council. Other initiatives will follow. The prospects are invigorating. Salt Lake City, with its highly successful ZAP tax, has laid the groundwork. By consulting with Salt Lake City officials, Orem planners would be able to sidestep many of the pitfalls that bedevil new programs.

Some hoist the argument that all citizens should not be taxed for things that benefit a few. But such is the nature of taxes. People without children are taxed to fund education. People who walk to work are taxed to fund mass transit. Such contributions are integral and necessary to the health and well-being of a city.

We're pleased to see the priorities Orem citizens are setting for themselves. And we urge members of the community to give a hearty thumbs up to the RAP tax. The pinch in the pocketbook will hardly be felt — ask residents of towns where such a tax already exists — but the benefits to the community will be felt for decades.

Orem's vital signs are already strong. It is a healthy town. Many see it as a model city in the region and a paradigm to follow. A RAP tax would give the city a dose of vitamins and propel it forward.