"Obviously, we're disappointed, being that close to the bottom," Smith said. "It's changed dramatically from where I thought we would be."

Smith, the chairman of COG, said he does not know if today's meeting will change Draper's position on the list.

By law, county mayors and the County Council can adjust the list of transportation projects and determine what should ultimately be funded. The list released Monday is just a draft, according to Sam Klemm, spokesman for the Wasatch Front Regional Council.

Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said she would like to remove several projects from the priority list, including some minor road projects and the Mountain View Corridor. By law, one-quarter of the tax increase must go to purchase land for the future highway, so Wilson doesn't want to tap into the rest of the funding for the same project.

Nordfelt said the COG will consider several "subjective" things when determining the priority list: one, whether a different funding source is available to build a project; two, whether a project can be completed in a short period of time; and three, whether the projects are what the public is expecting to be built.

If county mayors and the County Council approve the list and the process for picking the projects today, the Salt Lake County Council is expected to meet Thursday to decide whether to declare its intent to levy the tax.

Wilson said she believes the Mid-Jordan, West Valley and airport TRAX lines will be funded after today's discussions. She also didn't rule out the possibility of giving the Draper line partial funding, despite its low ranking on the list.

"The public supports light rail. They believe it is where we need to head in the future," Wilson said. "We've built highways. The intent of the public was to build rail, and my hope is that's where we are going to be."

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Contributing: Amelia Nielson-Stowell

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com; ldethman@desnews.com