Millcreeker nervous about joining South Salt Lake
Marjorie Cortez
I'm a little nervous about how this is going to go. South Salt Lake City is more established than we are. We're a free-spirited clan. We've been on our own for so long now that it's difficult to comprehend the notion of a union. That's part of the charm of our Millcreek Township family.
By legislative decree, however, townships will expire in 2010. That means we either form our own city, annex to an existing city or vote to stay unincorporated.
I feel no great compunction to get hitched. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and the Salt Lake County Council serve our needs well. I have great confidence in the Salt Lake Sheriff's Office for my law-enforcement needs. Animal Services has been pleasant to work with on the occasions I've had to bail my dog out of doggy jail. My trash is picked up on schedule, and the road crews do a fantastic job of plowing the roads in the winter and repairing the roads in warmer months.
What can I say? I operate under the "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" philosophy.
Yet we have to be pragmatic about how much it would cost to continue to do our own thing, either as a city or the unincorporated county. Starting a city would would mean a substantial tax increase to maintain our current level of municipal services.
Then again, our own city of 65,000 could wield some economic clout as far as sales tax is concerned. But that benefit would be impacted by the steep start-up costs of a municipal government. And sales tax revenues are subject to economic fluctuations and, therefore, a less predictable revenue stream than, say, property taxes.
Our South Salt Lake city suitor has a good deal of industry, so much so it is dubbed "The Center of Industry." It's attractive in the respect that such a union would be achieved without a huge tax increase. We're all served by Granite School District, so that's not an issue.
But there are many other questions regarding what agencies would provide "Millcreek City" its law enforcement, public works and animal services, to name a few. Will Millcreekers inherit South Salt Lake's agencies? Or, as is the case in all good marriages, will there be give and take on these issues?
Recent comments
Ms. Cortez misses the point of why communities seek to incorporate...
Miss the point | March 18, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.
Many good points made in this article. I hope the presenter(s) have...
Much to consider | March 18, 2008 at 11:04 a.m.
What a nice fair article.
mark | March 18, 2008 at 1:04 a.m.
