Salt Lake gets chance to vote on bonding for 6 projects

The City Council on Tuesday voted 5-2 to give Salt Lake City residents a chance to approve a bond to fund six city projects.

The council, however, declined to include three more projects Mayor Rocky Anderson had recommended, including Pioneer Park renovation.

And while the bond election is set for Nov. 4, contention surrounding the six approved projects seems likely to remain until voters hit the booths.

Two of the projects — including $5.4 million for two new branch libraries in Capitol Hill and Glendale, and $15.3 million for a sprawling soccer and baseball complex between Redwood Road and I-215 near the Davis County border — might require tax increases.

However, voters will not be notified on the ballot of the potential tax increases because the city's bond counsel, Richard Scott, advised such a notice could bring a legal challenge.

Some council members cringed at leaving such language out.

Councilman Dale Lambert, who voted against the bond election along with Nancy Saxton, maintained city residents would rather have millions of dollars to pay for more police officers than a hodgepodge of cultural and recreational projects.

Salt Lake City's taxes are high enough and many of the bond projects are still in the planning stages, not ready to be voted on, Lambert said. He said the city may have to raise taxes next year anyway to fund existing services.

"Salt Lake City has higher taxes than virtually any other surrounding communities," he said. "It's not only an increase on our residents but a more significant increase in taxes on our businesses, and we are all aware of the fact that some businesses have left our city because it is less expensive to do business elsewhere."

Voters will be able to approve each of the six projects separately, so some could be approved while others are rejected. If all the projects are approved, the bond would total more than $47.6 million.

If all the projects are approved, it would cost an owner of a $175,000 home roughly $23 to $24 per year over 20 years to pay off the bond. The owner of a $1 million business would pay $239 per year over 20 years.

For the soccer and baseball complex, at least another $7.5 million would be needed from state, county and possibly private funding to make the project happen. The council included a resolution stating that the project couldn't begin until that money is raised.