After a number of tough years, things are starting to look up economically in Salt Lake County.

Residents are breaking out their pocketbooks and buying things, judging by the amount of sales tax revenue making its way into county coffers.

Local option sales tax this year is up by 7 percent over what was originally projected, budget director Lance Brown said, and county option sales tax is up by 10 percent.

"There are some good signs . . . ," chief administrative officer David Marshall said. "Sales tax is up, (and) that shows consumer confidence is up, because they're spending."

The five-year fund plans look good, everything's turning up roses — well, except for the additional $1.6 million county Mayor Nancy Workman is asking for in the general fund, primarily to finance the "gradual" opening of the mothballed Oxbow Jail in South Salt Lake.

Workman presented her proposed budget to the County Council Tuesday. The council will decide on a final budget later this month.

The county's primary detention facility on 3300 South is bursting at the seams, and Sheriff Aaron Kennard has been agitating for months to open the Oxbow facility. Whether or not the council goes for it, however, is an open question.

"That's a fairly large commitment," councilman Randy Horiuchi said.

The county has a general fund of $21 million, but add onto that golf funds, municipal services, convention centers, tourism and several others, the budget approaches half a billion, the second-largest governmental budget in the state (state government itself is the largest).

In her budget address, Workman noted that county government is smaller by hundreds of employees from four years ago when the council/mayor form first began, and that no new taxes have been imposed.

"The employees of this county are doing a yeoman's job, and the taxpayers are very well-served and should feel good about how you— the council — spend their tax dollars and how those tax dollars are stretched so far to do so much good," Workman said.

Workman, who said the budget is in "dad-gum good shape," has acquiesced to Kennard's prodding to open Oxbow but has suggested an 18-month "sunset" provision, meaning the jail would again be closed by that time unless the council took action.

A recently completed study said the county could make its criminal justice system vastly more efficient, significantly reducing the need for jail space, by offering alternate programs and streamlining several processes in the criminal justice system.

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