Auditors applauded for being on the ball

FARMINGTON — All the hoopla created a couple of weeks ago by the Davis County Clerk's Office has paid off. The Utah Tax Commission has reduced next year's certified tax rates, which will save the average Davis County homeowner at least 7 percent in property taxes.

After noting the certified tax rates sent out by the state would give a windfall to some taxing entities, Chief Deputy Clerk/Auditor for Finance Jonathan Lee brought the issue to the forefront. Lee and his boss, Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings, held informative meetings with officials and the public.

"The Utah Taxpayers Association and Utah Association of Counties took our calculation spreadsheets and met with the State Tax Commission. After reviewing the calculations, the State Tax Commission found they had made some errors in their certified rate calculations," Rawlings said Tuesday during the Davis County Commission's weekly meeting. "The errors were adjusted and new rates sent out."

Total county tax revenues will be up by 3.2 percent, on average, and are accounted for by growth from new homes and businesses. When homeowners' tax notices are mailed out July 31 and no value increase is shown, their county taxes should be the same, Rawlings said.

The total of new tax dollars collected by the county amounts to $681,441. Rawlings said the new taxes will be paid by owners of new homes and businesses. The new tax dollars, he said, are from growth in the county.

Commissioner Michael Cragun thanked Lee and Rawlings for being on top of the situation and asked Lee how much extra county residents would have paid if the tax rate had not been reduced. Lee estimated 7 to 8 percent.

County Recorder Richard Maughan took a moment during the meeting to announce his office, at 10:24 a.m. Tuesday, had recorded its 2 millionth document, a trust deed from First American Title of Utah.

"It took 128 years to get the first millionth document recorded and only 11-and-a-half years to get the second millionth recorded," Maughan said.

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