Most decried it.

The board signed off on it anyway.

"Anytime that you increase taxes . . . the boards of education take it pretty seriously before they proceed," USBA executive director Richard Stowell said. "Sometimes it becomes an educational process for people to have an opportunity to hear what the needs are of the district. . . . Hopefully, in those times, the public can understand."

On the flip side, Jerman hopes boards understand public tolerance for new taxes.

Taxpayer association data show they do. Local property taxes annually grew 12 percent or more in the years preceding the 1986 truth-in-taxation law. That growth halved after the law passed and has remained under 12 percent.

Truth-in-taxation hearings also have inspired a few to abandon proposed tax increases.

Two years ago, the Davis County Commission scrapped most of a proposed 138 percent tax hike that would have expanded the county jail after 1,000 residents showed up to protest it.

Timing is everything

But there's a difference between counties and school districts. The county's truth-in-taxation hearing was in December, before its budget was set. Counties' budgets run from January-December instead of on a July-June fiscal year.

"If we could have truth in taxation at the same time we have hearings on budgets, that's really where the value comes in having input from residents," Christensen said.

District officials and Jerman agree. While many concede there's little political will to overhaul the system, they have some ideas.

Tew, a former tax commissioner, suggests local entities' budgets operate on an 18-month lag so tax rates are ready.

There's also talk about pushing budget processing to July 8 for the same reason, said Alpine District's Rob Smith, president-elect of the Utah Association of School Business Officials.

The Salt Lake City Council wants the Utah League of Cities and Towns to call for stricter adherence to time lines for calculating tax rates, Christensen said.

Meanwhile, the public can get involved sooner.

The Park City Board of Education starts talking budgets in March and goes on local radio programs after each board meeting, said board member Carol Murphy. People chime in along the way, and truth-in-taxation hearings typically are empty.

Other boards post agendas, and some offer meeting summaries online.

"The public, if they're interested, just need to pay attention to the process and make their input known," Newton said.

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E-MAIL: jtcook@desnews.com; terickson@desnews.com