Salt Lake County OKs $743 million budget

Over the protests of several people who spoke at a public hearing — most of them county employees — the Salt Lake County Council passed a $743 million budget with no tax increase Tuesday.

"Salt Lake County employees have received more pay increases than any other employees in the state," Councilman Randy Horiuchi said after hearing many employees complain about their 1 percent cost-of-living and 2.75 percent merit pay increases. "There are a bunch of people (on the council) who fought and gave blood for what you have here tonight."

About 100 people came to the hearing.

Horiuchi said county employees have received an 11.75 percent total salary increase over the past several years, compared to 1 percent for state employees.

"The Legislature is so ticked off at us they're stopping things in the Legislature because we're paying you too much," he said.

The budget includes financial incentives for employees who lose weight or quit smoking under the county's "healthy lifestyles" program. The council considered Acting Mayor Alan Dayton's proposal to give them a one-time $600 bonus in lieu of the 1 percent increase but decided against it.

In general, council members said they were happy with the budget. It contains adequate fund balances (too much, Councilman Joe Hatch said) to maintain the county's AAA bond rating with all three national bond rating companies.

Salt Lake County is one of only 21 such counties nationwide, out of more than 3,000 counties.

While the budget includes no tax-rate increase, it does include one tax shift to pay for fire protection. Residents in the unincorporated areas and Cottonwood Heights will see a reduction in their municipal services taxes, with a corresponding increase in taxes for the Unified Fire Authority.

At the request of incoming Mayor Peter Corroon, the budget contains a 30 percent decrease in the mayor's office budget. (He said there was a lot of "fluff" in Mayor Nancy Workman's office that could be eliminated.)

The council also will pay $2 million to the University of Utah for use of its athletic facility — including a full-size indoor soccer and football field — during evening and weekend hours.

During budget discussions last month, the council briefly considered, and rejected, a tax levy to cover property tax judgments against the county (which other local governments have enacted).

Auditor Sean Thomas, while recognizing the good points of the budget, warned that the municipal services fund needs attention given the incorporation of Cottonwood Heights, which took most of what is left of the unincorporated areas' commercial tax base. He urged a comprehensive review of the fund in 2005.

As for the employees' complaints, "I guess the best definition of a good compromise is that nobody is happy," Councilman Cortlund Ashton said.

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