County backs tax to fund Palace work

Salt Lake County has lined up behind its capital city to impose additional sales tax on the downtown area to fund Salt Palace expansion.

The County Council voted Tuesday to support Salt Lake City's attempt to impose an additional sales tax in downtown of one-tenth or one-eighth percent. The city has not yet decided how much it wants to impose.

Salt Lake City is on the hook to fund part of Salt Palace expansion through its innkeepers tax. The city, however, prefers to provide the funds through a limited sales tax increase, and after much discussion county officials have decided they're good with that.

The council has been looking at different scenarios in which the city contributes between $13.8 million and $17.4 million toward the $68 million project (not including $14 million to $22 million for a new parking terrace at Sandy's South Towne Expo Center), which, along with the way it's structured, will have a heavy impact on the county Tourism, Recreation, Cultural and Convention facilities fund, drawing it down to very low or even negative levels during the next 10 years.

The sales tax increase would require approval in the Legislature's special session, scheduled for later this month. There is no guarantee that that will happen.

The city's plan is to impose the tax on all retail sales except sales of automobiles and automobile repairs.

The County Council Tuesday went ahead and passed a "parameters resolution" on issuing $75 million in bonds.