Taxes from Cottonwood Heights made up about 15-19 percent of the municipal services fund, Crockett said, so the city should get that much back — minus costs to the county for the city's incorporation.

Crockett's calculation pegged that amount at about $2.8 million.

"These funds are held on trust for a group of people for a specific purpose," he said. "That money that would have been spent in Cottonwood Heights really should follow the purpose and the people."

In the past, the county has given assistance to newly incorporated cities like a $50,000 loan to Herriman and a $150,000 loan to Holladay. But Councilman Randy Horiuchi questioned whether doling out millions from a fund for free was unfair to other cities that never received such treatment.

The possibility of Cottonwood Heights getting any cash from the municipal services fund was only recently made possible by a bill approved in an April special session of the Legislature. The measure, pushed by Cottonwood Heights, made it legal to make contributions to cities directly from county funds.

County leaders hope to have a final decision on what, if any, assistance will be offered by June 7.

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