PROVO — Utah County commissioners will be asking for more than voters' opinions on a sales-tax increase to fund commuter rail — no matter how the ballot reads.

Commissioners on Tuesday approved the language that will appear on the ballot Nov. 7 for the opinion question on a quarter-cent sales tax increase.

Utah County residents will be asked to vote in favor or against the imposition of the tax, which will raise an estimated $765 million by 2030 for commuter rail and other transit and road projects.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jeff Alexander, R-Provo, and passed in 2003 made it possible for the county to put the tax increase in the hands of voters in the form of an opinion question.

But voters shouldn't be fooled by the terminology. Commissioners are asking for approval, not just opinions.

"It's an opinion question, but it's binding," Commissioner Jerry Grover said. "It's not just to get a sense of what the people want."

A majority vote is needed for commissioners to officially levy the tax, Grover said.

"It's kind of like the people give their permission, and the commission institutes the desire of the people by (implementing the tax)," he said.

If the question passes, 87 percent of the money raised would go toward the construction and early operation and maintenance of a 22 1/2-mile commuter rail line from Provo north to the Salt Lake County border.

Eight percent of those revenues would be allocated for new construction or improvements to state highways within the county. The remaining 5 percent would be designated for other transit projects, such as bus-rapid transit.

If voters fail to OK the proposed tax increase, it will be back on the ballot in two years, said county commissioner Steve White.

"By then, the public will be feeling the pain (of congestion on I-15) and they'll say, 'Oh, we're two years behind,"' White said.

The county is growing by 18,000 to 20,000 residents each year, he said, adding about 2,000 cars to I-15 annually. At that rate, the fourth lane that opened on I-15 in May will reach capacity in less than three years, White said.

"The pain is coming," he said.

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