From Deseret News archives:
Weber OKs vote on a transit tax hike
Officials to push .25% levy to fund myriad projects
Tuesday, the Weber County Board of Commissioners voted to place the issue on the November ballot.
If passed by voters, the county would collect about $8.7 million a year starting in 2008. About $2 million would have to be used to purchase land for future roads or road expansions, known as corridor preservation.
Potential projects in Davis, Weber and southern Box Elder counties include road construction and widening for east-west roads, corridor preservation for a North Legacy Parkway from Davis to Weber County, various transit projects and an extension of commuter rail from Pleasant View to Brigham City with a potential stop near Willard Bay.
All 15 Weber County mayors support getting the issue on the ballot, said Commissioner Ken Bischoff.
"Other groups will then help make sure the people of the community and of the county understand the benefits to having the tax imposed," he said.
Those other groups are the Chambers of Commerce in the three counties.
The three chambers have teamed up to form the Northern Utah Transportation Alliance and hope to raise money from area businesses to run a campaign for the tax increase. The alliance expects to raise about $300,000 from area businesses.
In 2006, when the Exoro Group marketed a similar tax increase to voters in Salt Lake and Utah counties, local businesses raised about $700,000 for advertisements to urge people to vote, and the measures passed handily.
This year, Davis, Weber and southern Box Elder County residents will likely see similar advertisements in the campaign, also headed up by the Exoro Group.
Dave Hardman, president and CEO of the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks businesses will support the marketing effort and the sales-tax increase.
"One of the major reasons is that transportation is the greatest support and hindrance to economic development," Hardman said. "Transportation is needed to get raw goods in and finished goods out."
If commerce can't move because of gridlock, businesses will be hurt, he said, adding that workers unable to get to their jobs will have a similar effect.
Davis County commissioners and the Brigham City Council recently put a .25 percent tax increase on the November ballot for their respective voters, and Perry and Willard city councils are expected to do the same.
Once the ballot questions are formalized by the remaining two cities, the transportation alliance can get to work, said Stephen Handy, the alliance's spokesman.
A large part of the alliance's education effort will be through direct mail, Handy said. The alliance is expected to take out newspaper and billboard ads and perhaps some radio spots. Television advertising is prohibitively expensive, he said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
