And because counties would need to know what price someone paid for a home, Utah should become a disclosure state, meaning that when a home is sold, the purchase price is reported to the state or local government, Bell said.

Officials in Davis County, where property values jumped by 19.5 percent this year, are planning to assess the entire county in 2008, which would keep single areas, such as Bountiful, from seeing huge jumps in tax bills.

Bountiful had not been reappraised in about a decade, said Davis County Assessor James Ivie, and residents saw an average increase of 30.5 percent in property values because properties were finally brought up to market value this year.

Davis County has teamed up with the Davis School District, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and Bountiful city to provide $5.7 million for a one-time tax discount or "equity abatement" to qualifying properties.

Davis County commissioners have also authorized rainy-day fund money to hire additional employees in the Assessor's Office to prepare for valuations in 2008.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com