Mortensen, who wrote against the measure in the voter guide, said residents are already paying one-half cent in sales tax for transportation projects. He cites the $10 increase in vehicle registrations in Davis and Weber counties for corridor preservation, and says that four countywide property-tax increases are enough for residents to shoulder.

Steve Handy, spokesman for the Northern Utah Transportation Alliance, said Thursday his group is aware of the opposition but confident it can build support to approve the tax hike this November. The challenge is getting voters to understand why the tax hike is needed and, in Davis County, to differentiate it from a question about school vouchers that is also on the ballot, Handy said.

The school voucher question is labeled "Referendum 1" on the Davis County ballot. The tax increase question is titled "Opinion Question 1." Weber County has labeled the transportation question as "Transportation Improvement Question 1."

"It's not going to be easy," Handy said about the campaign. "Even though there are those of us who understand it ... it's just not on the radar screen of many people."

The Transportation Alliance is working to distribute lawn signs, design mailers, gather letters of support from city councils and raise money for media advertisements. The group believes that all residents of the three counties will benefit from the tax hike.

"We want people to recognize this is more of an investment toward decreasing future taxes," Pitt said.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com; jdougherty@desnews.com