$85.7 million Utah County budget

PROVO — Mansions, luxury vehicles, private jets, small islands — $85.7 million can buy a lot. But Utah County government chiefs won't purchase any of those pricey items with the millions of dollars in the county's budget.

Instead, the money will pay for rehabilitation center counselors, election clerks and sheriff's deputies, among other expenditures. The Utah County Commission on Tuesday approved the 2008 budget that is $8 million more than last year's budget — and $3 million more than the original proposed budget.

The extra $3 million was added with more liberal views of county revenues.

Commission Chairman Steve White said he wanted to cut the budget by an extra $3 million, but $85 million was the lowest it could be cut.

Tuesday's approval was the third attempt by the three-man county panel to ratify the budget. The scheduled approvals Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 had to be put off in order for departments to cut money from their requested budgets.

White said some county departments were unhappy with the commission because of the amount of funds the commission forced them to cut from proposed budgets.

Utah County Sheriff James Tracy told the commission that the money his department was given wasn't enough. The county's population growth in the county, he says, is putting a strain on his resources.

"We're pressing past the point where there's adequate funds to do the things that are necessary," Tracy said.

The department's funds are pushed to the edge, he said.

"If detectives have three homicides instead of one it presses their budget to the breaking point," Tracy said.

White said the current commission has helped increase the budget each year and said his opinion differed from the sheriff's when it came to necessities.

To that, Tracy replied, "I'm not making a statement that the commissioners haven't had a concern about (the budget). ... We should allow taxation increase when valuations go up. It's unrealistic to not allow that increase to come."

He added: "The pie is pretty much all allocated. It's time to make a bigger pie."

In order to enlarge the budget, the commission would have to raise taxes, which would also enlarge the services county residents receive.

However, the commissioners, all Republicans, are unwilling to call for that.

Commissioner Gary Anderson said the commission shouldn't be trying to make money but should be able to provide the services necessary for residents.

"Our business is not funded by selling a product, our business is funded by taxpayers," he said. "Our job is providing services and keeping taxes as low as we can."