Salt Lake County Council approves tax hike to chirping of crickets

Extremely short notice may have been to blame Thursday evening for the complete absence of public comment at a hearing on a Salt Lake County Council proposal to raise property taxes to help offset revenue shortfalls.

The proposal — passed Tuesday on a 5-4 party-line vote, and again in a formal vote Thursday — would shift about $5.5 million in unpaid bond debt to the property tax levy. That change would add about $10 annually to homes valued at $250,000 — a move that council Republicans say is ill-timed and, for the moment, not necessary.

"These are hard times for everyone and not the time to be burdening taxpayers with higher payments," said Republican Councilman David Wilde after the hearing. "There are other things to be considered … other areas we need to look at."

Wilde's Republican colleague, Councilman Max Burdick, was the only other GOP member in attendance Thursday, and he stuck with his Tuesday vote against the tax increase.

"At this point, I'd rather hold off on raising taxes," Burdick said.

Those words echo the current sentiment of Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon who sided with Republicans in opposing the proposal on Tuesday and reiterated his feelings Thursday evening.

"I don't think it's a good time to raise taxes," Corroon said. "We're still looking at the budget and still looking at how we will be able to make some cuts."

Cuts have been job one for both the council and mayor's office since last year when they trimmed about $10 million from the annual budget in 2009 over 2008, approved more than $17 million in further reductions this March and continued the saga with an additional $5 million in budget downsizing on Tuesday.

In spite of those efforts, the reductions have not kept pace with the slowing economy and shrinking revenues, and Tuesday's cuts, without the property tax increase, left about a $5 million unfilled gap. Although the 2009 budget is balanced, the shortfall would likely surface in 2010. Democrats contend this shortfall looms even larger as the "low-hanging fruit" has been picked and the budget scalpel now hovers near vital programs.

A partial list of possibilities, presented by the county's chief financial officer, Darrin Casper, on Tuesday was described by one Democratic council member as "Draconian."

Democratic Council Chairman Joe Hatch said it is this reality, and a hard deadline for making changes to county tax rates, that motivated council Democrats to back the debt shift.

"Where is the other money going to come from?" Hatch said. "The mayor and Republican council members made the decision not to recommend any tax increases … but they haven't offered a solution to the problem."

Coroon said Thursday that the list Casper highlighted Tuesday was not complete and his office continues the work of finding options.

"There are other things to be considered," Corroon said. "We're not excluding furloughs or other cuts."

Corroon can exert his opinion in the matter through the power of the executive pen — his signature is required to enact the council action. A 15-day clock was begun Thursday evening that is the limit for the mayor's decision on the matter. A veto would require council Democrats to go back and find a vote among the four Republicans — a possibility Wilde characterized as very slim.

"After the vote Tuesday and tonight I'd be surprised, very surprised, if anyone changed their vote."

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com