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County commissioners continue debate on quarter-cent sales tax after hours of public comment; adopt advisory-board resolution and an indigent abatement
Summary
Utah County commissioners heard public comment and extensive discussion on enacting a countywide fourth quarter-cent sales tax for roads and transit tied to an interlocal with UTA, then voted to continue the item to Dec. 11 to allow service-level agreement work. They also adopted a Children's Justice Center advisory-board resolution 2-1 and approved an indigent property tax abatement for parcel 41-3790002.
The Utah County Board of Commissioners convened after the Board of Equalization meeting and handled consent items, a property-tax abatement, and an extended discussion on enacting a quarter-cent county sales tax for roads and transit.
On the consent agenda, commissioners adopted a resolution appointing members to the Children’s Justice Center advisory board. The vote was recorded 2 in favor and 1 opposed; Commissioner Graves is recorded as opposing while Commissioners Lee and Ivy approved the resolution.
On a regular agenda item, commissioners considered an indigent tax abatement under County standard 3.3 (eligibility includes age 65+, disability, or extreme hardship; household income cap cited in discussion as $32,738). Speaker 2 moved to approve the abatement for parcel 41-3790002; Speaker 3 seconded the motion and it passed unanimously (3-0).
The most substantive portion of the meeting focused on agenda item 3: adopting Article 21-6 of the Utah County Code to impose a quarter-cent sales tax (the “fourth quarter cent”) dedicated to highways and public transit and implementing an interlocal agreement with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). Commissioner views diverged: one commissioner urged delaying county action until a service-level agreement with UTA is complete and suggested taking the matter to voters given the recent defeat of a statewide proposition; another argued the county should act and that local control via the interlocal will address earlier voter concerns about UTA involvement and could raise an estimated $20–22 million annually for county and city roads.
Members of the public weighed in: Rhona Rolfe, president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, urged adoption of the interlocal and enactment of the tax by July 1, 2019, citing estimated revenues and the importance of local control. Heather Williamson, state director for Americans for Prosperity in Utah, opposed county enactment without a public vote and argued residents have rejected similar tax increases at the ballot box. Heather and other public commenters urged commissioners to consider budget cuts and taxpayer burden.
After discussion, Speaker 2 moved to continue item 3 to the December 11 commission meeting to allow further discussion and to coordinate with UTA on a service-level agreement; Speaker 3 seconded. The motion to continue passed 3-0.
Commissioners then struck items 10 and 11 from the regular agenda and approved scheduling two closed meetings: one to discuss personnel/health matters and one for strategy on pending or imminent litigation. No general public comment followed and the body moved into closed session as scheduled.
