To the editor:
Robert English's letter (Forum, Jan. 20) expressed concern that his taxes had increased even though I have not raised county taxes over the past several years. He wondered how that could be. I responded to Mr. English indicating two reasons why this happened, which I would like to summarize here.The first is that Mr. English's property has been reappraised. This is the responsibility of the independently elected county assessor, not the commission. These valuations may fluctuate from year to year and can be appealed if a citizen feels there is a mistake. However, the county tax rate, which is set by the commission, has remained level.
The second factor in Mr. English's situation is that he lives in Salt Lake City. Most cities and school districts, including Salt Lake City, have increased their tax rates over the past years, while Salt Lake County has not. But since the county has the responsibility of collecting taxes for all the taxing entities in the valley, all increases by any city, school district, mosquito abatement district or whatever show up on the tax notice.
The Salt Lake County tax rates, which are about 20 percent to 25 percent of the total tax bill, are the only ones which I as a commissioner have any authority to set and control, and those tax rates have remained steady.
I hope this information helps to clarify the concern Mr. English has raised. The actual tax increases many property owners have experienced have resulted not from increased tax rates on the part of myself and my commission colleagues but from increased property values and/or increases imposed by taxing entities other than Salt Lake County.
D. Michael Stewart
Salt Lake County Commission