Issue: Property owners faced with a tax bill that is substantially higher than last year's, need more time than the current 20-day period to pay the tax bill.

History: Last year, when property values were skyrocketing, Salt Lake County reassessed the property values in the southeastern area of the valley. As a result, property values shot up as much as 300 percent and some homeowners received tax bills $3,500 higher than last year. "That's quite a hit and these people need some time to pay it," said Rep. Ray Short, R-Salt Lake, sponsor of HB85.Action: The House Revenue and Taxation standing committee forwarded the bill to the full House on a 6-5 vote. The bill will allow a homeowner whose property value increased more than 20 percent over last year about one year to pay the higher property tax. The deadline before being declared delinquent would be Sept. 1 of the year following notice of the higher property tax. But the bill excludes value increases due to improvements made to the property.

Pros and cons: Opponents to HB85, which include the Utah Association of Counties and local school districts, said a system is in place to accommodate taxpayers who need more time to pay and a mandated waiting period strains county budgets. A fiscal note to Short's bill said it will cost counties $400,000 annually in programming costs and lost interest income. "We are sticking our nose into the county's business," warned House Minority Whip Kelly Atkinson, D-West Jordan. "We should rise above our constituents and tell them to deal with this on a local level, at the ballot box."

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But Short complained that Salt Lake County is not accommodating property owners. The current deadline for payment is about 20 days. "These are not people who won't pay their property taxes. They need some time to do it," he said. "I represent the people first and the county second."

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