Although I believe the points made in my letter were lost, there are some clarifications that need to be made concerning Terry Hogan's rebuttal to my published Readers' Forum (Oct. 20) letter.
I cannot find the numbers to support Hogan's statement that the cost of general government decreased from 1992 to 1993. According to the figures published in the 1994 adopted budget, General Fund expenditures rose from $114,351,358 to $124,481,107 - an 8.9 percent increase. The county budget has risen 31.8 percent from 1990 to 1994 during an estimated 8.3 percent increase in the county's population.Hogan's statement regarding revenues is incorrect. The adopted 1994 budget for all funds is $302,818,873 while anticipated revenues total $293,757,321. That's a deficit budget. The budgeting process the county utilizes incorporates available fund surpluses from previous years.
The private sector accounts for these surpluses (read "profit") in retained earnings and will often distribute these surpluses to shareholders in the form of dividends. I believe the shareholders of the county would really like one of these dividends in the form of a tax rebate rather than using them to fund expansionary budgets in future years.
The county government seems not to have responded to the results of their focus groups in 1993. Hogan stated that budgets to social services increased in 1994. The Human Services budget actually decreased from 1993 to 1994 - from $39,118,659 to $38,971,573. The development of new revenue sources by shifting costs to users obviously was unsuccessful as Wheeler Farm, the planetarium, the equestrian park and others operate at significant deficits and require operating revenue transfers from the General Fund.
The taxpayers defeated a sales tax increase to support the arts last year. I suppose another referendum will be needed to defeat the use of income and property taxes to fund these activities.
I believe Salt Lake County's AAA Moody's bond rating is irrelevant to the above.
Alyson M. Kelly
Salt Lake City