EAGLE MOUNTAIN -- Developers in Eagle Mountain, who say they have more to lose than anybody if service is poor and life is difficult in the new town, say that so-called "facts" being tossed about by residents promoting a disconnection are misleading.

The number of residents interested in breaking away and starting another new city in the west desert is not large, insist Scot Hazard and Scott Kirkland, partners in the Ranches development company selling property on the north side of Cedar Valley.They say that contrary to information disseminated by a handful of unhappy homeowners, the town's property taxes are actually among the lowest in Utah County.

City Administrator John Newman said he misread the numbers in a tax rate summary issued by Utah County when he responded to Deseret News queries about the town's property taxes. He thought they were among the highest.

"They're actually among the lowest," Newman said Monday. "In the bottom 25 percent, in fact."

Five residents are currently asking homeowners to sign a petition for disconnection, saying they have 79 percent of 500 households who want to leave Eagle Mountain.

An informational flier sent out last week listed both the homeowners' debt load and property taxes as among the highest in the county and in the state.

In rebuttal, Hazard said he understands only 200 mailers were sent out and only around 40 percent of those have been returned.

"If they're saying 79 percent want to disconnect," he said. "That's 79 percent of the 40 percent of less than half of Eagle Mountain."

There are currently 370 homes built or under construction in the Ranches area.

Hazard said it's misleading to make people think everyone in Eagle Mountain is not happy when his company can barely keep up with those who want to buy homes in the town.

"We don't want to create the image that we're all fighting out here," he said. "We're not."

Resident Ruth Brandt, who lives in the town center area, said she's distressed at the negative picture being painted of Eagle Mountain.

"I love Eagle Mountain. I love almost everything about living here, the clear skies and starry nights, the wildlife, the open spaces and most of all the people. If I have my way, I'll grow old and die in Eagle Mountain," Brandt said.

Former Mayor Rob Bateman is currently helping organize a group to oppose the secession move.

Hazard said he is asking homeowners not to sign the petition for disconnection. He said the process would not be simple and would create more problems than it would solve.

"Be assured that if disconnection from the town of Eagle Mountain were a good idea, you would have heard it first from the Ranches," he said in a follow-up letter to residents in which he cautioned against supporting the unrest.

"Disconnection is not the answer (to growing pain issues)," he wrote. "It has taken over three years of growing pains for Eagle Mountain to get where it is today. Disconnection only starts that process over -- a painstaking idea that none of us can afford to support."

Residents Randy Johnson, Roxanne Clark, Bill Neathery, David Lifferth and Kelvin Bailey all say the town is refusing to take their complaints about poor service seriously.

The residents say phone service is unreliable, water costs are high and power and gas could be obtained more cheaply from the major utility suppliers.

"We have urged the town to sell the utilities to Questar, US WEST and Utah Power and Light," said the committee members in a letter to residents. "The town has refused to consider it. We feel that forming our own town, using state regulated utilities will increase satisfaction, increase the value of our real property and decrease our debt load."

According to the committee, the new town could sell the utility debt, issue bonds for remaining costs and use property and sales tax revenue to pay off the bonds.

They say they have retained legal experts to help walk them through the disconnection process.

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Mayor Paul Bond said the town is not ignoring the resident complaints. A new $800,000 switch is being engineered and should be installed by May. He said the town has received an offer for gas service but that it was too low to consider. He said the water charges are deliberately high in order to discourage excessive use.

Hazard said he waters a 1.6 acre plot with growing trees and a 1.5-acre manicured lawn. His highest water bill last year was $86.

"When we have met with the Citizen's Committee and tried to identify core issues, nobody could really identify what were the real core issues," he said. "It's pretty much the utilities that are fueling the fire, and we've offered to go to the city for solutions. No one took us up on our offer."

Randy Johnson has said the Citizens Committee is threatening secession as a last-ditch effort to get the city's attention.

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