While planetarium and library spending will increase, Salt Lake County residents will not see a tax increase if Mayor Nancy Workman gets her proposed budget approved.
Also included in the proposed budget, which was submitted to the County Council Monday, are increased salaries to achieve pay equity for corrections officers, continued investment in economic expansion and pay raises as high as 4.75 percent for all county employees.
Standing beside a crystal ball, Workman said that while the future may not be predictable, the methods to make sure the county's economy remains healthy are foreseeable.
"As clear as crystal, I see that although we may occasionally experience dark clouds and stormy weather, if we protect against new taxes, if we commit to service excellence, if we have the resolve to do what is right, we can weather those tough times," she said.
For the first time, Workman's proposed budget includes spending for programs at the Clark Planetarium, which is expected to open this coming spring. The funding planned for planetarium programs will help cover the costs of the Digistar projector and the IMAX theater.
The mayor has budgeted money to construct a new library in South Jordan and expand West Valley City's library. Money is also reserved for the possible construction of a new Draper library, which is still facing obstacles in finding a location.
"We have a role in the lives of our children," she said. "We will literally show them the universe in the planetarium and then they can read about the world in one of our libraries."
Other new programs and capital projects in the proposed budget include:
a neighborhood cleanup program that will utilize snowplows
a voluntary recycling program that will cost $3 per month and will begin this summer in Taylorsville
the first full year of funding for the Taylorsville recreation center
a new stall barn at the equestrian center
four curb-and-gutter projects
money to acquire land around the South Towne Expo Center
Members of the Salt Lake County Council, who will spend this week grappling with the final budget, had mixed feelings about the budget. Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch said that while he has generally supported the mayor's previous budgets, this one concerns him because of deficit spending and the funding of "gravy train" projects in the south part of the valley, such as the equestrian barn.
"She needs to make significant cuts in the budget or raise taxes," Hatch said. "This is not a balanced budget. She is using $26 million from next year's surplus to fund continuing programs this year."
Republicans on the council generally supported the mayor's budget, especially the lack of new taxes for the coming year.
"It sounds positive. If we're at a point where we don't have to raise taxes, that's priority number one," Councilman Marv Hendrickson said.
E-MAIL: jloftin@desnews.com