A late push for a small tax cut by Salt Lake County Council Democrats failed to inspire vocal support from county residents or sway their Republican counterparts.
In giving final approval Tuesday night to the county's $736 million budget for 2004, council members also voted — along partisan lines — against a $900,000 reduction to the municipal services fund, which provides emergency services to the unincorporated areas. They decided instead to take a closer look at it during their midyear budget adjustments in June.
If the reduction had been approved, it would have translated into an $11 decrease in the property tax bills of residents in the unincorporated county.
The failed tax cut was proposed by Councilman Joe Hatch two weeks ago during the final hour of budget debates and was strongly backed by his fellow council Democrats, Jim Bradley and Randy Horiuchi, before being tabled by council Republicans. Last weekend, the three Democrats called 7,000 people with recorded messages urging them to speak in support of the cut at Tuesday's public hearing. Only a half-dozen people spoke, however, and only two mentioned the tax cut.
Despite the minimal turnout and failed proposal, Hatch was relatively upbeat following the meeting and said he did not regret making the proposal. Calling the highly partisan, sometimes antagonistic debate about the tax cut "a good show," he said he didn't expect many people to come to the hearing, nor did he expect the Republican majority to allow his tax cut to pass.
During the meeting, Hatch responded to criticism that the seemingly last-minute move was actually a political stunt meant to make Republicans — four of whom are up for re-election in 2004 — look bad. While he admitted it would be good political fodder to have them vote against a tax decrease, he would prefer to get his goals accomplished, he said.
"If you're (the Republicans) foolish enough to not see the policy benefit of the decrease, then I'll take that as an issue in November," Hatch said. "But I would rather have the tax decrease."
Councilman David Wilde disputed the claim that the Republicans were voting against a tax cut, noting that the council had received warnings from county auditors about the volatility of the municipal services fund, which depends on revenues from areas that may incorporate or be annexed. Instead, he said, the Republicans were being fiscally responsible by not burdening unincorporated county residents with a tax cut that did not have corresponding reductions in spending and could mean a bigger increase in a couple of years.
"The Democrats want the Republicans to vote 'no' on this tax decrease," he said. "I'm not ashamed to do that, since I'll be listening to people . . . who know a hell of a lot more about a budget."
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com