SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County Council will replace the politically unpopular police fee with a property tax levy specifically for law enforcement.
In a unanimous decision, the council voted Tuesday to replace the fee levied by the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area with a property tax levy. In doing so, the council would eliminate the municipal services tax levy and transfer it to the law enforcement service area. The county would then pay for public works projects and maintenance solely through sales tax revenue.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said the vote was "a very courageous move on the part of a bipartisan council."
"It's a recognition they're giving the citizens direct control over a vital service. It's huge," Winder said.
The county had to come up with a new revenue stream for the law enforcement authority after the Utah Legislature passed a bill that eliminated the ability for the service area to levy the so-called police fee after Dec. 31, 2012. The fee provides about 55 percent of the revenue for the service area.
If the funding shift is approved during the budgeting process later this year, an average homeowner will pay less in property tax to pay for law enforcement than they did in police fees, according to SLVLESA documents.
The owner of a $220,000 home would pay $70 less per year in property tax compared to what they are assessed by the fee, assuming they deduct property taxes from their federal and state income taxes.
However, homes valued at more than $390,000 will pay more in property tax than they would have paid in fees. For instance, a home valued at $500,000 would pay about $45 more per year.
Kennecott, the county's largest taxpayer — and one of the staunchest critics of the police fee — will pay about $4.3 million to SLVLESA for law enforcement under current assessments. That's nearly triple what it paid under the police fee. Still, Kennecott officials said they supported the change.
"We support the tax over the fee even though we know we will pay more. We knew we would pay more under a tax than fee but it is the appropriate method and a much more open process. Through the taxation system, the public and corporations can be involved in the process, it's discussed publicly and goes through a required process," said Kennecott spokeswoman Jana Kettering.
Meanwhile, churches, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations exempt from property taxes will no longer pay for law enforcement in unincorporated Salt Lake County.
Kerri Nakamura, administrative aide to at-large Councilman Jim Bradley, said the council's decision to fund law enforcement with property tax is a powerful statement about priorities.
"It says public safety is the No. 1 priority. We will fund fire and police with our most stable source of revenue," said Nakamura. (Bradley is chairman of the SLVLESA board of trustees and serves on the Unified Police Department board.)
Councilwoman Jani Iwamoto, who represents much of unincorporated Salt Lake County, expressed concerns about funding public works projects and maintenance in the unincorporated county solely from sales tax, which is a more volatile revenue stream.
"Sometimes the drive for incorporation or whatever, is (about) potholes and stuff like that," she said.
But in this specific case, the public policy goal of consolidated policing "trumps the policy of revenue diversity," Nakamura said.
Unlike law enforcement, which is a primary function of government, there is more wiggle room in budgeting in public works. Projects and maintenance can be adjusted according to tax revenues.
"For example, you can mow lawns every 10 days instead of weekly," she said.
Hopefully, the county has seen the worst of sales tax collections during the recent economic downturn, Nakamura said. "Unless the economy truly tanks again, municipal services are going to be OK."
Winder said the added benefit to the shift to property tax is that Herriman and Riverton, both served by the Unified Police Department, have expressed interest in annexing into SLVLESA as well.
SLVLESA is a service district that funds law enforcement activities provided by the Unified Police Department. The fee was imposed to cover the budget gap created by the loss of sales tax revenue during the economic downturn.
Contributing: John Daley
Email: marjorie@desnews.com