PROVO — The Utah County Commission Tuesday voted to keep the quarter-cent, local sales tax hike option on the Nov. 3 ballot, despite controversy sparked by the county clerk's refusal to allow the proposal to go on vote-by-mail ballots.
City officials from the five Utah County cities that have opted to conduct their general elections this year using vote-by-mail — Lehi, Orem, Cedar Hills, Alpine and Vineyard — are concerned their residents will be faced with a confusing fall election, which could ultimately stifle their voice on the countywide tax, said Cameron Boyle, assistant to the Lehi city administrator.
That's because the proposal could end up on a separate ballot, meaning vote-by-mail city residents, which Boyle said comprise one-third of Utah County residents, will have to vote twice in order to weigh in on both city issues and the tax hike.
If approved, the tax hike would cost taxpayers one penny for every $4 spent.
"The likelihood, in our mind, of voters voting twice on two separate ballots is pretty low, and so our voices may not be as heard as well as in other cities," Boyle said. "The primary focus here should be engaging the most voters as absolutely possible."
But Utah County Clerk Bryan Thompson said allowing the sales tax hike to be placed on vote-by-mail ballots would give those cities unfair pull in determining the success or failure of the countywide proposal, since by-mail elections typically increase turnout.
"Just to be consistent on a hot-button issue like a tax increase, that's why I chose to make it as uniform as possible in access," Thompson said. "I'm trying to be fair."
The clerk said to ensure all voters are educated on the issue, the county plans to mail informational cards to each registered voter. He said conducting the countywide election as it is currently planned will cost at least $60,000.
Boyle believes it would be best if the county conducted vote-by-mail in all cities, but Thompson said that would mean an investment of up to $800,000 to pay for the equipment and processing, which he expects to happen sometime in the future, but not this year.
While county and city officials continue to clash on the issue, the potential for a lawsuit hovers. State Elections Director Mark Thomas said that while the law allows for combined or separate elections, the statute mandates it must be "practical" to do so.
"Whether it's practical or not practical is what we're trying to determine and whether there is a legal basis for that," Thomas said. "I'm not sure everyone is completely right, and I'm not sure everyone is completely wrong, so we're trying to find the middle ground. But unfortunately that hasn't happened yet."
On Tuesday, Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee tried to rescind the commission's vote last week to put the tax increase on the fall ballot, noting the conflicts that have risen from the vote-by-mail ballot issue. He also argued that the proposal is not as supported by cities as the other commission members believe, since he can only find resolutions from eight out of the county's 28 cities that have passed resolutions supporting the ballot item.
Lee told the Deseret News after the commission's vote that he supports Thompson's decision to do what's best for the county, but he acknowledged the issue will be confusing to voters who may have to cast two separate ballots.
He said the clerk's decision to block the ballot measure from vote-by-mail ballots resulted in a "confrontational" meeting between county and city officials.
"But my resolution today would have cleaned that whole thing up," Lee said. He proposed to postpone the ballot measure until the countywide 2016 general election.
Lee said instead of allowing 40 percent of the tax hike's funds to go to the Utah Transit Authority, county officials should ask the Legislature to adjust the law to ensure all the money goes to local roads.
But County Commission Chairman Larry Ellertson, who sits on the UTA board, said he has heard support from local leaders representing about 70 percent of the county's population. He also said cities have urgent transportation funding deficits.
"I for one don't believe we can afford to wait," Ellertson said. "Because if we do, and we don't take care of the needs of our transportation system now, it will become much more expensive in the future."
After Lee's resolution failed, he said that while he would like to see a simpler solution for the five vote-by-mail cities, he trusts the county clerk's judgment. He said county and officials are continuing negotiations, mediated by the state's elections office, to reach a compromise.
"We need to try to work together on this," Ellertson said, "and do the best we can in terms of having a fair and equal election."
Email: kmckellar@deseretnews.com
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