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Show By GARY R. BLODGETT Clearfield City Council has postponed until August 23 a decision to sign a franchise agreement with Mountain Fuel Supply Company. REASON FOR the delay is to study a a utility tax on residential and commercial use of natural gas. There is presently no tax on natural gas being served m the city, but some" Utah communities do impose a utility tax For example, Salt Lake City has a 6 percent tax, Ogden imposes a 4 percent tax, and Brigham City levies a 2 percent utility tax. proposal to impose CLEARFIELD has until August 1978 to renew the franchise, but P.R. Burbidge, representing the Mountain Fuel Supply Company, said the firm's policy is to renew thpse long term agreements early and asked the council to act as soon as possible The council agreed to postpone the decision until the August 23 meeting when a full quorum of council members would be present. Two councilmen were absent. In days gone past it might have been horses that young men used to djsh about the hills. And though horses are as popular as ever, today it might be a bicycle on whi h rider, fly into the air, enjoying a warm summer day. Enjoy it. Schools coming. AIRBORNE Iff Conservation of water by of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is paying off in big dividends users WAYNE M. Winegar, district manager, said that efforts to conserve water will now make it possible for farmers to mature late crops. "At the beginning of the summer it was questionable, even doubtful, that farmers would have sufficient water to mature late crops of hay, corn and sugar beets," said Mr. Winegar "Now this seems possible HE cautioned, however, that everyone must continue to conserve water. The summer is a long way from being over We must keep up our conservation efforts, he said. "I want to Felshaw King Appointed compliment e, "Committee of Consumer Services for the state of Utah THE committee was appointed by the State Governor, Scott Matheson The purpose of this committee is to represent the interests of the residents and small commercial consumers with respect to their gas, electrical and telephone utilities obeying the water aircraft maintenance hangar which will be used eventually for the flight test phase of the 6 program. Builder is H C. Smith Construction of Great Falls, Mont. DAVIS NEWS JOURNAL 197 B North Main St., Layton PHONE 376-91- 33 Published Weekly by CUPPER PUBUSHING CO. John State. Jr- - Publisher Second Pass Postage Paid At Layton, Utah SUBSCRIPTION $4.50 per year Out el State Subscription S5.50 Overseas Subscription SIS 00 (Payable In Advance) g ing THE city council decided to deny an offer from Don Johannesen for a three year contract for service which would amount to about three times per year for three years for the residential consumer and small business consumer in representing their interests before the public service commission This committee was created during the 1977 legislature, and is a volunteer service np service to r Layton on an on-ca- ll basis, that a three-yeaagreement with the city said 4 maintenance several years hence. new lightweight fighters can be accommodated m the structure at one time THE BUILDING will contain 84,300 square feet and will be 50 feet high, 279 feet wide and 359 feet long It will be built of steel and concrete the block The new facility will replace a structure of World War 11 vintage By GARY R. BLODGETT could save money by buying its own sweeper, which costs about $45,000 but with care should last 12 to 15 years Cost of the thrice yearlv service by Mr Johannesen's company would be about Councilman Robert Via costs - maintenance and operation in addition to purchase price - and to dis cuss a possible contract for a year at a time grb such as the monthly rate for a telephone line, extension phones and the tax municipal charges Hill went on to say, This is a good wav for our customers equipment, IER, THE commission upped the library levy by making a total increase of 2 20 mills Commissioners explained that this years county mill 83. compared to 9 63 the previous year levy is EARL 45 mill, could use the money derived from such a taxation Mr. Buibidge said the taxation could be implemented into the franchise any time and urged the council to decide soon on franchise. the MAYOR SANDERS said a study is being made of employee salaries to align salaries in Clearfield with those of similar jobs elsewhere The council also set the citys property tax mill levy at 11.77 mills, the same as a year ago, but not sufficient to meet salary demands. A request of an additional mill levy was declined MAYOR SANDERS said the additional mill could be designated for employee salaries and used only if the salary study indicates a need and used only if the city does not adopt a utility tax. COUNTY CLERK Rodney K Walker said it might be possible to use general fund money for the new addition and use revenue sharing funds already approved to supplement the general fund We could consider taking money from one or two major departments within the county government structure such as the sheriffs department, clerks office, etc. for the building project and supplement these departments with revenue sharing funds, he said 2 20 county levy "per home basis, the additional on a home 60 $17 about to amount will year per increase valued at $40,000 But this is only part of the overall picture," said Commissioner Glen W Hint in defense of the mill increase "The Davis School District upped its levy about four mills and they dont get half the flack we, as a county, get when we raise our levy one half as much THIS MATTER, however, ended in discussion only and no official action was taken Commissioner Flint said the first phase of Utah J A( K OLSON, director Taxpayers Association, 83 mills total urged the commission to hold the line at that being the amount needed to have a increase balanced budget The 2 20 mill levy approved by the commission, however, will provide more money than anticipated expenditures and we of the Taxpayers' Association don't like We'd much rather see a to see this," said Mr Olson reduction in taxes and I'm sure the taxpayers would too " 1 Definition Inflation Receiv ing do nuts when you buy a baker s dozen News, Charleston S( New Statement THE BILL will include the cost of local service and Davis ( uunty Commission Tuesday increased the county flood control mill levy by 1 55 mills, thus giving the county an overall tax boost of 2 20 mills over a year ago ON A COUNCIL members finally agreed to meet with Mr Johannesen to discuss all Bell Has A A new service is being provided by Mountain Bell to their customers Once a year an itemized statement will be sent showing a detailed breakdown of rates for local services and equipment, according to Utah Public Relations Manager Ken Hill city employees demands for higher wages, said Mayor O. Ross Sanders. There's no question but what the city munities said they would support a 2 mill increase for flood control The commission also discussed ways that money in the general fund might be used to help pay costs of an addition to the County Courihouse. 1 1 it was explained r BUT officials at Hill said that the hangar will hold up to 18 F-Phantom jets being prepared for flight testing THE HANGAR will be used for the when they begin arriving at Hill AFB for of street-sweepe- Austad said he felt the city Maintenance Directorate Eighteen Mr Johannesen, president of the company now providing IT MIGHT be a means of meeting the oinittro g would enable him to purchase a new sweeper COMPLETION is planned for the fall of 1978 Up to 80 percent of the work will be done by local HOME owners were generally limited to watering four hours a week this summer, grb $28, 000, and blame us (Mountain Fuel) for the But raised rates," said Mr. Burbidge. the gas company cant object to collecting the tax and will collect it (tax) either on a monthly or quarterly basis. Based on a two percent gas tax for 1976 gas bills, the city would receive an additional $22,400, according to the councils tabulations awns mcireaisiBS FDoosS Street Sweeping Service For Layton Denyed street-sweepin- THE committee will invoke Hangar Started Construction has started on general service in Layton is going to have to wait, at least for the time be- Chairman 01 Committee Attorney Felshaw King of 761 Sherwood Drive, Kays-villwas appointed as chairman of a five member committee to be known as the the public for their sacrifices in Street-sweepin- a $4,724,500 depot MR. BURBIDGE said about a dozen cities have some type of taxation connected with the utility. Some have a franchise tax, gross revenue tax, a license fee, or a combination of the three. If approved, the tax would be collected by Mountain Fuel through its monthly billing and the amount of the tax would appear on the bill under city tax. WE DONT feel it is fair to collect the especially when the cuscitys taxes tomers will look at the increased billing to verify equipment with i tual billing CUSTOMER bills mav not be affected immediaielv because different telephone rec eive will numbers itemized statements on a ro tating, monthly basis case customers mak changes in their telephone In service during the vear, thev will receive a similar itemization with the nc xt bill THE itemized sen e billing will be prov dc i regular, single line residen ha and business customers i -- - BUT THE commissioners agreed that the money is needed now to do flood control work throughout the county "Improvements are badly needed in our flood control program and we should be getting alot of this workI done as propose quickly as poss'ble," said Commissioner Flint that we increase the levy to 2 20 mills The commission unanimously agreed The budget, as approved last December (Davis County is on an annual, rather than a fiscal year budget system) totals $7, 191,506 $37,000 R Flint said that mayors of the com- construction MR. OLSON said some neighboring cities and counties are in much worse financial status than in Davis County Weber County, for example, jumped from 14 71 to the maximum 16 mills and are still carrying a deficit, he not- ed In other commission action, commissioners were advised that MOWEDA (juvenile retention center for Morgan, Weber and Davis counties) has a basement that could be used as a central holding area for juveniles up to 48 hours COMMISSIONER William Moss read a letter from the director of MOWEDA stating that the basement has outside entrances and exits and juveniles taken to the center could be held in this (basement) area and evaluated before being placed into the shelter or released Also, the commission was advised by Carl Chappell, director of the Davis County Chapter, Community Action r Program, that the local chapter has a program e families approved for insulation of homes of one-yea- OF THIS amount, $6,315,720 is for the general fund, $448,643 for library operation, $427,203 (not including revenue from the increased mill levy) for flood control, and $161, 736 for the hospital Commissioners said the flood control mill increase was necessary because this department is more than $38,000 in the red The library fund levy was also upped this year because that department, too, showed a deficit last year of COMMISSIONF of is expected to cost about $800,000 with the total remodeling job estimated at $1 2 million - HE SAID the program has been granted $35,009 (for labor only) to pay four employees to insulate homes. He said doors, windows, attics, etc , of a maximum of $350 can be spent on any one home and that the average should be about $200 per home. The four employees doing the work, which started last month and continues one year, are of long-terunemployment He said the monies are obtained through Title VI, Section 608 of the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) passed in 1974 full-tim- e low-inco- m |