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Show WEEKLY REFLEX DAVIS NEWS JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 11, 1980 NORTH DAVIS LEADER, SEPTEMBER n, 1980 Tax Of Pros And Cons Proposal Outlined By Area Officials By TOM BUSSELBERG Among issues to be decided by voters in the November election is a tax revision or limitation proposal that would broaden property that could be exempted and give additional taxing powers to the Legisla- ture. CONCERN TO the SJR 6 Tax Limitation Article has been expressed by some government agencies and among those asked to respond are Davis County Assessor Thayne Corbridge and W. Gary Harmer, Salt Lake Schools administrator. The bill would authorize nine changes as outlined by Mr. Harmer: PERMIT taxation of property owned by a governmental unit which is located outside of that unit, such as power stations. Exempt property owned by employee representation (unions) or welfare organizations. EXEMPT livestock from property tax, treating it like business inventory which is not taxed. FIRST BASEBALL TEAM school spirit, student-rbod- y loyalty and involvement is usually linked closely with -- the- school athletic program. holds true today as it did in 1914-1- 5 when Davis High School, the central high school ;;for Davis County, first - High jumping off the train and picking up handfiills of the wet substance. The Davisites called the Bamburger train a slow train to Arkansas." When the train arrived at the end of the Bamburger line, the .'opened. - members. Sophomores and freshmen were divided between Davis High in Kaysville rand South Davis High School - ";The opposition to one cen-- : tral high that had existed for ; many years was largely erased . 'ihe first year Davis opened. "Unity was achieved in part r through the athletic program. - By MARK D. MICKELSEN CLINTON Saying "we dont have 600 water meters go wrong on us all at once, Clin-t- o " The school fielded no football - team in 1914-1- Mayor Keith Cisney 5. announced a plan Friday to clear up a barrage of citizen complaints aimed at recent water billing increases. BASKETBALL team was highly successful. -"'According to the yearbook, J Our basketball team they sure have some steam. They run by perpetual motion. They ; flyhighasthesky.Theircolors to fly, and, by jove, they sure have the notion. Both Davis and South Davis had basketball teams. The r South Davis team consisted of four freshmen and one sopho- more. Uniforms were a collec-- : tion of ancient jerseys and - suits and assorted athletic gear. errors have been made on some recent meter readings, but this can no way accoont for the number of people angry at the city for water bills ranging from $50 to $193. A group of about 100 dissatisfied residents blasted the city last week for the outrageous bills at a meeting at Clinton Elementary. Most of them, according to the mayor, were unable to accept the fact that they had used so much water. HE SAID . THE TEAMS played school teams includ- Tooele, LDS Sophomores, Layton, Center-- : ville, Bountiful, Ogden, Eure-- l ka, Central Subs and West : Side High. Davis won one game by a ; score of 76 to 6. Things looked ; good for the team until Burton, the center, was injured and several team members along ; with Coach Hans J. Peterson came down with the mumps. ; : : : ; - : I and community ing Grantsville, HE EXPLAINED that he and another council member answered most all of the com- plaints. People were Do-It-Yours- con- cerned that their bills had jumped from an average of $12 to $50 and $100. The mayor said the city raised the rates prior to peak summer usage because the council wants the water utility fund to pay for itself. It was determined earlier in the year that unless the water rates increased, the city would be short of the money needed to operate the system. DURING THE Christmas holidays the team traveled to Idaho to play three games. La- ter on in the year, the ballteam along with ten girls and cha- porones traveled to Grantsvil-- ; le to spend two days in this rival community. To amuse themselves en route to Grant-- : sville, the boys decorated their clothes with candy and then washed the sticky mess off with snow they acquired by CONSTRUCTION THE MAYOR invited the residents concerned about the overcharge to the city offices where rechecks on water meters and water billings will be made. He said one of the problems stems from a computer error. & REMODELING & elf Save Let Me Help You: Prepare Drawings Develop an Estimate Obtain Fainancing Obtain Permits Obtain Tools & Equipment Purchase Materials Work with Subcontractors 33 Instruction Obtain Personal for each phase of work you want to do. Your next job, large or small, can be done more efficiently and at greater savings than you ever or thought possible. Give me a call at Main 5 No. North at me St., see in and drop " On-Si- te The system accidentally put out an overcharge one month before it was due. Many suffered because of the mistake.' But Mayor Cisney, more than willing to admit to the error, said the reduction of resi-den- ts the overcharge will only amount to about a $3-$- HE SAID in the last couple weeks, meters have been re- read to determine further errors, but few mistakes have emerged in the ongoing investigation. In the wake of the confusion Mayor Cisney has asked that meters be read each month and for each residence. He said the city will look at the billings from last year for the same period to determine if a signifi- - Local Bank Robbed CENTERVILLE By use of a composite drawing, Cen- terville police and the FBI are studying possible suspects of a lone armed bandit who robbed the Centerville Branch of Bank of Utah, 200 East Pages Lane, last Thursday. POLICE SAY they have a pretty good composite drawing of the suspect who entered the bank about 2:15 p.m. and ordered a bank teller to "empty her cash drawer, put all the money in a briefcase and - Consultants Don Klner P.E. only when used for irrigation ' purposes rather than exclusively for irrigation. PERMIT exemption of either owned or When the team arrived in the Grantsville gymnasium, they found one end of the room was decorated in brown and gold. Davis won the game. A DANCE followed the athletic contest. Some of the boys didnt arrive back to the Ideal In until 4 a.m. They found out that taking a Grantsville girl home meant a three mile walk back to town. The interest in basketball at Davis continued through the years. In 1920, just 60 years ago, Davis won their first state championship. cant increase is effecting all the complaining citizens. ! . f ASKED WHAT a significant increase means, the mayor said the city council will have to decide. Though he believes a 25 percent billing increase would qualify. Mayor Cisney said he is unsure what the city fathers will determine. In the event that the charges have changed considerably, he said the city will allow the resident to pay the bill over a period, but only if a significant increase is evident. four-mon- th THE BULK of the problem he added, that people cant believe they use that much water." He said some of the people leaving the Clinton meeting last week still were not satisfied with the citys investigation into the matter. Of those, the mayor said very few are expected to visit the city building to have meters rechecked or billings is," DURING THE early years at Davis, ballteams, school plays and musicals were coached by volunteers from the community or the teachers. E.G. King, a teacher who did not teach at Davis, coached the first baseball team. Practice was held daily after school on an uncompleted dirt baseball field. Lead by Simpson, the pitcher, the team had a very successful season. THE SCHOOL yearbook says this of Okeith Adams, a member of the first baseball team. The agriculture teacher asked, How long should cows be milked. ex- empting only property used Okeith Adams reply was, The same as short ones. dmg rented from property tax and also permit exemption of tangible personal property. Remove the $3,000 limitation on exemption for disabled veterans. ALLOW local governments to share revenue with one another. Eliminate the present 75 percent limit on the states funding of local school programs. OTHER changes would be made intended to clarify meanings and eliminate and update outdated language. Proponents are un- doubtedly going to be complaining of taxes too high and waste in the use of tax money, Mr. Harmer said. , My concern is that no one is organized to tell the other side of the story: that tax rates, particularly property tax rates, are reasonable in Utah. ANOTHER concern is that Utah school expenditures are reasonable and school quality is high. If we make comparisons to the rest of this country, we have reason to be proud of what is happening in Utah. While comparing it to Californias Proposition 13 Mr. Harmer said it is different in one very important way. Proposition 13 was an amendment to Californias constitution. The Utah proposed Tax Limitation Act is an act to be passed by the people. Big enough to Serve, Only one to look at the problem, make a determination, and release their findings. WE HAVE about exhausted the things we can do, he said, adding that the issue will be dropped soon unless the investigation uncovers a error. ySfnw 9 Soptfitf These Specials now through Sept. Royal China 20 pc. DINNERWARE SET American Ironstone 4 Place Setting $ 11 99 Reg.. 34.95 DIXON P. REISBECK "For All Your Insurance Needs cream-colore- Cheerfully Credulous Do you believe that awful story they are telling about Alice? Of course I do. What is it? three-fourt- h unpopular and unsuccessful in", states which have tried it. Our, Greenbelt law is the only: d do not have municipal power. The proposal to broaden the base for types of property to be exempted including hospitals, educational, employee representation and welfare facilities brought this response: The present law exempts property used exclusively for religious or charitable purposes. THE interpretation of qualification under the present law is so vague and controversial that there is a wide variety of application in various counties. With a liberal broadening of the exempt classes of property we would be overwhelmed with exemption applications. I feel that a more concise definition of exemption, rather than a broadening, would be wise, Mr. Corbridge said. SUPPORTING the tion of livestock from taxing he said the Utah State Assessors Association lobbied for this act, feeling it was justified, considering the revenue derived in relation to cost of .administration.' . 'i He supported the irrigation change but fiad reservations about the proposal to permit exemption of residences owned or rented from property taxes and the exemption of tangible personal property. THIS IS the amendment with the greatest impact, he said. It authorizes the Legislature to exempt or abate taxes on primary residences, tangible personal property and to reimburse local governments for losses of revenue as q result of any action they may implement. I strongly oppose this section for two reasons. It fers to the Legislature broad ( approach to classified taxation : Utah has tried to date. THE administration of this section would be of monumen-- , tal complexity, he said. In counties which are bedroom- type in tax base (such as Davis) the impact would be great in loss of tax base. It is my opinion that if we as taxpayers will be patient until Cycle II of reappraisal is complete, we in all counties will then be on a common tax base. Utah is respected as having a good blend of property; sales, income and franchise taxes as a base for funding pub- -' lie services. I fear we may throw the baby out with the bathwater if we lean too far in : shifting tax responsibility. THIS amendment would be a shift to industry and away from residential taxes. We must realize that industry does not pay taxes; they pass them through in the cost of their product. A loud no on this amendment is my feeling, Mr. Cor: bridge said. He also voiced opposition to ' the $3,000 limitation for Veterans exemption. This is based on action by the Legislature and gives that body a blank check. Additional relief is justified, but its limits need to be designated. REMOVING the'Ii'imt on state aid to schools Mr. Corbridge said, "This again is a move to increased bureacracy on a state level. It would be better to contain taxation and decision-makin- g of expenditures to a local level, close to control by the taxpayers.. i Imposing also brought a other taxes.' no from the assessor who said, AUTO 000 LIFE HOME E3 OWNERS Q TRUCKS 376-42- 79 1I7RSX1HRS9I-UYT- PHOTO CENTER SPECIALS Color Print Film Developed and Printed This amendment bestows upon the Legislature the tax policymaking instrument of the state. PRESENTLY, the constitution designates the basis for taxation. The approval of SJR 6 transfers ast powers to the The question Legislature. basically is: Do we want to entrust this great shift of powers and flexibility to the Legislature or do we wish to amend the Constitution to alter the taxing procedures and limitation? I - favor the second approach, said. Mr. Corbridge Small Enough to Care PHONE LAYTON HILLS MALL teller was WITNESSES said the man fled into the adjacent parking lot and apparently fled in an older model car. The suspect is described as being about 10 and weighing about 230 pounds. He was reportedly d shirt wearing a with dark brown stripes. It was kind of scarey, said the unidentified teller. But fortunately no one was hurt. grb are concerned with federal bureacracy and control and this would appear to be a new' level of control at the state . the. layer of government, : assessor continued. This is a move to classified taxation which has been most -- Under some other interpretations it would cut out of out school district total revenue. In my opinion, this Act, if passed, would be declared unconstitutional, or would be changed by the Legislature. MR. CORBRIDGE assessea each portion of the proposal and agreed with several phases but had concerns on others. His analysis included: On taxing all property located outside city boundaries he said, I concur with this concept. In fact, I feel that power generating facilities located within a jurisdiction should be taxed. BECAUSE approximately 35 percent of property taxes go into the uniform school fund, the exemption of municipal power plants puts an additional tax burden on cities which Mayor Cisney explained that experts will be brought in approached and removed a long-barrgun and a note from the briefcase. The bandit then escaped with between $l,000and$2,000 after retrieving the note from the teller. effect. HE SAID the city will soon check the average amount of water used per household during the peak periods. This will allow the council to determine whether or not citizen complaints are valid. camera inside the bank. Kaysville. g Ideal Inn. The same meal was also offered for breakfast and lunch. Change exemption for irrigation property to exempt it not activate any security 76&-412- 7 Construction-Remodslin- A SUPPER of cabbage and bean soup and sausage with lemon pie for dessert was served to the guests at the Billing Increases - in Bountiful. - Davis group was picked up by Grantsville residents driving white top" wagons and cars. The ten people who were piled into one of the cars were warned not to sit heavily on the right axle or it would break. Clinton City Fathers To Act On Water THE TOTAL student popuDavis was 220 stu-- z dents. There were 11 faculty lation of LrrJHE Davis High Schools first baseball team came to action in 1914-1- 5 and included these pioneers: back, Irwin Phillips, left, Milton Burton, Ron Swan, Newman Reeves, Mac Swan and Jay Simpson; middle, Frank Jones, left, Ole Layton, Coach E. G. King and two players, names unknown; front Kenneth Sheffield, left, an unknown player and 0. Keith Adams. The picture was provided courtesy of Hattie Adams with identification given by Dr. D. Keith Barnes. powers of discretion in tax assessing and collection which should be spelled out in the act itself. I FEEL that the effective rate of taxation is best established on a local level rather than a state level. Many people IT CAN be stricken, or changed by the Legislature, and is subject to the Utah Constitution. Its provisions are open to many interpretations. If we assume some interpretations it would have little or no 766-345- 6 16, 1980 We at Swallows are proud of our Prescription Department the quality is superb including our complete line of top quality generics and our prices well, WE GUARANTEE to refund triple the difference if the prescription we fill can be filled for less anywhere else. You will be pleasantly surprised! |