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Show PageA8 Thursday, June 11, 1981 The Newspaper Tli Mewspaper VsttcBn0 Huff (DiFUDiiaiitnciDDn SUMMCR IS LOOKING GOOD HT jnn Sports and Western fashions and footwear is arriving daily. 1700 PARK AVE. OPEN 8 8 DAILY 649-4949 PlAtIT PlAfJT fife SPIDER PLANTS Medium to high light. Keep moist. 610 Main St., Design Coalition BIdg. Behind the gift store 649-6907 M ill levy should drop valuation increases HOW THE CITY COUNCIL VOTED... I Thursday, June 4 I L "MTV"; ; I" f ) I P I isfih MOTIONS lk H H Alvaic. Lewis .Marline Shelleiilterfter Wells Approve plat of Aspenwood absent ' I condos in Deer Valley. J Approve Spiro Tunnel water yes VPS yeS absent M's I B agreement. ' g J Table approval of temporary yes absent VPS water development fee. 1 Table discussion on water I agreement with McCleodCr. yes eS yeS absent VPS i Ridge view, Park Meadows I Approve resolution declaring B June 15-21 "Spend It with a yes es yeS absent VPS I Local Week" in Park City. B Approve minutes from May H 28 meeting yes yes yes absent ves 1 Taxes may be among the certainties of life, but trying to predict where taxes will go is far from an exact science. According to the city's best estimates, approval of $8.45 million in bonds will increase your 1981 property taxes by about 17.4 mills. But that's based on the city's current assessed valuation of $57 million, a figure destined to cha nge from year to year. The first change, to be reflected on this year's tax notices, is the result of a peculiar piece of legislation known as House Bill 164. Passed during the last session ses-sion of the Utah Legislature, it tries to relieve the property proper-ty tax burden on the individual indivi-dual homeowner, and shift it more onto the so-called state assessed property (such as utilities and railroads). House Bill 164 instructs county assessors to reduce the assessed value of all private property by 20 percent Summit County Assessor Leo Frazier, among others, currently is struggling to carry out that 20 percent countywide reduction. Property Pro-perty assessment notices, officially due out May 20, still have not been mailed. Frazier said Monday that he planned to use a computer program to make the changes ordered by House Bill 164, but that the county's computer had broken down. In spite of the reduction, Park City Councilman Bob Wells believes that the city's total valuation in 1981 will be about the same as 1980. Wells argues that other increases in valuation, caused largely by new construction, will offset the impact of the legislation. "Disregarding the revaluation re-valuation of property (reflected (re-flected countywide in 1980), our assessed value within the city has increased a little over 30 percent a year for the last couple of years," Wells says. "1 dori't see much reason to change that (the $57 million figure) in light of future projections." According to Wells, the 17.4-mill increase predicted by the city is based on an estimated assessed value of $57 million for 1981. Beginning Begin-ning next year, he says, the mill levy required to retire the bonds will drop steadily as the valuation of the city increases. According to this logic, Hi 30 percent increase in the city's valuation in 1982 would be reflected by a 30 percent drop in the bond mill levy, from 17.4 to 12.2 mills. Another 30 percent rise the following year would cause the levy to drop to 8.5, and so on for the 15-year life of the bond. Wells agrees that 30 percent per-cent a year might be a little optimistic, and suggests the same calculations be done using 15 percent instead. An increase of 15 percent per vear would cause the levy to drop from 17.4 in 1981 to 14.8 in 1982, to 12.6 in 1983, and so on. Another influence on the bond mill levy is the budget of the Park City Redevelopment Redevelop-ment Agency, formed in 1978 to provide funds for public improvements in the historic district. According to the laws through which the agency .ws established, any increase in valuation within -"the boundaries of the redevelopment re-development district since 1978 can be used to pay taxes directly to the agency. Since the district boundaries include in-clude many of the rapidly-developing rapidly-developing areas, including Deer Valley, the agency could, in theory, siphon off much of the increased valuation valua-tion predicted by Wells. In practice, the budget of the Park City Redevelopment Redevelop-ment Agency may be kept in check, since the members of the City Council also serve as the agency's governing body. 'Vote no,' citizens' group urges They call themselves the Citizens Against Higher Taxes, which is a bit like saying they're for motherhood and apple pie. A more appropriate name, perhaps, would be the Citizens Against the Bond Election. A loose coalition of local residents, led by Tom Hurd, Paula Hurd and Mary Leh-mer, Leh-mer, is pulling out the stops in an effort to defeat all four propositions in the June 16 bond election. "It's foolish to go into debt for something you can do without," is the way Paula Hurd phrased it Monday. In an advertisement which appears in this week's issue of The Newspaper, the group argues , that- the arena, " library, park and fiefdhouse Every Item Guaranteed To Be Sold At Cost or Below We're Cleaning House On Limited Quantity Item... Shop Early for Best Choices are luxuries which should take a back seat to priority items such as water, sewers and roads. Mrs. Hurd argued that the group is not unequivocally opposed to the four projects, just to their being financed with public funds. She said she thought a private fund-raising fund-raising campaign to renovate the Miners Hospital could be very successful. suc-cessful. "There are a lot of people who would give money for it (the library) to keep it off our tax backs," she said. The group contends that a two percent impact fee levied on every building constructed con-structed since May of 1975 was intended to provide the city with enough money to expand the city pdrks, buUcb ! a new city hall, libraries and supply other amenities demanded by a growing population. "What ever happened to the impact fees?" Mrs. Hurd asked, then answered her own question. "They were put into the general fund." In an open letter to Utah Attorney General David Wilkinson, the group recalls the 1980 investigation of the city's handling of building and impact fees, and the conclusion that more than $260,000 had been "under-collected" "under-collected" from just 10 projects. "In the year intervening since the County Attorney released the results of his investigation, in-vestigation, the city has made no effort to collect these fees owed to the city," the letter charges, "or to collect the millions more which a complete audit-would audit-would undoubtedly reveal." The letter, signed by Tom Hurd, asks for Wilkinson's opinion: "Does the city now have the right to demand that all of its taxpayers pay additional taxes, to finance such, amenities...? We will appreciate your answer prior to the June 16 election." elec-tion." Mrs. Hurd charges that some members of the present City Council have been lobbying openly for passage of the bond issue. "I just feel (they) are pushing these projects for their own personal reasons." And she believes that a brochure explaining the bond election, to be distributed to the voters, reflects this bias. "It was prepared by those that are most in favor of passing the bond issues," she said. On the other hand, she believes that Mayor Jack Green and Councilman Tom Shellenberger should not have waited until the last minute before expressing their opposition to the bond proposals. The members of the group maintain that, if all the issues on the ballot are approved, ap-proved, Park City property taxes could soar to 96 mills from their present level of 43 millls, and that apartment rents could go up as much as $25 to $50 a month as landlords land-lords pass on the increases to their tenants. Mrs. Hurd said that about 25 to 30 local senior citizens have expressed their support for the "Vote No" campaign. "But this group is by no means senior citizens alone," she said. "There are a lot of other people who are in the same boat." ft. , mm r r mm m m Estimated mill levy increase Save Up To 75 Reg 21.00-Munsingwear 100 Cotton Qoll Shirts in assorted sizes. Reg. 5 95-T-Shirts imprinted with 'USA', Adidas', 'Riddell'. Reg. 1 1 95-Seafarer Denim Jeans, 12 pair only in sizes 26-32. Reg. 13 95-Fruit-ol-the-Loom Sweat Tops with zipper Iront, S-L. j goo 200 300 700 Bmmstsml Reg. 23 00-Rocky Mtn. Jeans, 8 pair only in sizes 10-13. Reg 28 00-Ocean Pacific One-Piece Swim Suits in sizes 8 to 10 300 16oo Reg. 39 95-Bullworker Isometric Exerciser in models (or men or women. Reg. 5 OO-Baseball Hats in blue and white with a mesh back. Reg 6 50-Canvas Gym Bags with Wasatch or Summit County emblems. Reg 26 95-Nylon Jackets in red and blue only with polyester lining. Reg. to 24.95-Adidas or Puma Soccer Shoes in broken sizes only. Reg. 15 OO-Short Sleeve Running Tops lor men and women in Nylon tricot. Reg 8.95-Adidas Tank Top Running Shirts in Nylon with mesh bottom. Reg 5 95-Soccer Shirts in 100 cotton with V-neck, shoulder stripe. 2Q00 250 13oo 1Q00 5OO 400 300 All Items In Limited Quantities! vVV.iiy 3 2 Reg. 59.98-Wolverine Suede Western Boot, style 1998, bkn sizes. Values to 59 98-Men's Casual Shoes by Bass or Street Cars, bkn sizes Reg 29 95-Nike Waffle M' Running Shoe in limited sizes. ;i Reg.29 95-Nike LDV Running Shoe in limited sizes tor men. 0P 2500 2000 18oo 2400 9 Reg to 92 50-Men's or Women's Polyester filled parkas in most sizes. Reg. 53.50-Juniors' Famous Make Parkas, 7 only in sizes 14 and 16. Reg to 66 0C-Juniors' Sundance Parkas in 4 styles, sizes 2 to 14 Reg to 150 0O-Men's and Women's Parkas in several styles, sizes. Reg to 300 OO-Men's and Women's Insulated Ski Suits, bkn "sizes 2Q00 18oo 50 50 50o 00 3 TOmB 1 fit'f . .Uii, Park City Holiday Village Mall Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon. thru Fri. Sunday 1 1 to 5 p.m. The big question in nearly everyone's mind is, how much would property taxes increase as a result of a bond issue? If all four of the propositions on the June 16 ballot pass, the city will have to pay about $1 million a year to retire the bond in 15 years at a 10 percent interest rate. Based on a Park City assessed valuation of $57 million, the mill levy would rise 17.4 mills to generate the revenues to pay the annual debt service. What does that mean to individual in-dividual property taxpayers? tax-payers? For each $1,000 of assessed valuation of your home, you will pay an additional ad-ditional $17.40 per year. The assessed valuation is calculated at 20 percent of fair market value, although many homes in Park City are assessed at a much lower rate. If you are not sure of the assessed valuation of your home, you can look it up on computer printouts at City Hall. According to City Coun-cilwoman Coun-cilwoman Tina Lewis, the most expensive home in Park City is listed as having an assessed valuation of $33,000, and the least expensive, expen-sive, $7,000. As an example, based on the $33,000 figure, that property owner would pay $17.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $17.40 x 33. The total tax increase this year would be $574.20 to retire the $8.4 million bond. City Councilman Bob Wells pointed out this week that as new construction is added to the tax rolls each year, the city's assessed valuation will increase. That means the mill levy will decrease, reducing the amount of property taxes paid by individuals to retire the bond. The following table shows the estimated mill levy increase in-crease for each of the four proposed projects included in the bond. The chart also includes a 20-year bond mill levy estimate. According to City Manager Arlene Loble, the bond retirement period would be based on the interest in-terest rate that could be obtained ob-tained and the bond-buying market. Estimated mill levy increase 15 year 20 year bond . bond Arena ($4.6 million) 9.5 8.1 Fieldhouse ($1.7 million) 3.5 3.0 Park ($1.4 million) 2.0 2.5 Library ($750,000) 1.5 1.3 All projects 17.4 14.9 Where to vote Next Tuesday, voters will be asked to go to the polls and mark their ballots for or against the proposed $8.4 million general obligation bond. It is a controversial issue at best, and one that has been on the minds and tongues of nearly every resident for the past several months. Make sure your vote counts next week in this important election by getting to the proper polling place on time. Park City is divided into four voting precincts, and in general elections, residents vote in four separate polling places. But for the bond election, the districts will be combined com-bined and residents will vote in only two polling places. Voting precinct number 1 and number 2 have been combined. com-bined. Those precincts include all residents who live south of 13th Street, and they will vote at the Park City Library on Main Street. Voting precincts number 3 and number 5 have been combined. Those precincts include residents who live north of 13th Street, and they will vote at the Park City Board of Education office at the Park City High School. As always, the polls will open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Registered voters will be presented with a ballot that is separated into four propositions, each of which requires a "For" or "Against" vote. Proposition No. 1 is the sports arenaconvention center for $4.6 million; Proposition No. 2 is the renovation of the Miners Hospital into a public library for $750,000; Proposition No. 3, the improvements to City Park for $1.4 million; and Proposition No. 4, the fieldhouse for $1.7 million. Each of the polling places will be presided over by three election judges. At the Park City Library, Betty Watts will be the head judge, with Violet Terry and, presumably, Hazel Gunderson, although she has not officially accepted. accep-ted. At the school board office, Sue Zuchetto will serve as head judge, with Carol Calder and Abbey Whitney. I t vc"r voie he hp?rd V'o |