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Show An ‘ aa oe r , i — ee % — i ! aso sod ral roery ee tb. | > Ul AAA A A amen a RR 7 - WASATCH COUNTY a “Mok: 3 Issue 9 August 31, 1999 Wasatch County’s Source for News _ Citizens speak out on schoo | tax increase % Sam Allen, Investigative Reporter Jolene Harris, a resident of Heber who. lives on Main Street, saw her taxes double. In an emotional statement about her a budget that will result in higher taxes for residents in the county. According to the school board, higher taxes are needed to cover the higher insurance premiums for teachers since the state legislature only provided a 2.5 percent boost in funding this year. Insurance costs increased about | 40 percent this year alone.~ to be foreed out of our homes ‘Twenty-five years ago she ieee the local residents of Park City get forced out _ of their homes due to the rapidly increasing tax burden in that part of Summit County. “It just can’t keep going up and up and up year after year,” she concluded. they felt they were being unfairly gouged by their government. Some citizens saw their taxes increase by over 200 percent. nesses.” On reasons. had to pay for last year’s middle school bond. Also, many citizens had their prop_ erty reappraised by the county assessor’s office for the first time in over five years. this year’s proposed tax rate increase really = ocd ie SYD ‘ & : ATG with er building he saw it increase from $523. to $987. Although part of this increase was due to the reappraisal conducted by the county, he said it still hurts. a” of events increase from $395 to $1060. On anoth- : ca This combination one building of his he saw the school district portion of his taxes. This year was the first year that citizens - oi TAXATION continued on page 5 170 c‘chiens came to Heber City’ $ "North School cs ee nies their opinions the school board’s decision to raise taxes on county residents. TyBaten a aceite 28 some citizens hard, . for several yee ea nba Lamia Francis Smith, a local businessman, told the school board, “you are killing busi- - The dramatic increase in the school tax occurred if this con- tinues.” Many citizens were extremely upset since assessment Uae4 aI gle pete Oyen A ioe fe eget ot,o _ higher taxes she said, “I support education like everyone else but we are going : unanimously approved ite: ON eieait Bia, Board Awe School ae Wasatch County gets hit by massive » lawsuit rent Olympic Coordinator; Phil Wright, county health director; Ralph Duke, county commissioner; Michael Kohler, filed suit against Wasatch County and— its officers for well over $10 million, not including punitive damages. county commissioner; LaRen Provost, Their lawsuit alleges that the county and its officers have illegally blocked development and devastated their property values through the capricious and unreasonable manipulation of county . ordinances. In addition, this lawsuit alleges that the county commission overlooked instances in which develop- county commissioner; Keith Jacobson, former © county ers have offered public officials gifts and gratuities. dant in the suit as a legislative body and commissioner; and Sharron Winterton, former county commissioner. All of these men have been neincd indi-. vidually in the suit as well as in their capacity as government officials. The County has also been named a defen- 22s a political subdivision. _ The lawsuit alleges that:. Phil Wright as the Wasatch Couiaey Health Director approved individual septic systems in the Canyon Meadows development even though “there were questions concerning the - the subdivision’s soil... suitability of Bob Mathis as County Planner allowed the subdivision to be developed even though it was on notice that there might bea potential slide problem in the area. He ignored the state’s recommendation that further tests be conducted to determine whether the safety and welfare of — The county did not enforce a requirement for the developer to install a _ drainage system that would have removed excess water on the site that could impair the function of septic. systems as well as aggravate any slide prob- Es lems that might exist. ig BPs The county returned he Sept construction bond before construction. was completed. This eliminated “the only security that the original developer would comply development.” The with the county did not terms enforce of the its own LAWSUIT continued on page 5 future residents would be at risk. OURIER COUNTY - How Can | Subscribe to the Courier? Great question. The answer is you can’t. If you - live in Wasatch County you automatically get The Courier mailed to your home or business every week. The Courier is brought to you each 6s cau JUR . Heber IER UT 84032 (435) 654-2661 - (435) 654-2531 fax Wasatch County’s — Source for News : 7 ER E LUO AVA aea Sb ER® LULL \ ....4 SOC eee Sp le Gonimunity oc 4 Peete ge ee Ae RAUCACIOlr 2.0 soe sa Ps eS BUGWVESS: 6 Pk. be ae ee 27 Real Estate Gases: the costs of production and delivery to your home. Our plan is for it to always remain this way. So the way you can subscribe to The Courier is to spend your money with our advertisers. Tell them you read The Courier and appreciate them - paying” for your subscription. P.S. If you live outside of Wasatch County (sorry, someone has’ to) you can have The Courier mailed to your home anywhere in the United Vy Opinion& Editorial week by our advertisers. Advertising fees pay <*. 0.5 Ec gee 5 31 States for $35 per year, paid in advance to The Wasatch County Courier, 525 South Main, Suite B, Heber City, UT 84032. Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid Heber City, UT Permit No. 32005 rT TPT ry aw ‘The defendants in the suit are Bob - Mathis, former county planner and cur- + flee property owners in and Meadow’s Estate in Provo Canyon have~ ala BMS a ¥ $ é we Sam Allen, Investigative Reporter |