OCR Text |
Show importance of the hearing A newsletter this week from the Utah Taxpayers Association called upon residents to look cosely to upcoming up-coming county budget hearings in the State, in light of what they call a "one-sided freeze" on economic growth. "It is true that county employee salaries are frozen like everyone else," the letter reeports. "But why is there no freeze on I he other 50 per cent of the budget? There is no freeze on hiring more employees, no freeze on expansion ex-pansion of existing prgrams, no freeze on setting up unnecessary un-necessary 'slush-funds,' no freeze on creating new departments, de-partments, no freeze on expanded capital improvement spending, and no freeze on new programs." In other words, the newsletter made it clear that there is no restraint on governmnt taxing power or spending power, even though employee salaries have been frozen in the amount they can increase. Grand Gountv's budget hearing is now set for December De-cember 1 3th. A full nnd detailed breakdown of the tentative ten-tative spending plan is incorporated in this week's T-I. The importance of the public hearing in Grand County is probably greater here than in many counties, since some of the items included have ben placed in the budget pending a public reaction. Whether or not they will remain re-main is prettv much up to those who react. We fel, in alalvsis, that Grand County has put together to-gether a nrettv sound budget a job considerably complicated com-plicated by the fact that revenues "will be short next year due to a drop in assessed valuation. Wc urge residents of thp Gonntv, however, to make their own analyses and draw their own conclusions. Tf those conclusions result in opinions, then those opinions should be given to the county authorities involved, and the proper place for tlrs would he at the public hearing on December 13. |