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Show VLM A y 7 Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1988 Celebrating the Weber State College Centennial Vol. 49, No. 5 skss ma- ss" s. DUCK POND PUMPHOUSE construction will be around for a while, according to J. Robert Folsom, director of arcitcctural and engineering services. He said the new pump house is being built above the pond waterline to avoid the problems of flooding that have plagued the old pump. The new pump will also provide irrigation in case of drought. Folsom said the fountain won't be running during the construction. "We may get it up, but it will be at the end of the year." (The Signpost photo: Darwin Shaw) Tuition payments 'on schedule', but are Tough times ahead for Weber? By Peter Avion Staff Reporter WSC could stand to lose approximately $4,043 million dollars, or 13.3 of its state appropriations budget if tax initiatives A, B, and C pass this November, according to Randy Harris, WSC Controller. Harris feels the passage of A, B, and C would have a "severe impact" on WSC. "How long can you keep good people if you can't pay them,? A lot of teachers slay here because of their dedication to students and love for WSC," he said adding that many teachers could find better paying jobs in business. According to Harris, should the initiatives pass, students would be facing a tuition increase, one that may well put higher education out of reach for some. Proponents of the initiatives disagree. According to an editorial in The Free Citizen, the money can be cut from budgets with no real impact on the quality of education. "Heads ought to roll! And the first ones ought to roll in higher education. It is clearly time to play hardball with the leadership and stop threatening kids," the article said. Inside . . . Arts and Entertainment Classified News Opinion Sports page 8 page 12 page 2 page 4 page 9 For the present however, steps are being taken to maintain funding. President Nadauld makes trips to the state legislature to lobby for funds, as do members of ASWSC. Harris hinted how students can help too. "We need to bring the cognizant levels regarding WSC of legislators up," he said. "A partnership of the students and the institution can only win. They become advocates of each other." Another way to obtain funding, currently in use, is partnership with industry. "They businesses pay for a lot of things we could never afford," Harris said, mentioning Toyota and DEC (maker of the VAX 8700 mainframe computer), as two such partners. WSC is currently negotiating with DEC to obtain badly needed additional computer hardware, according to Harris. "We're at capacity now," he said. " We'll never be able to meet the demand because demand will always outstrip ability." one reason why a few students may have been pleasantly surprised upon paying tuition this quarter. "We've been very lenient. We didn't start charging late fees until much later than usual," Harris said, explaining how the computer glitch on September 23 extended the grace period for some. Harris also mentioned special treatment given to students on financial aid whose voucher processing has been delayed. "Students are flagged if aid is late, and do not lose classes or assessed late fees," he said. Some students were even able to get hand-drafted checks from the cashiers office (see TUITION on page 5) Personal tax could decline Editor's Note: This is the second article in an on-going series presenting accurate and unbiased information on the proposed tax initiatives. By Scott Summerill Managing Editor The three tax initiatives facing Utah voters in the upcoming November election will lower theamountof taxes paid by the average families in the state. TAXES The arguments surrounding the initiatives stem from the ramifications of the rollback in what opponents call the "inevitable" cutbacks and possible loss of many state and local governmental services. Opponents claim that the amount of capital loss, approximately S329.7 million, would cripple the ability of already strained state and local governments to provide services. Proponents, on the other hand, believe the cutback would force agencies to trim off the excess expenditures and practice more responsible fiscal practices, thus giving "overtaxed" residents of the state a little more financial breathing room. Statistically, reports released by the Utah Foundation, a private tax research organization, show that Utah has a taxing capacity that falls 19 percent below the national average. The taxing capacity is the state's ability to raise revenue from commonly used tax bases, namely sales, income and property taxes. Because the percentage of Utahns in the taxable age group, 18-64, is the lowest in the nation, the state's tax capacity falls short of the norm. In contrast, the number of school age children in the state ranks Utah number one in the nation. With children ages 0-5 and 5-17 so high, the expenditures necessary to educate and provide services for families is higher than the national average, and the cost per person for those services is spread over a smaller work force. An estimate of the savings the initiatives would give to a typical family of four in Weber county with an annual State and Local Government Employees Per 10,000 Population United States I J I - -- -- - -J 2& Delaware Massachusetts " " California i J - I 194.2 Utah I J p "7-"" '- " 1 , 1 0 100 2O0 800 Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census income of S25.000 is about $408 per year. The reduction can be broken down to $151 from income, sales, and gasoline taxes, and $257 in property tax if the family owns a $75,000 home. Additionally, smokers consuming one pack of cigarettes per day would average an annual reduction of $40. There are also tax breaks for families witii children in private schools, S602 per child in private elementary school (grades K-6) and $722 per child in private secondary school (grades 7-12). Opponents say the revenues will have to be made up in (see INITIATIVE on page 5) 100 YEARS" |