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Show Defense cuts hurt i i i SALT LAKE CITY Cuts in the U.S. defense budget could have a big impact on Davis County, according ac-cording to the Utah Economic and Business Review. The report, conducted by the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, concludes budget cuts will result in large employment layoffs resulting in fewer sales for local businesses and a decrease in the tax base of Davis County cities. Hill Air Force Base has already felt the sting of cutbacks, and recently re-cently announced a plan to lay off 684 workers at the Ogden Air Logistic Center starting in April. The military installation, located in Davis County, is the largest employer in Utah, employing almost 20,000 people and has an annual payroll of nearly $600 million, much of which is spent in Davis County. The county relies heavily on military spending and is one of four i which could be seriously hurt by the reductions in defense expenditures, the report said. Box Elder, Weber and Tooele were named as other counties which could be seriously affected, Davis County has been the recipient reci-pient of over $ 1 million in contract awards from fiscal years 1984 through 1989. Only Salt Lake and Tooele County have received more. The report concludes lower defense budgets will mean private defense contractors will be competing com-peting for fewer contracts. In 1987, 535 Utah companies were awarded with defense contracts. By 1989, the last year for which the statistic is available, only 477 Utah companies com-panies were awarded contracts. |