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Show If Incorporation Passes GOP Commissioners Back Erda Services Two county commissioner told Erda incorporation proponent that they would be willing to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement for providing sendees to Erda if it is within legal limits and if the proposal passes in Novembers election. Commissioners Charles Stromberg and Reed Russell met with eight Erda residents Wednesday evening at the borne of Leroy Rose, who initially presented the incorporation petition to the county commission, and who is running for Erda's city council. STROMBERG AND Russell explained that while they do not believe incorporation is the answer to Erda's growth problems, they do support Erda's right to decide the issue for itself. The discussion centered on what services Erda would have to provide if it incorporates and how it can best provide them. With the election in November, Rose said the city would have to contract with the county to provide such services as snow removal, at least initially, since the city would not have time to arrange for such service before winter weather requires it. COMMISSIONER Russell said. I don't think there's any way we could let the school kids down as far as snow removal." Rose asked if an exchange of services rather than money could be worked out. He suggested that Erda could provide snow removal and maintenance for the county airport, which would be within the incorporated area, if the county would provide some road repairs during the summer. He also asked if there would be any problem legally if a fire station were placed on the airport property to serve both Erda and the airport. Rose said he is now investigating what grants are available from state and federal sources to rural areas for fire equipment and buildings. HE SAID that Draper, in Salt Lake County, had been able to get a grant for its fire station and Terry Mathews (who is also running for Erdas city council) added that Vernon had received a grant as well. However, Rose said, "You can't file for it until you're a legal body." Cerald Jones, who is running for Erda's mayor, added that Draper also re- ceived a grant for a sidewalk along a state highway. And, he said. There's also flood control grants. There's also recreational grants." Rose cautioned, We ought to plan to live lean." Mathews said, "We're not saying were going to run right out and grid) them but they are available, if we need them." THE COUNTY commissioners emphasized at this point that while they will cooperate through an agreement to provide some services to Erda, they will not become involved in searching for grants. In response to both suggestions concerning an exchange of services, the commissioners said they would be willing to consider them if the county can legally do so. "Well work with you anyway we can if it's legal," Stromberg said. Under incorporation, Erda could have the same police protection as is now provided by the county since the sheriffs office has to respond, if needed, even if a city has its own police force. BUT IIE ASKED if the tickets the highway patrol and the sheriffs office write for vehicle violations in Erda could be designated for Erda so that the fines come to the city rather than the county. Both commissioners said this was being done for other towns in the county but Stromberg added that it was not a large source of revenue. He also told the group that they would need a justice of the peace. Rase said, Draper just has a volunand did not think this would be a teer, " problem for the proposed city. DONALD 7JEIJJR questioned the commissioners on whether Erda, once incorporated, could withdraw from the proposed Tooele Valley water service district if the district is formed before the city is. Mathews added that he has submitted to the county over 100 signatures opposing the district. The commissioners said this was possible. Rose said the greatest concerns to ii Jose L. Trujillo, Tooele School District Human Relations director, received the Chicano of the Year Award at the Chicano Unity Conference Oct. 13. Gov. Scott yyypp' ad- dress to the more than 500 Utahns who at- tended the conference. In being presented with the award, Mr. Trujillo was recognized as an outstanding school administrator and for his contributions to community-base- d organizations. Mr. Trujillo currently serves as the chairman of the Governors Council on Hispanic Affairs, as chairman of the Tooele County United Way, as of the Tooele Family Practice Advisory Council, and as a member of the Utah Juvenile Court System. Mr. Trujillo, his wife Amy, and their four children reside at 453 West Vine in Tooele. TAD Public Affairs Officer Kathy Moore said that until the Armys explosive ordinance disposal team determined that the device contained no explosives, alert status had to be taken. THE BOGUS BOMB was found outside an igloo in the TAD South Area, August 30, at about 8:45 a.m., and it was determined to be a hoax by noon the same day. The depot spokeswoman said a report in Wednesdays Deseret News that precautionary measures were taken even ft Vr :a MR. TRUJILLO though officials knew the device was a hoax is false. She confirmed that Lt. Royston Potter pulled the wires on the device shortly after it was discovered, said he did so to recreate the scene for law enforcement investigators and for the explosive ordi- nance dispos' LT. POTTER acted independently when he pulled the device off the igloo and removed the wires, she said. The fake bomb consisted of a metal container, electric putty and some wiring. Charles E. Kelso was charged with disorderly conduct for placing the hoax bomb on the igloo, Kelso, a subcontractor worker, was playing a practical joke on a friend who also worked in the South Inflation affects the county just as it does individuals. And like individuals, the county invests any extra money it has in order to make its money work for the county. The State Money Management Act passed in 1974 requires that idle funds be invested to earn an interest, county treasurer and tax collector Bud Pendleton said. Bud Pendleton, county treasurer and tax collector, explained that the process begins when the county receives revenues from federal grants, revenue sharpaying, fines and fees, licenses, ments, charges for services, the sale of property and prior interest as well as in-li- from taxes. On any given day, the county receives so much money from these sources and must also pay out money for salaries, equipment, utility bills and other expenses. At the end of the day, if the money received is greater than the money spent, the surplus can be invested in time savings accounts with the local banks and in federal treasury bills. PENDLETON SAID the advantage of placing county money in time savings accounts with the local banks is that the money is then available to residents in St. Dnrnabao Episcopal PAGOTKI other wild horse preserves or given to The first munition drilled Monday at Dugway Proving Ground's chemical agent drainage system contained a water simulant, not lethal gas as ex- concerned individuals through the BLM's Adopt a Horse program. Decker said. g Horse The 1971 Wild and Burro Act calls for the management, protection and control of wild horses and burros on public lands and the Adopt A-. Horse program is designed to help meet these requirements as well as provide animals to citizens who want to care for pected. However, the following three aged munitions to go through the Drill and Transfer System (DATS) did contain the nerve agent CB, Dugway spokesman Sgt. Phil Hale reported. DATS IS being used at Dugway as a pilot system that if proved successful will be used in various other military installations to separate leth- them. THE BLM annually conducts roundups of the wild horses in Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and al chemicals from aged munitions. Dugway workers will drain 60 as- Wyoming. At this time the agency counts the animals, tattoos them for identification, checks their general health and removes surplus horses to be adopted by program sorted unexploded munitions which contain a total of 460 pounds of nerve and blister agents during the next three to five weeks using the DATS applicants. system. The $2.5 million transportable to adopt a wild horse may do so by applying to the Anyone who wishes system consists mainly of a glovebox and filter system located 15 miles BLM. There is no charge for the horses but a $10 to $20 fee is required for the from the Dugway residential area. The glovebox is maintained under negative pressure with filters for the ex- animals health certificate. In addition, an applicant must show that he can adequately care for his horse, that he will not use it for commercial purposes, and that he will submit to periodic checks by the agency. haust air. AFTER AN aged munition is secured in the glovebox, workers clear the area as a safety precaution, and the weapon is drilled by remote con trol from about mile assay. f The drained agent is then identified and vacuum-pumpe- d into special containers for storage pending disposition. The containers and munitions hardware are completely decontaminated before they are removed from the glovebox. Dugway workers will move the 200 pounds of explosive components to a demolition site for detonation after the drilling, transfer and decontamination operations are complete. THE MUNITIONS slated for drainage include artillery rounds, mortar rounds, rocket warheads and bomblets. All, except the bomblets and some artillery rounds, include exone-hal- plosive components. Dugway was used extensively by the Army for the testing of a wide as- sortment of chemical weapons sys- tems between 1942 and the late 1960s. The 60 munitions which will be drained at DATS were found during the past 10 years on the 1,500 square mile testing ground. A number of items also found on the range did not contain agents and were destroyed earlier by detonation. County Money Lightens T ax Burden ''ik ' Area. DATS Induction: Just A Little H20 Treasurer Says Defends Bomb Hoax Steps All emergency precautions taken were necessary when what appeared to be a bomb was found attached to a Tooele Army Depot chemical storage igloo last summer, a depot spokeswoman The wild horses in the Onaqui Mountain range in Tooele County are being counted by the Bureau of Land Management for possible relocation. Lowell Decker, manager for the Pony Express resource area of the BLM, and a group of state and private agency officials took a saddle ride last Thursday through the Onaqui range to determine the number of horses in the area. THE RANCE can support 65 horses. Decker said, although this number fluctuates depending on the availability of water and habitat. From aerial flights over the range as well as saddle trips, the BLM has counted between 115 and 125 horses in the Onaqui area. Decker said. The BLM is now conducting a vegetative survey of the area which also supports livestock and wildlife. From this an environmental impact statement and a management framework plan will be prepared to help determine how many horses can remain on the range. DECKER SAID that the study will not be completed until next fall but that a decision on the horses will be made by spring or early summer. To protect the land from overgrazing and to protect the horses from starvation, the animals will be relocated in qr vice-chairm- Cen. Robert L. Moore activates drilling operation munition to be processed through DATS at Dug ay Prosing C round Monday. BLM Ponders Relocation Of Onaqui Wild Horses Rose said. Trujillo Garners 1979 Utah Chicano Laurels Matheson delivered the welcoming Erda residents over incorporation were road maintenance and taxes. He believed that with the two null reduction in the county mill levy and the four per cent cut back Cov. Scott Matheson has requested for the schools, that Erda would be able to provide services without raising the mill levy. He emphasized, however, that he did not think it could be reduced either. The commissioners told the group that they did not believe incorporation would solve Erda's problems and the supporters of incorporation would have had an easier time of promoting the petition if they had proposed a smaller area. MATHEWS RESPONDED, saying, Our boundary gives us control over the area we bound mid the size of the area is not going to cost us any more. He added that the county could provide the same control as an incorporated Erda could if it would do it. Stromberg summarized his and Russell's position on Erda's incorporation, saying, We're willing to cooperate with the incorporation if it goes with an intergovernmental contract and if it's within the laws." Saturday SAHH LODGE TO Cai OAKKSS 10aja.to4p.ai. 286 N. 7th Stroot Oct. 27 Diimar 6-- 8 pan. Dandng 9 pjn. 'LOO donation por coapla the area who want to borrow it banks. However, the money is for a specified number of days not be withdrawn prior to that from the invested and canmaturity date without there being a penalty. With treasury bills, Pendleton said, there is no penalty for early withdrawal but the money is not available for local loans. We try to do as little treasury bill business as possible, Pendleton said, so that we keep the money locally. In addition to being able to invest large amounts of money, the county is able to earn much higher interest on its money than an individual can. It fluctuates daily, but interest now hovers around 12 percent annually. THE INTEREST rate on a given day is based on what the nations 25 largest banks are willing to pay. The state treasury office keeps track of the current rate, Pendleton said, and he can call them to find out what it is. The county treasurer then calls the local banks and if any of them meets or exceeds the current interest rate, he will invest the countys surplus money with that bank. At the end of the month, the average amount the county has invested in time savings accounts and treasury bills is $2.5 million. Last year, the county earned over $183,000 in interest on the money it invested. Because of this interest, the county was able to reduce the effect inflation has on costs to the county. Last year, a general mill raised $68,000, Pendleton NOVEMDER 1, said. T turned over $183,000 of interest which represents approximately three mills. If you were going to provide the same level of service this year, it would cost three more mills. The interest earned offsets the inflationary factor. THE AMOUNT of the surplus is so large, Pendleton explained, because checks written to pay expenses are cashed in at different times and because funds like those for collector roads, which can amount to $1 million at any given time, can only be spent on that item and may be carried over from year to year until needed. Collector roads are roads which carry traffic to state highways. The state pays a certain amount for the maintenance of these roads and that amount can only be spent for that purpose. However, if all of the money is not needed in a particular year, it will be carried over until it is needed. Periodically, generally every 60 days, Pendleton must allocate the interest that county money earns to the various county funds, such as the general fund, the collector road fund, the hospital fund, and the capital improvements fund. HE DOES this by figuring what percentage a particular fund is of the total amount of cash the county has. For example, if the general fund is $200,000 and the total cash that day is $1,000,000, the general fund is 20 percent of the total cash. 2, 3 ACmY Tooolo High Auditorium 7:30 p.m. $2 adults, $1.50 students 1.00 children -- Pendleton then takes 20 per cent of the interest that has been earned and places it in the general fund account. Tax revenues are also invested in time savings accounts and treasury bills but their allocation is different than that of other revenues, Pendleton said. The county collects taxes for the cities and towns in Tooele, for the school district and for service districts as well as for the county. The tax accounts have to be kept separately so that they can be allocated to these different bodies, Pendleton said. BUT AFTER earning interest on the invested taxes, the county treasurer places the interest in the countys general fund rather than apportioning it to the different governmental units. His reasoning for this, Pendleton explained, is that taxes cannot be identified as belonging to a particular unit until they are actually paid out, at which time they cannot earn more interest. Additionally, the taxes are collected from all taxpayers in the county, and if the interest goes into the countys general fund, it then benefits all taxpayers. THATS PREDICATED on the fact that it goes back to everybody, Pendleton said. Theoretically, at the end of the year all of the money allocated in the countys budget is spent. In practice, however, this rarely occurs because actual expenses and interest earned cannot be predicted. When the county has extra funds, the money can be used to earn more for the county, easing the burden for the taxpayer. We feel that with our accounting system, we use the money expediently, Pendleton concluded. I |