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Show 4B The Salt Lake Tribune Friday, March 16, 1984 Lawmakers Plan to Grapple With Supreme Court Tax Ruling Continued From Page B-- l But aides to the governor and Tax Commission, officials said Thursday the matter must be added to the session call. Some predicted the issue is of greater significance, because of its uniform statewide impact, than the flawed $750 million school finance bill that must be repassed State Tax Commission Chairman Mark K. Buchi canceled an trip Thursday because of the emergency" and tax officials huddled all day, attempting, among other things, to calculate dollar impacts to the various counties. Theyre trying to plan recommendations for corrective action. Instructions Drafted for Bishop Jury The court ruling strikes down a statute that had held the line against inflation in locally-assesse- d property valuations. Now, officials say, in one year, a flood of accumulated increases must be added to the listed market valuation of each locally-assesse- d property. The increases, taking into account inflation for five years, total 46 percent. For example, a property whose value the statute had caused to be set at $68,000 (market price), must now go up by 46 percent, to a value of $100,000. If 100 mills are imposed in that area, the taxes of $1,020 would jump to $1,500, were the mill levy to remain the same. The story in Thursdays edition of The Tribune indicated an erroneous figure ($680) for the lower tax amount. In actual fact, assessors did not simply look at inflationary effects Continued From Page B-- l B-- cross-examine- d have killed the children. The defense claims that these disorders resulted in an extreme mental or emotional disturbance when he committed the homicides, and thus is guilty of manslaughter, not e five counts of murder. Defense psychiatrists testified that Mr. Bishop used sex to mask an unconscious and uncontrollable murderous rage towards young boys. Fear of Being Caught The prosecution maintains and the defendant acknowledges in his confession that he murdered the children out of fear of being exposed as a child molester. Under Dr. Clark also acknowledged that he based his diagnosis only on reports and transcripts of interviews with Mr. Bishop and that he never interviewed the man. Earlier Thursday, however, the doctor told Deputy first-degre- Salt Lake County Attorney Creighton Horton II that Mr. Bishop displays a severe . . . almost pathological degree of lack of concern for others. A good example, he noted, was that the man carried the Alonzo Daniels body of past the boy's frantic mother in a speaker box after murdering the boy in his apartment in 1979. No Indication of Remorse And he said that he is skeptical that the reason Mr. Bishop confessed was because he felt remorse for killing Graeme Cunningham last summer. There is no real indication of guilt," he told the court. howevUnder er, Dr. Clark acknowledged that people don't always know why they do things, hinting at the defense's position that Mr. Bishop was unaware of his psychological problems and his alleged murderous hatred of boys. And she attacked the doctor's statements as to why h killed the children fear of discovery Would you agree that a person's explanation as to why he did something may not be the real reason behind the behavior?" she askea "Yes that's entirely possible," . . that those numbers can sometimes change. In this case, the utility says it was able to negotiate more fay convorable terms in tracts with independent gas producers, and that the projected impact of forecasted rate hike by one of its principal suppliers was less than expected. take-or-pa- When the original request was filed in February, the Utah Division of Public Utilities vowed to take a closer look at the costs Mountain Fuel charges ratepayers for the gas it purchases as opposed to that it produces itself. Division Director Eugene Lambert said the agency would attempt to better scrutinize Mountain Fuels purchase policies to see if better price terms could be negotiated. Lake Keeps Rising; Pact to Breach Causeway Is Near From Page l tract spelling out such things as how the work will be done, and how the costs and insurance will be handled. B-- without significant Increases are putting pressure on his company to switch to alternative fuel sources, he testified. Increases in gas costs are blamed largely by Mountain Fuel on the 1978 passage of the Naturgal Gas Pricing Act, which tied the price of natural gas to the forecasted price of heating oil and ordered monthly, incremental increases in certain classifications of produced gas. The act, which expires next year, aimed at eliminated large gas shortages in the midwest and east that became visible in the early 1970s. The NGPA sought to spur additional exploration and development of natural gas resources by artificially rising its price. Mountain Fuel has therefore seen steady increases in the cost of the We handle all calls made properties, a raise locally-assesse- d county at a time. The limitation was applied to revenues, with counties limited to only a 6 percent revenue increase the year following their revaluation. high-price- d between towns What should I do to get Mountain Bell long distance? in-sta- te Out-of-sta- te Theres more. . . under AT&T Communica- Mr. Miles said he remains hopeful the work can be completed to ease this spring s flooding But even if woik is delayed, he said the breach will be worth the expense because of the flood relief in later tions. early-enoug- You have the years. The only remaining t st ur option of choosing from other long distance companies that provide out-of-sta- te If youd like to know more about Mountain Bell long distance, wed like to hear from you. at 1 800 Find Just call us, toll-fre- e, 555-500- 0. out how you can enjoy our long distance service today, and in the years to come. (.mrnc around the lake. Peter Behrens, president of Great Salt Lake Minerals and Chemical Co , said in an interview his company has "never threatened to sue anybody" over the causeway issue. absolutely ihe breach. open-mark- ties and pipeline companies that are take or pay contied into long-tertracts at high prices. Although cheaper fuel may be available on the market, some firms may be d gas under forced to use those contracts. As part of the pending Mountain Fuel rate rise, the company is forecasting increases in rates charged by some suppliers, including Northwest Energy Co., a Utah based pipeline firm. Mountain Fuel said it was able to pare its rate proposal by $10 million partially because the impact of the pending rate hike by Northwest Energy now appears to be less than was expected. In addition, the utility said it saved $4 million in gas costs y by removing itself from some to it arrangements, allowing sell to local customers more of its cheaper, homegrown gas. How does this affect long my Mountain distance full-scal- e to the causeway breach opposed and said he didn't know whether his company will file legal action to block it. AMAX Magnesium Corp on the lake's south shore has also raised gas it buys on the open market, which accounts for about 60 percent of the gas it delivers to local customers. The rest of the gas it vends locally is produced by the company itself, and is substantially cheaper fuel. than the The effects of federal policy on local gas rates was discussed in testimony Thursday before the PSC by former State Senator Frances Farley, a Democratic candidate for Utahs 2nd District congressional seat. She attributed blame for rising gas rates in Utah to past federal action and current federal inaction. Congress is currently analyzing several items of proposed legislation that would affect the way the gas market is deregulated next year with when the NGPA expires. At the crux of some of that legislation are the effects that will be felt by utili- - Nothing at all. Because you already have our service. All you really have to do is pick up and dial 1 the number. No need your phone Bell to arrange for service, purchase a Touch-Ton- e charge. And phone, or pay a service start-u- p bill? each time you call, youll also benefit from the calls you place This means that most very best in sound quality, and the kind of overwill be itemized on your bill as all service reliability that can only come from Mountain Bell Long Distance. our over 100 years of experience and expertise. calls carried by AT&T will be itemized Larsen. Southern Pacific attorney, said railroad crews are work on hoping to begin the causeway next week Due to a quirk in the law authorizing the breach, the state is unable to provide funds for the work until after March 29 aout In attempting to compensate for the loss of the rollback procedure, the Legislature could choose to imas it did pose a mill levy restriction once before, an aide to Gov. Matheson said. The limitation was provided for when it was known that a statewide revaluation was going to The same way as before. Within your the number for all calling area, just dial 1 direct-dialecalls. Better still, you can call whenever you like our lines are always open for service, any time of the night or day. within your Utah calling area. This area, established by federal ruling, generally follows the state boundary (see the map). L. Ridd serious concerns March 26 special session. Studies could consider the imbalance between assessments done by the state tax commission and those handled by county assessors, the letter said. That imbalance, commissioners stated, was the rationale behind the controversial rollback. How do I place a Mountain Bell long distance call? How does Mountain Bell long distance work? said However, he remains . service. Check local advertising or your Yellow Pages for these long distance companies. long distance service in Utah. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about our service, and the answers you need to enjoy it now and in the future. delays. ened lawsuits from industries That sharp rate hikes have damaged Mountain Fuels competitiveness in the energy market was borne out by the testimony Thursday of Russ Curtis, an official of a Grants-vill- e company involved in the production of lime for use in smelting operations. He said his company will spend about $1 million this year on natural gas from Mountain Fuel, which is 35 percent more than it was spending two years ago. easy-to-us- e "Both parties want to breach, we're just trying to find a way to do it, he obstacle to breaching the causeway is threat- Mountain Fuel spokesman R. Curtis Burnett said the negotiations that led to the $10 million rate request reduction were prompted by the companys need to remain competitive in the local energy market. We feel as much pressure from the marketplace as we do from the division, Mr. Burnettsaid, adding that the negotiations that led to the downscaled rate request were in place prior to the Feb. 1 rate filing. Our separation from AT&T has caused a great deal of confusion about long distance. But the simple fact is, we still provide Ralph Miles, director of the Utah Division of State Land and Forestry, believes the contract can be negotiated ers said. We have for too long . . played games with the taxpayer, the letter declared. We need to address tax clarification, simplification and fairness. Get rid of the crazy hoops that boards of equalization and hearing officers have to jump through to demonstrate how assessments were arrived at ... it continued. Commission Chairman Mike Stewart, who framed the letter for colleagues, said applying a levy of .86 of one percent to all property would raise the same amount of money as the complicated formula used now. People dont know what a mill is, he chided. A mill is $1 on each $1,000 of taxable worth. The search for real tax reform might begin at the Legislatures Calling within Utah is easy with Mountain Be distance. he said. Continued er to valuations, if the Tax Commission finds that on average, a county is lagging behind, or in some cases, leading, market prices. This was a further adjustment assessors had to make to achieve an equalized burden of property taxation statewide and it wasnt struck down by the ruling . Salt Lake County will slash tax levies and forego any windfall profit from the court decision voiding a 1981 property tax relief measure, commissioners promised Thursday. In a letter to Gov. Scott Matheson, legislative leaders and others, commissioners said the ruling poses a potentially significant problem and asked the state to consider levy limits that would prevent profiteering. Any tax limitation should apply to school districts as well as other arms of government, commission Mountain Fuel Says All of $38 Million Rate Increase Isnt Needed Continued From Page l believe he is an inherently bad person. Later, Ms. Nesset-Salthe states rebuttal psychiatrist, Dr. Lincoln D. Clark, who acknowledged that had Mr. Bishop not been a homosexual pedophile and suffering from an antisocial personality disorder he likely would not e when attempting to take 1984 values and modify them to 1978 levels. They also had taken into account actual changes in real valuation as homes and neighborhoods improved in condition or declined. Thats the reason valuations could still change slightly each year, though ostensibly frozen to 1978 valuations. Tax Commissioner Marthe Dyner explained that valuations were based on current fair market values, then an inflation figure for the period of 1978 to the present was removed from the valuation. The factor this year is 46 percent. If a propertys value in a given year had increased at a rate slightly above inflation, then the valuation would still rise, even though the rollback had been implemented. Assessors also are required to apply a factoring multipli- - Mountain Bell take-or-pa- |
