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Show Lakeside Saturday August 22 1998 Grab that goat Lakeside Review Group tells how to appeal tax Due to Utahs booming economy, property values are skyrocketing throughout the state and county assessors are working to bring taxable values up to market levels. As a result, many property owners are experiencing increases m property taxes when they receive their annual Notice of Property Valuation from the county auditor. The Utah Taxpayers Association urges property owners to double check their assessed property and follow the following steps if they seem inappropriately high. If the market value listed on your notice is higher than what you think your property would sell for, you should appeal to the county board of equalization within 30 days of the date the notice was sent or by the date on the notice Step 1: Obtain a copy of your property tax file from the county assessor and check it for errors. Make sure the property description is accurate. See that the acreage of the lot and the square footage of the building are accurate. Verify the number of rooms and an unfinished space in the building. Errors which would inflate the value of the property should be identified in Amortize From 1 table any action on the amortiuse, and zation, business license ordinances that were before them and that an ordinance amortization SAM DEAN. YOUTH RODEO: From r Sterling Patterson takes down a goat during a recent youth rodeo. Taxes 1 are dangerous for children on bikes and for motorcyclists. One citizen said it would be better to" reduce the power rates 40 the residents aren't paying as much for electricity, then they would be able to pay higher taxes. We would be better served to decrease the power rates and - make up for it through property tax. We have not kept up with growth, Russell Galt said. If we went back to the amount we were paying in 1990 it would pay for the roads. And we would save more than that in car repairs. Mel Cox says he has lived on Mutton Hollow Road for 20 years and the road has never been fixed. He suggested the city .bond for the money. 9 t The roads don't need to be pretty, just functional, Cox said. , Evelyn Johnson said she would be paying about S 50 more a year for taxes but it would be worth it if the roads could be repaired and widened. 1 Thomas Harter, a new Kays-vilresident and a transportation engineer, said there are other le places to go for road money. He named resident Safety Funds and Hazard Management funds as two places where money can come from. Beck Sheffield said the priorities were different when he was on the city council. The priorities then were to build a new city hall, an operations center and remodel the city library. Now it is time to put roads as a top priority, he said, but he is against paying for them with a raise m taxes. I am back in Kaysville after being gone for 26 years. There certainly is more traffic, said Mike Ayers, who is also opposed to more taxes. But he said that compared to other states he has lived in, taxes are lower here. Things like bonding, impact fees and attracting more tax paying businesses were all suggestions given by the public. And many said they thought taxes would not go down after the roads are fixed. Others said it would make young mothers have to go to work to supplement their familys incomes if their taxes went up. And many were concerned the school district would also raise their taxes, and since property valuations have already gone up, they are already paying increased taxes. With taxes going up, young people cant even buy a house, said Stanley Pierce. Many said they were on fixed incomes and couldnt pay higher taxes without their standard of living going down. One even said, It is hard for me to remain financially solvent." Rosie Balmer said she hates taxes, but she remembers a few years ago when she watched as her son got hit by a car, and so she feels that safety is an issue and the roads should be fixed even if it means a raise in taxes. Road improvements be drafted that covers amortization schedules, public hearing process and appeals process, and that we rewrite the business license regulation ordinance to include conditions of operation during an amortization period and structure the use ordinance so it can be used to provide a method of identifying and defining uses, and that an at dont qualify for impact fees, according to city manager John Thacker. And bonding for roads had already been discussed by the council. Planning From 1 ments for terms with only one seat up for appointment each year beginning in January of 2000. Based on semonty and when the terms were originally scheduled to end, the South Weber city council scheduled Hydes seat on the planning commission to be up for reappointment in January of 2000, Wallings in 2001, Workmans in 2002, Pluim's in 2003 and Grubb's in the year 2004. The city council also voted to allow the planning commission five-ye- ar to grant preliminary approval for subdivision plats without, as previously required, recommending preliminary approval to the city council and then allowing the council to review the proposal and grant the prelimi your appeal. Step Substantiate the value of your property This can be done with real estate closing papers, a professional appraisal or values of recent sales of comparable property obtained through a Realtor. Many Realtors are willing to provide a computer listing of property sales at no cost in hopes of getting your future business. Those who have had their mortgages refinanced recently can submit that appraisal with their appeal. Step 3: Submit any errors found during Step One, and the value established in Step Two along with your appeal to the board of equalization within the time period indicated on the notice. In larger counties, you will be notified of a specific date and time for your appeal after you submit your request. In smaller counties, your appeal may be heard at the same time your request is made. Some counties allow taxpayers to mail their appeals and some of these may be decided without a formal hearing you or someone you select to represent you It is up to you to show why your property is not worth what the assessor says it is worth This is not the time to complain about high taxes The only appropriate matter to be considered is the value of your property The assessor's representative will show why he feels the property is worth what is shown on the notice. You will have the opportunity to ask questions or make comments about the assessors information Step 5- If you are unhappy with the decision of the board of equalization, you may appeal to the State Tax Commission through the county auditors office. However, you have only 30 days to make the appeal from the date of the board of equalizations decision. The Tax Commission will review the record of the hearing, including your information and findings of the board of equalization. - ty assessor, a neutral arbitrator appointed by the county, and Step 6. If you are not satisfied with the decision by the Tax Commission, you may appeal through the courts Once again, an appeal must be filed w ith the Distnct Court within 30 days of the date of the Tax Commissions decision tempt be made to marry the language of all three of these so that they are now m support of each other. After the motion passed unanimously, council member Annette Gardner suggested that Frost and council member Bob Hinders work with the city attorney to draft those proposed ordinances. Frost said, I think council member Flinders and I are close enough together on this that we ought to have someone from the other end, possibly referring to their seating arrangement as well as their position on this issue. Council member Brent Stauffer volunteered to work with Frost and the attorney on drafting the ordinances. Owen Cash, one of the concerned residents who lives next to Nix Construction, proposed that a citizenresident and a South Weber City businessman also serve on the committee with the two councilmen and the attorney. Councilman Flinders said he thought it was a good idea and might make the process move faster. The other council members agreed and asked Cash, who volunteered, to represent the residents. The council indicated that they would ask a business owner to also serve on the committee. nary approval. South Weber resident Dave Brown addressed the council and said, As you know, I'm in favor of this change. I think now the planning commission members will feel like they have a worthwhile job to do." Brown had proposed this change to the council members two months ago after the council had passed a resolution stipu- city council month later. - Step 4. The hearing There will be three parties at the hearing- a representative of the coun- lating that recommendations from the planning commission would not be put on the city council agenda for final approval until at least the second regularly scheduled city council meeting after the planning commission had dealt with an item. This meant that if a developer was seeking approval for a subdivision, whether it was one lot or 50 lots, once the planning commission recommended final approval, the soonest the developers could appear before the was about one The council a'so stipulated that the planning commission keep conditions of approval to a minimum Brown, as a representative fJr U S. Development, fearbd the approval process would be bogged down and, in an effort to speed up the approval process, he proposed having the city council let the planning commission take care of preliminary approval and not involve1 themselves until final approval The South Weber city council agreed with Browns proposal and decided get out of the preliminary approval business. All these changes, which required amendments to city statutes that regulate subdivisions, were passed unanimously by the city council f f Even though councilmen Johnson and Nelson were for an increase and Steve Whitesides and Rees also stated the city needs to get more funding, they all voted for Home's motion to approve the budget without a tax increase. i VS r IMhildMill St. Paters Episcopal Church Kaysville Looking for a way to explore local area chosen for Parade of Homes 1 A ClEAWF-iELO- Showcasing 25 master crafted homes m Northern Utah's fastest "growing areas for housing, the 'Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association has chosen its fixed site location for the 1999 Parade of Homes. KaysCreek Estates will host next year's fixed site location. The subdivision, developed by Advantage communities Inc, is located m Layton This beautiful .site will offer show goers both creekside homes and a fully maintained park area Terry Hales of Jack B Parson Companies will serve as the 1999 xJhfcinjtoffif loriddrruri T A AbduW Baha'i Faith A PesopcD Fa Hca' -- M g The W 4 v11 771 '! IC2IISTIECTZ Take a walk through Northern Utah !;wwvvvvw;i First Baptist Church-- v at www.standard.net featureswalksindex.html Hathfiwilwajn bnrvgjvmewrty EAST 1450 SOUTH UTAH 84015 625-017- 7 I beauty? . 204 , fokLiihlk i y CLrdktdon! ; V , GROWING IN LIFE j Sunday School - 9.45 am Worship Service -- 11:00 am Nursery Provided (Mo; -- 25th Street & Jefferson Just off City Center 621-17- y ForVwhfinr,Ci ' 61 I r First United Methodist Church 2604 Jefferson Ave gden Utah 84401 Tj&ri 393-566- 2 kjmcoQdfHi&oo! gmc rp com tfuffHxrf Traditional Service & Sunday School 9 00 am Celebration Service & Sunday School 10 30 am Nursery Availoble for Both Service! Prayer and Praise Service Thursday! 6 30 pm Parade of Homes Chapman Layne Barber of Boman and Kemp Steel has accepted the position of vice chairman - Next years Northern Wasatch THome Builders Association of Homes will be held June 18 through June 27, 1999 Pa-fra- TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS CALL 625-433- 3 t i POOR C( |