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Show Browns doing ceramics , crafts in time for holidays 78th Year l -- See Page 9 S 'i. Selenium correction underway for Ouray Wildlife Refuge ee . V i ij-- 'l 6--4; jf -- Page 20 S'.' Roosevelt, Utah Wednesday, November 6, 1991 No. 45 Union ends season Eagles repeat history; AHS proud Seepage 14-1- 20 Pages 50 Cents 5 Impact Aid cuts expected for Uintah Basin school districts submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, William Natcher. Orton expressed his concern about further cuts in the Impact Aid programs that alTect education. Impact Aid benefits 41,894 Utah children in 23 the past year. school districts, including 2,400 The subcommittee on Labor, Native American students. and Utah receives a total of $8,260-,19- 6 Health, Human Services Education has been meeting in in Impact Aid. The law affectIt is Washington, D.C. to determine ing this money is PL budget appropriations for Impact designed to compensate school Aid. According to Congressman districts for the costs of educating Ortons office staff, the budget was children when school enrollments and availability of revenues from $800,000,000 over cap on October 29th. Consequently, cuts were local sources have been affected by the presence of federal activities. mandatory. The outcome of the cuts are not This would include the establishexpected to be released to the ment of Indian Reservations, public until November 6 or 7. Only federal parks or natural refuges, then will the Uintah and Duchesne and military bases. Soimol Districts have an idea of The Uintah Basin has a substanwhitt kind of budget restraints they tial amount of federal land as well will be facing next year. as federal trust land. According to Congressman Bill Orton recently Jennifer Greene, USU Intern for Local school districts may be faced with revenue losses due to a decision on Capitol Hill. Thats according to Congressman Bill Orton, who is fighting the move to cut Impact Aid funds that provided nearly $1 million dollars to Duchesne and Uintah Districts during 81-87- 4. PHEASANT AWARDS-Pcnnz- oil corporate leaders received one more token of thanks from the Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce: mounted pheasants, to remind them of a day that started with a pheasant hunt and ended with a pheasant feast, all in their honor. 8 ISa s ?e Task force position heard by taxing reps recently-create- d Oil County Task Force met with representatives from the Property Tax division of the Utah State Tax Commission in Salt Lake City October 24 to continue to seek equitable solutions to necessary paybacks and a planned rule revision that would change the way oil companies are taxed. The meeting included three members from the Property Tax division, a representative from the Attorney Generals office, an oil consultant from Houston, Texas, oil company representatives, and members of the task The wmmm i r I LIFETIME CERTIFICATES-Rooscv- clt Gty Administrator Brad Hancock gives Pcnnzoil executives a lifetime golf pass for the Roosevelt course, during the Pcnnzoil Appreciation Day barbecue last Wednesday. Sets Up Building Authority City to meet with Impact Board to be awarded remaining money By Aldon Rachele Roosevelt City will meet with the Community Impact Board, Thursday, November 7 where they will officially receive the rest of a $2 million package for a municipal complex, which is $190,000 interest free loan and $500,000 grant During a previous meeting with the Impact Board $1 million low interest and $310,000 interest free loans were awarded. Estimated costs for the municipal complex an $1.6 million for the building, which will include administration, court, police, fire departments, adult parole and probation; $100,000, furnishings and moving water monitor system; $200,000, parking and landscaping; and $100,000, architects fee. A building authority was established for the municipal complex project by Roosevelt City at the request of the Community Impact Board and executive director Shirl Clarke. "The main advantage of a building authority is that it is less expensive than going with a bond election. A great majority of municipal buildings are done through a building authority," said Brad Hancock, Roosevelt City Administrator when discussing the reason the Impact Board advised Roosevelt City to go with a building authority. Vernal City has used a building authority for its fire, municipal police departments, complex and golf course. Hancock added, "A building authority will streamline the process. We (City Council) made sure we had support of the citizens even though it wasnt 100 percent there was a majority in favor. We then went with a building authority to save time and money." The City Council by conducting four public hearings, two surveys and talking with citizens felt there was support for the $2 million package for the municipal complex. "A total of 60 surveys were returned to the City with a majority of citizens in favor of what the City is doing," said Hancock. A survey form was mailed to citizens, recently, in their monthly watersewer bill. Some citizens have viewed a bond election as a method of letting the voters give approval or disap-- , proval to the $2 million package and the long term loan commitment, but Council members decided to go with the building authority over a bold election because sometimes a special interest group can affect the outcome when there is a low turnout of voters, according to Hancock. "Time is a critical factor and THEYRE several thousands of dollars would be required to set up a bond election," Hancock said. "The sooner Roosevelt City getB the project going the better the City will be. If there are delays Roosevelt City will have to put money in the old building for improvements to meet federal requirements." During an October 29 meeting City Councilmen said, "We have made decisions to proceed based on dollars saved. We are elected to make those decisions." The site for the municipal complex is the location of the old elementary school, which has been reduced to a pile of rocks. Ned Mitchell Construction demolished the building and cleared the site. City officials hope to begin construction in the spring. method of assessment, the 10-- p or "400 method, is "unfair, not at all reflective of current market value, says Duchesne County Commissioner Rick Reynolds, a task force member. Task force members contend that the 10-- p method is more reliable, more verifiable, and is based on past, and n therefore familiar, factors. They acknowledge, however, that the method is based on figures a year old. The Discounted Cash Flow method, sought by oil companies, is in place in California, Nebraska, Texas, and on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The method, say proponents, finds a balance between buyer and seller. city council positions te 2, HERE-Phcas- ant hunters display their days work on trailers near Roosevelt The birds are edible evidence that the flocks are good this year... about 18 trailers were seen during the past week of the hunt Greene continued, "The amount of funds determined for Impact Aid are based on an average daily attendance of students who live on lands that are exempt from property taxes. It also includes students whose parents live or work on federal land. She explained that three types of students are affected. The first group are Indian students living on federal trust land. The second group are Indian students living on federal trust land who have been identified as handicapped. The third group would include those children whose parents live and work on the federal lands such as the Ashley National Forest. When Duchesne School District was contacted, administrative clerk Phil Thompson said, "This money has a significant impact on our Maintenance and Operations Budget, but we could adjust and survive cuts. We usually dont get the money until June or July for the previous year. We are required to conduct a survey to identify the number ofchildren living on federal or trust lands. The largest portion of these are Indian children." DSD Superintendent Mower has scheduled a meeting for public input is issue on Wednesday, on PL November 13, at Roosevelt Middle School. Uintah District held a similar meeting on October 24. (See related story, education page.) 81-87- 4 well-know- Youth elections held for Election day for our city council-me- n was November 5, but this was not the only election going on in Duchesne County. This was the first year in many that the youth were able to vote for their peers to elect a youth city council. Many other cities across the state already have such a council in place and this is what urged Mayor Ferguson to them in our area. Any student in the Duchesne were County School grades eligible to run, they simply had to $715,655. The 10-- p or 400 method is "unfair, not at all reflective of current market value." -- Representative, Property Tax Division, State Tax Commission force. Under the direction of the Tax Commission and the oil companies involved, the meeting was intended as a caucus for discussing appeals by oil companies on wrongfully assessed taxes as well as the proposed property tax rule revision that would alter the method of assessing oil properties. Tax Commission representatives claimed that the present Congressman Orton, the Duchesne School District receivrd $260,069 last year for Impart Aid and the Uintah School District received apply by Oct 25. A unique feature in this election was that every candidate wan. The candidate which received the most votes became a Mayor for the youth with the next five becoming city council-meThere were other positions for the remaining youth candidates such as a city recorder and department heads. The student candidates had a special booth and were voted for at the same locations as the "real" candidates. They also had some special voting hours which were from after school until about 6 pm. Once the new youth city council is in place they will have the opportunity to meet with "real" city councilmen once a month to discuss ideas for city beautification and anything else designed to improve the city. They will also meet with their own council and department heads to discuss various prqjects. The youth city council from our area will also have the opportunity to attend a league meeting at the end of their term where they will be compete with other youth city councils from other cities. Awards at the meeting will be given for the best prqjects undertaken by the youth. Many city officials are excited about this new council and according to Carolyn Krissman from Roosevelt City, "They could really accomplish a lot with the proper support from adults." The following is a list of the candidates in alphabetical order: Pepper Daniels, Kellie Ercanbrack, Cari Evans, Farah Ferguson, n. Task force members feel the Discounted Cash Flow method is based merely on future predictions, with no checks and balances on the side of the county where the oil properties are assessed. "With Discounted Cash Flow, says Reynolds, "The Tax Commission would have to take on the position of the buyer. They dont have the expertise or the personnel to function that way. And the sellers figures will be higher, since the method is based on the seller setting the price, and the buyer negotiating tiie price. The task force, says Reynolds, has taken these positions: 1) The payback on the taxes und der protest taxes that must be returned to the oil (over-assesse- companies) were assessed through a method in place 0 years, and amethod that has been upheld in court, therefore a legal method; the payment should be made based on the same method, and negotiated through an attorney. In addition, overpayment should be negotiated separately, from county to county. method 2) If the current ( 10-is flawed, the task force wants to examine past sales, apply the Discounted Cash Flow method, and make comparisons, to "See if we view it as fair, truly reflective" of the market. "If we cant verify it, we will naturally be suspicious of the method, Reynolds indicated. "We want something verifiable, but Discounted Cash Flow doesnt seem to be. 3) If the Discounted Cash Flow method is adopted by the Tax Commission, the affected counties will have to look at alternate Continued on page 3 15-2- Loriann Fish, Lee Foster, Deborah Griffin, Ruth Hackford, Clay Hamilton, Amy Johnson, Heather Long, Micki Marshall, Gina McKenzie, Michael McQuivey, Jenny Mower, Rita Needles, LeeAnn Phouthavongsay, Saori Phouthav-ongsaMelissa Rasmussen, Jesica Rios, Julie Ripplinger, Todd Riser, Teima Riser, Scott Sanders, Vanessa Shearwood, Natalie Todd, Kelly Whiting and Megan Wilson, y, |