OCR Text |
Show Volume XIV Issue XXI The Ogden Valley news Page 17 August 15, 2007 SEWER cont. from page 1 sented appropriate state agencies; county engineering staff, health, and legal; Weber Basin Water Conservancy District representatives; private engineers; Envision Utah, and others. Some of the most important issues in this matter include the following: 1. Management and Oversight – Management and oversight of small districts, and, to a degree, on-site systems as well. Weber/Morgan health estimates that 10% of on-site systems are operating in a failed condition. 2. Protecting Pineview Reservoir – Failure to protect this precious resource is not a consideration. It is currently listed as impaired because of high water temperatures, high levels of phosphorus, and low levels of dissolved oxygen. State officials and experts do not agree on the cause. The State Department of Water Quality recommends reducing phosphorous loading that may be coming from on-site wastewater treatment systems. Boaters and swimmers who relieve themselves behind a bush on the shoreline instead of using one of the toilets provided by the Forest Service or others are often accused of being the source of pollution. The Forest Service has studied this annoying issue and is of the opinion that it is a minor source of pollution but warrants continued efforts to motivate recreational users to use provided waste facilities. 3. Carrying Capacity - Studies of the carrying capacity for septic systems in the Valley range from 6,200 to 9,500. None predicts capacity for 17,000 homes as expected by the Ogden Valley General Plan. 4. Pressure for zoning changes – History shows that where sewer exists, developers often petition for denser zoning. The committee favored alternatives that limit the possibility of this happening, and points out other factors that may limit rezoning such as the growth of air pollution and potential use of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). Many other issues were studied by the GEM committee, including: • Average lifespan of traditional septic systems • Increased levels of wastewater effluent generated by growth • Cost of collection and treatment of effluent • Keeping wastewater in Ogden Valley • Desire for local management of waste- water systems • Impact of new technology Other concerns considered included citizen responses to the placement of wastewater treatment facilities, and concerns of being forced to connect to newly built facilities. Also, costs per homeowner in hook-up and monthly usage fees. The recommended alternative would have the county create a new Valley-wide Master Sewer District. It would operate in addition to existing sewer districts and systems already established in the Valley. Existing on-site users would choose to become part of the district or to remain independent. The newly established district would operate on cost-based fees instead of taxing everyone residing in the district. New developments would choose to be annexed into an existing district or, by default, become part of the new Valley district. The town of Huntsville would not be included in the recommended district but would be invited to join. In more densely populated areas the district may ask developers to connect to a small regional treatment facility. The GEM committee’s recommendation offers these benefits: TRANSPORTATION cont. from page 1 ACCIDENT cont. from page 1 recently approved Regional Transportation Plan. Major projects available for this money include the widening of 500 South in West Bountiful/Woods Cross, 1800 North in Clinton, 200 South in Clearfield, Skyline Drive in North Ogden, 40th Street in Ogden, Hinckley Drive in Roy, a fixed guideway transit facility from downtown Ogden to Weber State University, or along Washington Boulevard, and a similar facility in southern Davis County to be determine by the South Davis Transit Study. side of Peterson and his bike. The impact killed the buck. Peterson suffered a broken collarbone, cracked ribs, a fracture to the skull behind his ear, road rash, and a puncture wound to the back from the deer’s antler. Peterson was released from the hospital a few days after the incident. 1. Does not require current users of existing on-site septic or other systems to change or incur new costs. 2. Addresses the issues of successful management of community systems represented by the existing common drainfield systems and small treatment facilities. 3. Provides a body politic with adequate funding and skills to ensure effective service, maintenance, and treatment. 4. Controls the risk of wastewater pollution in streams and Pineview Reservoir. 5. Offers on-site users assistance in managing their systems. 6. Creates few and short trunk lines that have the potential of impacting existing on-site users. 7. Is not hostile to existing districts/systems. The GEM committee has recommended to the County Commission that they pursue a professional feasibility study, including revenue and expense calculations, and pursue the public process with assistance of experienced legal advisors in order to form a new Valley-wide district. It also recommends that each existing district/system be invited to join the new district. On the evening of August 6, a truck left the highway and went over the edge of the North Ogden Divide on the Ogden Valley side. The driver was Note: Information from the Wasatch able to call for help, and no serious Front Region Council July 2007 newsletter. injuries were reported. For more information, contact the Wasatch Front Regional Council at 801-773-5559. Representative Addresses Property Tax Issues By Gage Froerer Utah State Representative In response to inquiries regarding increased property values in Weber County, I would like to provide the following responses. How are property taxes determined and why did they increase for some taxpayers? Property taxes are determined by the following formula: taxable value x property tax rate = property tax liability. If either the tax rate (actually the sum of property tax rates imposed by local government or other taxing entity) or the taxable value of the property changes, then the property tax also changes. While “truth in taxation” limits property tax revenue increases on a taxing entity level, it does not limit an individual taxpayer’s property tax liability. A taxpayer’s property tax may still go up due to an increase in assessed value even though none of the taxing entities within which the taxpayer lives is participating in truth in taxation. Reasons for such an increase could include: (a) the taxpayer’s property assessed value increased by a greater amount than the average of other property within the taxing entity; or (b) other property within the taxing entity decreased in assessed value. Why did some taxpayers experience an increase in assessed value? Article XIII, §1 of the Utah Constitution requires that “all tangible property . . . shall be . . . assessed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its fair market value . . . “ The Utah State Tax Commission is required by statute to oversee the work of county assessors to ensure that property is assessed at fair market value. Utah has recently led the nation in home price appreciation. Between the first quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007, there was a 17 percent increase statewide in home price appreciation. During that same period, home prices along the Wasatch Front increased by 19.7 percent and my analysis shows Ogden Valley homes increased on average just under 20%. The good news is your home is worth more. The bad news is you may not want to sale right now so the increase in value will not help your monthly budget. What are you as a State Representative doing to keep my property taxes as low as possible? The statewide effective property tax rate (property taxes paid as a percentage of fair PROPERTY TAXES cont. from page 9 State Representative Gage Froerer and State Senator Alan Christensen have been asked to attend a public meeting at Snowcrest Jr. High in Eden on August 15, along with County Assessor Cheryl Madson, to address residents’ concerns about the rising property taxes. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. Residents are also being asked to call or email county commissioners and ask them to reduce the county’s tax rate. Overall, Weber County has the highest historical Garden & Landscape Design Project Management www.theardentgardener.net market value) for primary residential property has decreased from .77% in 1995 to .73% in 2005. Utah ranks 36th in the nation in property taxes paid as a percentage of personal income (3.4% in the United States vs. 2.7% in Utah). The Legislature has taken several important steps to control property taxes. First, Utah’s “truth in taxation” laws preclude local governments from automatically collecting increases in property tax revenue due to increases in assessed value caused by market forces. If a local government entity wants to increase its budgeted property tax revenue above the amount that it would normally receive from new development, it must hold a public hearing. It must also send a notice about this public hearing to each property owner and provide notice in the newspaper. These notices contain the date, time, and location of this public hearing. There are about 65 local government entities participating in this process this year. Second, the Legislature has decreased the minimum basic school levy by 32 percent in the last ten years including a 7.5 percent decrease approved in the 2007 General Session. I personally feel the legislature must continue to work hard to help elderly taxpayers stay in their homes and alleviate their property tax burden. We have recently expanded and increased the funding for the “circuit breaker” program that helps elderly taxpayers with low incomes pay some, or all, of their property tax bill. The Legislature has also implemented property tax relief programs for low income persons, blind persons, and disabled veterans. I have pre-filed the bill I ran last year that allows senior citizens to ask for deferrals on their property taxes. This bill works similar to our green-belt taxes and would abate a portion of the tax until the property is sold. I will also be running a bill to increase the circuit breaker or Homeowner’s credit income limits this year so more people will qualify for help. The Utah Constitution allows the Legislature to exempt up to 45% of the fair market value of a primary residence from taxation. The Legislature has chosen to exempt the full 45% allowed. This means that a home used as a primary residence is only taxed on 55% of the home’s fair market value. The circuit breaker also allows for an additional 20% exemption so the home would be taxed at 35% of the home’s fair market value. average tax rate in the state according to the 2006 Utah Property Tax Annual Statistical Report prepared by the Property Tax Division of the Utah State Tax Commission (See page 38. This computation uses total locally and centrally assessed taxes charged by total taxable value, excluding motor vehicle value.). |