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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, October 24-27, 2020 A-3 The Park Record City Beat CITY EDITOR: JAY HAMBURGER 649–9014 EXT. 15711 | Citynews@parkrecord.com Sales taxes beat projections Numbers point toward nascent recovery JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Sales-tax collections in Park City in July beat City Hall projections by a wide margin, providing a key data point that illustrates a nascent economic comeback of sorts from the spring business shutdowns designed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. The numbers lag by several months and, in the case of July, they offer one of the first important community-wide readings on economic activity since sales taxes are charged on such a broad range of transactions. According to City Hall, $767,523 was collected in sales taxes in July, which was the first month of the municipal government’s 2021 fiscal year. The figure dropped from the $890,546 tallied in the previous July, but it bested the five-year average in that month of $748,225. July is an important month in the summer-tourism season, typically offering a calendar jammed with athletic and cultural events as well as the Independence Day celebration. There was a series of cancellations, though, this July based on worries about the illness. The Fourth of July parade and fireworks were the most notable of the events that did not occur. The July 4 celebration typically draws a large crowd to Main Street followed by fireworks at Park City Mountain Resort that night. Park City was crowded on many days in July regardless of the cancellations. People flocked to Main Street, including on pedestrian-only days, trails were busy and traffic appeared as heavy as it had been since the ski season ended. There were reports of solid sales in the community during that month. Park City leaders in the spring crafted a budget for the 2021 fiscal year amid numerous unknowns regarding the impact the coronavirus would have on the economy. The City Hall projections in the spring anticipated $287,263 in sales taxes would be collected in July. The projection was upped in September to forecast $592,130 in sales-tax collections in July. The actual number of $767,523 represents a significant beat to the upside. City Hall says the formula it uses to prepare the projections involves numerous travel-related variables. It is difficult, though, for the model to accurately predict the number of people traveling to Park City in personal vehicles from inside Utah and from outside the state, the municipal government says. Although the sales-tax numbers in July were strong, likely pointing to a solid August as well, the figures in the summer months are not nearly as important to the overall budget as those of the ski season. The period between December and March traditionally is the most profitable stretch of the calendar for a broad range of businesses that rely at least at some level on the ski season. There are concerns about the ski season with the illness still spreading in the U.S. and the economic uncertainty the coronavirus has caused persisting as opening day approaches. There is also worry the Sundance Film Festival, usually an especially lucrative stretch of the winter, will not generate the usual economic numbers since organizers plan a greatly scaled back event in 2021. Unemployment rate rises Park City-area gains have stalled, the numbers show JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The unemployment rate in Summit County in September rose slightly and the state upwardly revised the August figure, evidence job gains in the Park City-area have largely stalled since a slew of hirings quickly after the end of the business shutdowns in the spring as the community attempted to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The state Department of Workforce Services reported the unemployment rate in Summit County in September rose to 7.7% from 7.5% the previous month. The August number of 7.5% was upwardly adjusted from an initial reading of 6.6%. The adjusted August number represented an increase from July. The rate has fallen sharply since hitting a staggering 20.4% in April as the mountain resorts ended the ski season several weeks early and the tourism industry was largely shuttered. The gains, though, slowed significantly before the increases in the August and September unemployment rates. ELECTION NOTICE To all qualified electors of Summit County, Utah: Take notice that on November 3, 2020, an opinion question will be submitted to the qualified electors of Summit County as “Proposition 21” regarding renewal of funding for recreational facilities, botanical organizations, and cultural organizations (the” RAP Tax”),the question contained in the following ballot proposition: OFFICIAL BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR PROPOSITION 21 SUMMIT COUNTY, UTAH November 3, 2020 /s/ Kent Jones County Clerk Please see Gains, A-4 1 IN 4 GIRLS IS SEXUALLY ABUSED BEFORE AGE 18, SUMMIT COUNTY PROPOSITION 21 and the impact of that trauma has life-long effects. Shall Summit County, Utah reauthorize a 0.1% sales and use tax for the purpose of funding recreational facilities, botanical organizations, and cultural organizations in Summit County for a period of ten (10) years? You can help her RECLAIM HOPE. FOR AGAINST PLEASE JOIN US T H U R S DAY 05 N OV E M B E R AT SIX-THIRTY IN THE EVENING KIMBALL TERRACE • PARK CITY for dinner, program, and in making a difference in the lives of child sexual abuse survivors. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit WWW.YOUNIQUEFOUNDATION.ORG/EVENTS The Younique Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, has been working since 2015 to help survivors of child sexual abuse find the hope and healing they desperately need. WWW.YOUNIQUEFOUNDATION.ORG In the event that a majority of registered voters voting on the re-authorization of the RAP Tax have voted in favor of said tax, the distribution of RAP Tax funds shall be as follows: 50% to the Arts Committee and 50% to the Recreation Committee; With respect to funds related to the Recreation Committee only, funds shall, to the extent possible based upon the applications received, be distributed according to the following geographic areas using population data consistent with the latest United States Census: the Snyderville Basin area, the Park City area, the North Summit area, and the South Summit area. |