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Show Garfield County 1989 Budget Totals 2.6 Million Because counties in Utah have a limited revenue base, the property tax has continued as the principal revenue source for financing county governments in Utah. This year, property taxes imposed by counties will total $133.8 million, or 44.5 percent of all 1989 county general revenue. These were some of the facts revealed in an analysis of 1989 county budgets prepared by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization. The study points out that Utah counties may not impose a utility franchise tax and the local sales tax has remained a relatively minor revenue source, because the tax can be collected only in those areas of the county that are not already being be-ing taxed by a city or town. Also contributing to county financial problems was the elimination of federal revenue sharing and the reduction re-duction of other federal grants. It is expected that only about $16.6 million in federal funds will be received by Utah counties during - 1989. This compared with $46.9 million in 1984 and $38.1 million in 1986. At one time, Utah counties coun-ties received more than $16 million a year in federal revenue sharing funds alone. Rejection of the three initiative measures by the voters in the 1988 general election did protect about $58.7 million in county revenues. If the initiatives had been approved, county property taxes in Utah would have been cut by $53.2 million mil-lion and the counties' share of motor mo-tor fuel and diesel fuel tax revenues would have been reduced by $5.5 million. Foundation analysts point out that revenue receipts budgeted for county purposes in 1989 totaled slightly more than $300 million. The three largest revenue sources for counties are (1) the property tax, (2) contributions and transfers, and (3) state aid. These three items account for nearly three-fourths of total county funds available this year. In addition to being the largest revenue source for counties, Avwy&yyyy,yyyyyyyyytyyyyVWmWWy'' the property tax also is the balanc- j i ing item in the budget to match i available revenues against projected expenditures in most of the coun- j ties. j Property tax rates imposed by counties last year ranged from a high of 0.4635 percent in Salt Lake L County to a low of 0.1754 percent in Box Elder County. The average i 1 county property tax rate for the J n state as a whole last year was ic 0.3072 percent ; 0: According to the Foundation re-port, re-port, the 1989 budget for Garfield j County shows total revenue of ! $2,648,027. This included ; $445,600 from the property tax, $95,000 from the sales tax, w $160,000 from other taxes, $9,500 ie from licenses and permits, U $283,864 from federal funds, in $803,628 from state funds, ta $222,020 from service charges, ar $121,000 from fines and forfei- ta tures, $447,915 from contributions Dr and transfers, and $59,500 from other revenue. Last year, the prop-erty prop-erty tax rate for county purposes in Garfield County was 0.3729 per- . cent pi General operating expenditures Pr in Utah's 29 counties are expected o to total $300.8 million during tl 1989. This is about $25 million, or 9.2 percent more than the n amount budgeted for 1988. County V( expenditure totals range from a high of $144.7 million in Salt aj Lake County to a low of about ( $681,670 in Piute County. ht( Per capita expenditures range from a high of $1,129 in Daggett )C County to a low of $64 in Utah w County. The Foundation study in- ;" dicates that the wide range in per e capita spending is accounted for by the fact that certain basic services must be provided in all counties in a the state. Consequently, per capita aj costs for such services will tend to in be high in the counties with small t populations. Another significant variable is the level of municipal-type municipal-type services provided by some of te the counties. p (See BUDGET On Page 2-A.) BUDGET (Continued From Page 1.) Budgeted expenditures in Garfield County for 1989 totaled $2,648,027. This included $643,767 for general government, $192,816 for law enforcement, $45,200 for fire protection, $125,719 for corrections, $103,969 for protective inspection and services, ser-vices, $101,600 for public health and welfare, $1,048,636 for streets and public improvements, $52,570 for parks, recreation and public properties, $173,750 for conservation conserva-tion and economic development, $160,000 for intergovernmental expenditures and debt service. |