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Show LWfV reviews study findings er taxes. In the past, Cedar City has sometimes made improvements improve-ments with owners paying in monthly installments within a year's time as the city worked work-ed the expense in its yearly budget. This has also not worked well, as there are always al-ways those who default, leaving the city to foot the bill, though taking a lien on the property. Liens are the only legal way that the city has to force collection of the assessments if the property owners refuse to pay. . The city can collect this debt only when the property is sold. Cedar Ce-dar City holds liens dating back to 1936 and collects more than $700 each year in improvement im-provement assessments dating dat-ing back that far. The remaining two articles in this series will discuss the financing of improvements through Special Improvement Districts under the Utah law governing such districts. EDITORS NOTE: The first in a series of three articles by the Cedar City League of Women Voters explaining its city improvement study. By Vivian Little Each year the League of Women Voters pursues studies based on National, state and local problems. For the past several years, the Cedar City League's local studies have related to city improvement in the areas of planning and zoning and beautification. The 1968-69 study included weed abatement, garbage, health and sanitation, and curb and gutter ordinances as well as Federal legislation in regard to city and highway beautification. As Leaguers contemplated the . 1969-70 study, members felt the need for action; there had been enough of study and talk. They decided that the single thing that would most improve im-prove our city's appearance would be to pave (oil) all the streets curb to curb, and to complete installation of curb, gutter and sidewalks throughout through-out the city. So the concentrated concen-trated on the problems involved involv-ed in this project, particularly the financing. As a hesult of this past year's study, the local League's consensus is: That special improvement districts are the most practical method of financing street improvements; improve-ments; that SID's be set up in an orderly plan to provide improvements, starting from the center of town outward equally in all directions; that the city should move as rapidly as possible to complete com-plete the improvements; and finally, that all restrictions on the interest rates for Municipal Munici-pal Improvements Bonds be removed. The League feels that starting start-ing the improvements from the center of town will benefit bene-fit everyone. We all g0 down town sometimes and, seeing how much nicer that area looks, we should be encouraged encourag-ed to complete development elsewhere. Visitors usually see that part first and would be given an improved image of the city. This procedure would also incorporate undeveloped undev-eloped as well as the developed devel-oped areas. Improvements will increase value of all property pro-perty concerned and help with the weed and mud problems. pro-blems. Since, at present, there is difficulty in selling Municipal Improvement Bonds, even with their present high rate of interest and tax-exempt status, removal of interest rate restrictions would cause them to be priced more realistically. real-istically. The League began its study by tackling the problem of "who pays and how." Both tradition and the law seem to agree that property owners should pay for improvements in front of their own property. By one method of financing, each property owner would assume the responsibility to carry out and pay for his own improvements. He would contract con-tract for the work or do his own. This has been a practice prac-tice in Cedar City in the past and is generally considered fair, but not successful in bringing about widespread improvements. Another method would be for the property owner to ask for or agree to improvements to be carried out and financed by the city. However, the city budget would have to allow funds for the expenditure required, re-quired, which could be large. All taxpayers could pay, through higher taxes, for all work, or the city could raise money for improvements by borrowing on General Obligation Obliga-tion Bonds. Such bonds would have to be passed at a referendum, refer-endum, a difficult task, as it would also result in high |