Show public officials discuss proposed amendment no 5 commissioner decker and mayor hatch present views on homestead exemption plan ivan decker co Commis commissioner siDner I 1 wish to make some comments on the homestead exemption amendment men meri dment figures given us a few days since by a representative of the public officials educational indicate that revenue revel I 1 losses in parowan carowan it the amendment is voted in would be as follows to our city 00 00 to our county to our school district total these figures are taken from a form forin letter which the above mentioned committee desired public officials hereabouts to present to the people through the press over their signatures this has not been done because some of our public officials have felt that figures and implications lit in this form letter are misleading to the public although there is neither space nor time to discuss this form letter in detail I 1 will try to show why some of the figurea given in it seem to be misleading and why there is no reason for having hysterics it amendment no 5 should meet with public approval tile the above mentioned is conducting a vigorous earn cam to secure the defeat of this amendment amen men dment the form letter they desired to have published over our signatures is in the editors hands if he desires to print it so that rc readers aders may refer to it he is at alb liberty to do so so tar far as I 1 am concerned there will be a natural tendency for the average home owner to vote in favor of amendment 5 it if the amendment men dment is given public approval will our units be bankrupt I 1 think not cur friends say they want public inter interest cst aroused very well let us its shave have the public interest pene penetrate Is a little litle deeper than the above mentioned form letter would allow it to penetrate most alost horns homs owners under stanl stani that if amendment 5 meets with tile the peoples approval any home assessed ses pd at 2000 to esthe with additional personal effects assessed essed at will be exempt that Is any homo hiving a real value ot of approximately li including its furniture will be exempt this Is the popular lular notion ot of the whole abair and apparently 2 PP ardently will be the interpretation given the matter by our next the amendment is approved by bi the popular vote but the h fi figures agures gures quoted in the form letter our friends are based on an all entirely different interpretation ot of what a homestead consists of these figures are based on the assumption 1 that the coming legislature I 1 will interpret a homeR homestead homestead tead to mean that a home its furniture the lot an additional lot another rented house a farm and even a mayor A C hatch from a consideration ot of the financial needs and requirements ot of parowan carowan city it will be seen that it would be impossible to carry our present debt and operating load it if the proposed amendment no 5 u should be passed and our state legislature should carry out the mandate ot of the people as expressed in the proposed amendment no 5 because according to statistical information formation furnished by public officials official bials education committee there would be an annual loss to parowan carowan city ot of to iron county to our schools it would be a splendid thing to have this cut made but right now I 1 cant see how such a drastic cut can be made in view ot of the tact fact that we have about bonded indebtedness our credit is based largely on the taxability ot of all property in the corporate limits ot of the city our bondholders bond holders certainly would not favor such procedure and our credit would be impaired to that extent in order to make up the loss it would be necessary to increase our present city levy ga mills which could roil id not be done because ot of statute limitations even it if it were otherwise advisable or possible it if parowan carowan city could be left alone for ten years under efficient and economical management we could then cut all tax levies tor for city purposes and handle the cites bustness business and pay operating costs on the income of light power and water store all owned by the same individual would all tie he exempt front from taxation it if their combined assessed value we more than such an interpretation as this the pupils does not expect and since tho the public does close not expect it I 1 think that there Is little danger that the legislature will give it this kind hind h ind of meaning rather would I 1 expect our lawmakers to interpret P homestead to mean a house tn in which the owner and his family live and possibly the lot on which ohp house stands the tha persona personal cpr property 0 exempted would be to my notion only the personal actually situated on and lu in the above homestead now if this turns out to be ta tho le interpretation ot of a home or homestead then ws I 1 would ho safe in reducing the losses I 1 indicated in the form letter to from f n third to a fifth of the wilbes v given dived it if we take one fourth of tile the values viven given we would have revenue losses in parowan carowan Pa rowan to city 1373 instead of i to county instead of school dis instead of total 4 these smaller smal figurea I 1 frel cl continued to back pas page public officials discuss proposed amend no 5 continued from rom first page present the approximate losses in revenue that we may actually expect I 1 base this statement on conclusions clu reached as indicated above and after a study of the report of 0 the commatee Com mUtee of nine and after c with some prominent individuals who ought to know something about how low the coming legislature will interpret the word hoina or naturally I 1 think the loses ot or tax lax revenue then will create a situation just alnut one fourth as serious as the prepared coni communication nun cation would have us ur ickov wo we ril night lit remember alo abo 0 that A mon dment 5 itself states that the tha legislature may provide tor for the exemption cn eption fram taxation of homes n ni t to exceed 2000 in value this i the legislature may in case thi public approves amendment 5 p c the exemption on homes at a y figure gaire between the pre 15 it f homestead exemption figure cod e d 2000 which figure they may mt feed per personally I 1 would rot not b d to see 1000 enste instead id 0 S 2000 1000 fixed as the exemption figure j I 1 t it be remembered also that vr matter what action the legislature on this amendment it vila nr after the public approves it its cotui enactment as an operative iv 1 w may be delayed by them until scicli time as ag they are able to effect other measures for raising the reve ue that would be lost by enactment of amendment no 5 1 I am not in ill the least afraid that our lawmakers will plunge us its into the ne cc acs ity aty of af t tyng trying yng to operate galvern anniti on if they d di not fr t provide calic moans ot of balsie ral sie et eirv ary 1 41 ties they it bip re tl 1 TI not ot worthy of the trus we VP r in P in thern when we liec alec them tham to hs tats high duty I 1 I 1 lai long been evident cl dent that our t v x system berds nerds thorough abr apar approval val of amendment no 5 F vill mako make this r mandatory nand atory it may bp bo tat new is Ps s good time as any tor for that revision to talce take place it Is it seems to me high time airie that some soma progress Tess should be made toward achieving a distribution of tile fe tax burden in accordance accordance with with an abili at allty to pay since writing the above an ail article in this mornings thursday salt lake tribune has come to my flonce flot riot ce in III this article a tn of the committee of nine in charge ot of investigating the proba Us ble effects of the passage pas sage of the homestead exemption amendment lands bands L b ands a as S misstatements rois statements and halti buths some of the information being alven alve out by certain persons end and organizations in utah in regard to the committee of nines re patt on oli the homestead exemption amendment the article also gives several suggestions which our next le ie klat ire might use in raising the bevenue funds to replace loprate those which we would aid be lost by enactment of the homestead cad exemption law those rhose interested in the problem might read this article to consider i able advantage |