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Show County tax increases met with opposition during public hearing By PAULA HUFF FARMINGTON Twenty Davis County citizens attended a public hearing held by the Davis County Commission Tuesday to ask questions or protest an increase in some county mill levies. After a long discussion in the regular Monday meeting, the commissioners approved a 9 percent increase for unincorporated unincorpo-rated special service areas, a 2 percent increase for incorporated cities excluding Kaysville and a 5 percent increase in overall expenditures over last year's budget. Commissioner Harry Gerlach said the 9 percent increase for unincorporated special services areas will pay for road repair, snow removal, water, fire landfill and sewer. The county provides pro-vides all these services for citizens in unincorporated areas so it is only fair they pay for them, Mr. Gerlach said. He also explained that the 2 percent increase for all Davis County taxpayers, excluding citizens of Kaysville, will be used for library remodeling and the new Layton library. Kaysville owns their library, which excludes them from the mill levy increase. Mr. Gerlach said the South Branch Library is putting in an Continued on page 2 CoiiMty tax proposals dblp . Continued from page one elevator and bathroom facilities for the handicapped. "When the South Branch Library was built there were no regulations for the handicap," he said. "But now the federal government has told us that all public entities must make their buildings -accessible to the handicapped." When the remodeling of the South Branch Library and construction con-struction of the Lay ton library is complete, the library mill levy will be reduced, Mr. Gerlach said. Many of the citizens at the public hearing also asked specific questions concerning increases on their property tax notices. The "Bond Sinking" and paramedics were two mill levy increases in-creases mentioned. Mr. Gerlach said the bond sinking mill levy is for repayment of the $12 million Davis County borrowed in 1983 to pay for flood damage in the county. But the Flood Control mill levy on property tax notices will continue, he said. "The flood control program will continue because now we must have maintenance of the county's flood control projects (built to prevent future flooding)", he said. The paramedics mill levy is now on the property tax notice because Davis County must purchase another ambulance, Mr. Gerlach said. In 1980, all emergency response systems in Utah incorporated into one medical program. The parameters set by the new medical program said that if response tune to a meaicat emergency exceeds lOminutes, then something must be done to decrease that time, Mr. Gerlach said. " ' Vv For Davis County , that meant purchasing another ambulance ; -and hiring more paramedics and EMT's, he said. Mr. Gerlach also said Davis County citizens will noUce a general property tax increase due to the "factoring order. " The State Tax Commission developed the factoring order so the market value of property could be assessed every other year, With the new factoring order, the market value of a home is set according to the price of real estate in an area. "If you feel that the market value of your home has been set too high and you have had a personal appraisal (of your property) proper-ty) showing it's too high, then at equalization time the assessed value of your home will be readjusted," Mr. Gerlach said. But a county citizen must take the initiative to accumulate the data and present it before the Board of Equalization, Mr. Gerlach Ger-lach said. The Board of Equalization has set hearing dates of Aug. 14, 15, 21 and 22. In Salt Lake County last year, 15,000 people appealed their assessments as unfair and 95 percent of those people had their assessments readjusted. J In general, Mr. Gerlach said Davis County is in "excellent financial condition." The only debt is the blood bond, referred to as bond sinking on property tax notices. |