Hard economic times are forcing city governments to do something that's taking residents by surprise: raise money by raising fees instead of taxes
A Herriman woman e-mailed us her water bill saying she's seen over a 100 percent increase in the last three years.
Residents in other cities are reporting similar surprises on their power bills, phone bills and so on.
Utah Taxpayers Association Vice-President Royce Van Tassell says, "What is unfortunate, I think most unfortunate, is the apparent way in which Herriman and some of the other cities try and hide these things."
Van Tassell says often, the higher fees aren't spelled out on the bill. He says if people want to know where their money is going, they need to do a little research. He says, "They can go online, in a searchable format, and for free, be able to look at all of the budgets for the city, the county, the state and be able to evaluate, ‘Where's my money going?'"
He also says taxpayers need to demand more transparency in government finance. "It really lets a little sunlight into the process, so that residents aren't surprised when fees go up. They know what it's there for, they know why, and they can go and tell their elected officials whether this is a good idea, "Van Tassell says.
Until that happens, though, Van Tassell says the best defense for residents is to advocate for themselves by showing up at city council meetings and other forums to make their voices heard.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
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