County officials meet with residents about law enforcement funding

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Salt Lake County officials met with residents in an open-house style meeting at the Whitmore Library to discuss proposed alternatives to the now-defunct Unified Police Department fee.

Facing a nearly $12 million hole, county officials are looking at a property tax increase as the likely substitute for the fee, which was prohibited by the Utah Legislature. Monday's meeting was the third in a series of eight planned around Salt Lake County to address resident's concerns and present the property tax in a lesser-of-two-evils light.

"Our goal is to provide the best services at a reasonable price," said Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. "I think people are happy the fee is going away. There's a mix of responses as to whether we should cut services or not."

Corroon said there is some misunderstanding on the part of residents as to what solutions are available to county planners. Part of the purpose of the meetings, he said, was to help explain to citizens that as the governing body of unincorporated areas, funds are not diverted from a single pot and there are limits to what can be used to fund the police force.

"We can't move the money back and forth, it's illegal," he said.

Officials were also quick to point out that under the terms of the proposed property tax, police service would remain the same while many residents would see a reduction in what they are paying.

Darren Casper, of the county mayor's office, said homeowners with a property value of less than $390,000 would save money, compared to the current fee. The average property value, he said, is $220,000, meaning the majority of residents stand to benefit from the proposal by a simple cash difference in their payment, as well as writing off the property tax from their overall taxes – something they were unable to do with the fee.

The only alternative, he said, would be to eliminate the funding altogether, which would result in drastic cuts to county services.

"The question is, where do you cut?" Casper said. "You could lay off the majority of the police staff or you could go back to the drawing board on the remaining organizations and make your cuts there."

Many citizens however, such as Magna resident James Henderson, feel the county is more than able to compensate for the loss of funds.

"They've got more money than they know what to do with," Henderson said. "I'm suggesting they go get their money from some place else instead of us people."

Henderson said he was against the initial police fee and while he's happy to see it go away, he's not convinced a tax hike is the only solution.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said the county law enforcement is facing significant cuts that would result in losing the "lion's share" of officers and a substantial decrease in their ability to serve residents. The department has already undergone cuts, he said. In 2010, 24 positions were terminated in a $4 million reduction. He said the fee created tension between officers and the individuals they serve, but some form of remediation is necessary.

"I hope people realize that we've already taken the hit," Winder said. "A shift to property tax is the most logical approach."

The Unified Police Department covers all unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County as well as five municipalities. In total, the jurisdiction covers 360,000 individuals, Winder said. Unincorporated areas alone account for 170,000, a population that is exceeded in Utah only by Salt Lake City itself.

Email:benwood@desnews.com

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