No. The SLVLESA fee will be replaced with a property tax levy beginning on January 1, 2012 even if no cities annex into the service area. Both Herriman and Riverton City officials intend to make the annexation into SLVLESA revenue neutral. Herriman will eliminate its $300 annual police fee and Riverton will lower Riverton-assessed fees and taxes.
The SLVLESA Board is responding to policy decisions and requests by the city leaders of Herriman and Riverton to initiate the annexation process. In 2007 Salt Lake County officials began the process of creating the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area to allow cities to join together to fund regional police services in a more coordinated and cost effective manner. By joining together for funding, the partner entities can ensure that stable funds are available to provide high quality law enforcement services.
Your city leaders have not petitioned to join the service area to get more money. Herriman and Riverton governments (citizens) will pay the same amount for police services; they will just pay through property tax. In fact, Herriman leaders have committed to eliminate the $300 per year fee that is currently collected for police services when the annexation is finalized. Similarly, Riverton leaders have developed a “revenue neutral” strategy wherein they will be lowering Riverton-assessed taxes and fees to offset the amount of the property tax shift to SLVLESA.
The SLVLESA Board is anticipating a tax rate levy of 0.0019. The average homeowner in Herriman will be assessed $240.50 based on a $230,140 average market home value. The average homeowner in Riverton will be assessed $267.59 based on a $256,070 average market home value. The average homeowner in unincorporated Salt Lake County will be assessed $229.90 based on a $220,000 average market home value. You can calculate your actual tax by multiplying 55% of your home’s market value by the proposed 0.0019 tax rate (there is a 45% market value reduction for all primary residential properties in Utah.) The formula to use is: Market Value X 55% X 0.0019 = Assessed Tax
In Herriman with an annual public safety fee of $300, the “break-even” value is $287,000. In unincorporated Salt Lake County with an annual public safety fee of $162, the “break even” value is $301,000. Neither of these break-even values takes into account the fact that the property tax levy can be deducted on an itemized income tax return whereas the fee cannot be deducted. The “break-even” value in Riverton is nearly impossible to calculate as Riverton will decrease property taxes and a variety of other fees in an effort to make the move to the SLVLESA revenue neutral for Riverton City.
The SLVLESA Board is scheduled to formally adopt the tax levy for the service area on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 following an advertised public hearing and as part of the 2012 budget process. If adopted, the levy will become effective January 1, 2012 and payable with property taxes in November, 2012. Per truth-in-taxation requirements, notices for the tax hearing will be placed in newspapers on or about November 26 and December 3. Also, per Utah’s truth-in-taxation requirements, another hearing on the proposed tax levy will be scheduled in August, 2012. Finally, as required by State law, every property owner will receive a notification of the exact impact of the levy on her property in July 2012 when the Salt Lake County Treasurer sends out property tax notifications.
Salt Lake County has a hardship program for those struggling to pay property taxes. For more information on relief programs, please visit the Salt Lake County Treasurer's website.
No. For operational purposes, all cities that participate in the Unified Police Department have a representative on the Board of Directors for the Unified Police Department. The UPD Board makes broad operational decisions regarding police services. Further, each city council and mayor chooses its own precinct chief. The precinct chief works very closely with the mayor and council to meet the needs of the local city. Under the Unified Policing model, the city benefits from having access to all of the highly sophisticated crime, investigation, and victim units of a large police force, while still maintaining local control over the precinct chief as officers daily respond to community-specific needs.
For funding purposes, if cities annex into SLVLESA the mayors (one elected official of each) of annexed cities immediately become voting members of the SLVLESA Board of Trustees. Any future property tax adjustment considered by the SLVLESA Board requires a vote by the municipal councils (i.e. Herriman City Council, Riverton City Council, Salt Lake County Council). It is also important to remember that in addition to city mayors, the SLVLESA Board includes three County representatives. Currently, SLVLESA representatives are Michael Jensen, (who also represents most of Riverton and Herriman on the County Council); Jim Bradley and Mayor Corroon, (both of who are elected at large and thereby also represent Riverton and Herriman residents). In short, most Riverton and Herriman residents get to vote for all three County representatives in addition to their respective city mayors.
You can formally protest the annexation by sending a written protest to the SLVLESA Board of Trustees, PO Box 526399, Salt Lake City, Utah 84152. Protests must be in sufficient detail to allow identification of and the address of the individual signing the protest and, if a property owner protest, the location and ownership of the property and the ownership interest of the individual signing the letter. All protest letters must be received by November 30, 2011. The SLVLESA Board will take final action regarding the submitted annexation petitions at its meeting on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
The SLVLESA Board will consider a property tax levy to replace the fee when it adopts the 2012 budget in December 2011. On July 19, 2011, the Salt Lake County Council and Mayor unanimously endorsed a proposal replace the fee with a property tax levy beginning January 1, 2012. This is a full year earlier than required by State law.
Every property owner within the area of unincorporated Salt Lake County (and Riverton and Herriman if their annexation requests are granted) will pay the SLVLESA levy for police services as part of their property tax payments beginning in January 2012. The 2012 property taxes are due in November 2012.
By transferring the unincorporated property tax levy to SLVLESA, but keeping all of the sales tax for public works and other municipal service fund services, the public works and capital improvement programs will be subject to the ebb and flow of sales tax revenues. However, sales tax revenues are beginning to slowly recover, so in the near future County leaders expect more money available for public works and capital projects. If sales tax revenues dramatically decrease again, public works and capital projects would need to be delayed or County leaders would need to consider a new property tax levy at that time. However, all County leaders agree that it is easier to pull back on capital projects than lay off law enforcement officers during slow economic times.
In general, fees are assessed based on service usage, while taxes are assessed based on property values (or income in the case of income tax.) The police fee was assessed based upon usage patterns. For example, businesses that demand more police services were charged more. In shifting to property tax, those owning more expensive properties will pay more regardless of how many times they use police services. Lastly, fees can be assessed to tax exempt properties such as churches and not for profit entities while taxes cannot.