Summit delays vote on $10 boost in vehicle registration fees
A county group of governments formed to study the matter
However, the council's formation still must be approved by the Park City Council. If approved, the three commissioners and six mayors would each have one vote as representatives on the council. That puts Park City, with about 8,000 residents, on a level playing field with 700-resident towns like Francis and Henefer.
"The thing I've got to justify in going back to my community is (we'll) be paying most into this, but (we) only have one vote," said Park City Mayor Dana Williams. "I've got 10 times the population of Coalville, and Coalville can outvote me?"
The meeting was originally intended to discuss how and if to use revenue generated by the registration-fee hike. Recent legislation gave counties the option to increase motor-vehicle registration fees by $10 to preserve highway corridors and receive matching funds from the state, under the provision that counties create a councils of governments that vote on the fees. If it's approved, Summit County could get $800,000 a year from the fee increase.
"I don't think there's a mayor here that was aware of the fact that they were going to be the deciding body on distributing the funds, nor do I think there was a mayor here that understood that the only reason the funds were garnered were for corridor acquisition and preservation," said Henefer Mayor Randy Ovard.
Coalville Mayor Duane Schmidt agreed. "When a public works director from the county has time to go the council meeting in Park City but can't walk two blocks or pick up the phone to call the mayor of Coalville or Henefer, there's a problem," Schmidt said.
County commissioners apologized for not informing the cities. "I think the ball was dropped by the county," Commissioner Bob Richer said. Commissioner Sally Elliot agreed: "We admit that we didn't handle this very well."
Conflicts over whether or not to raise the fee center on Kimball Junction, the economic core for the county that sits in unincorporated Snyderville Basin. The gridlocked area has some of the most pressing traffic needs in the county, but many east-side mayors feel using the money for Kimball Junction will only benefit Park City and the Snyderville Basin.
County officials point out that the fee increase was never intended to solve Kimball Junction's traffic problems. They recently approved an impact-fees study for transportation in the area and are looking at other forms of funding to deal with the gridlock problems.
E-mail: astowell@desnews.com
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