Utah urged to be cautious with '08 budget

James E. Tynen

The worrisome economy might make the Utah Legislature more cautious in preparing its budget this year, a Utah County lawmaker suggested Saturday.

"We're starting to see a definite softening in the sales tax numbers," Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, said at a Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce "Eggs and Issues" breakfast Saturday.

He said state experts looking at the October sales tax report found weaker than expected receipts, often a sign of an economic slowdown and a resulting dip in revenue. "The last thing we want to do is appropriate the money, then have to come back and cut it."

Dougall also backed shifting some school funding from property taxes to sales taxes. He noted that taxpayers whose homes have been recently re-assessed often are jolted by the resulting "sticker shock." "Philosophically, in Utah people really hate the property tax," he said.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, disagreed with such a tax shift, saying that the property tax should remain a foundation of school funding because it is less volatile than sales and income taxes.

He said the real problem with property taxes is that "we have assessors in some counties who aren't doing their jobs." When only one-fifth of the houses in a county are re-assessed at a time, those homeowners are walloped by the resulting bills. If all houses were reassessed at the same time, there would be no such jolt, he said.

Rep. Rebecca Lockhart, R-Provo, said lawmakers are feeling pressure from the voters to do something about immigration issues. "It's easy for us as a state to say, 'Let the feds deal with it,'" she said. "But the states are having to deal with the consequences of a failed policy."

Headlines have trumpeted the possibility of health care reform in Utah, but Rep. Christopher Herrod, R-Provo, said devising a plan will be a two-year process.

Held on Saturday mornings during the Legislature's session, Eggs and Issues breakfasts bring together legislators, business leaders and the public at Intermountain Healthcare's Northwest Plaza in Provo.