Cedar Hills residents will be voting this November on a sales tax increase to benefit parks and recreation -- but not the golf course.

At 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday, council members voted unanimously to put the tax to a vote of residents. Because council meetings must end at 11 p.m. by ordinance, and council members had already spent hours debating a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, they had to vote to extend their meeting before they could even discuss the parks and recreation tax proposal.

A public hearing on the proposed tax will be held on Sept. 16. The proposal would allow the city to increase sales tax by one-tenth of one percent.

"It is a local option sales tax," said Councilman Eric Richardson. "If you drop 100 bucks at the grocery store, it is ten cents."

Council members said that though they would be allowed by law to spend the tax money on the city's already heavily subsidized golf course if the tax were approved by residents, that is not where the city will use the money.

"We are not doing this to pay for the golf course," Richardson said.

"I'm afraid residents will think we are doing this for the golf course," said Councilwoman Charelle Bowman. "I'm afraid it won't pass if people see golf course on there."

According to state law and city resolution, revenues from the tax could be used "for the limited purpose of funding recreation facilities, including any publicly owned or operated park, campground, marina, dock, golf course, playground, athletic field, gymnasium, swimming pool, trail system, cultural facility or other facility used for recreation purposes."

Bowman asked whether Cedar Hills could remove the words "golf course" from the list of possibilities for the money, but staff and council members said golf course had to be included by state law.

Bowman said she would like the city to make some kind of effort beyond the public hearing to inform residents of how the city intends to use the money if the tax is approved. Council members did not say on Tuesday what they would use the money for. The usual information in the voter information pamphlet will not be enough because "people don't always read that and I want our residents to want this, too," she said. "I don't want this to fail."

Richardson said he likes the way Orem distributes its parks and recreation tax money, using a three-tiered grant system that requires the money to be used within the city to benefit a majority of residents, and also allows nonprofits to apply for small grants.