Gordon Miner

People reduce their spending when they suffer a loss in income. They don't have the option of just demanding more money. Unfortunately, government can make such demands, and that is exactly what the Lehi mayor and City Council plan to do.

Instead of reducing their spending, they plan to increase utility fees and their justification is a vague and over-simplified excuse given via e-mail from the City's finance director that, without the rate hike, "expenses will be more than revenues."

The truth is that costs to operate the utilities have not increased. Lehi City already makes a profit from most of its utilities and they transfer that profit to the general fund. The general fund is a "big pot" account where property taxes, sales taxes, franchise taxes, gas taxes, building permit fees, and utility profits (in Lehi's budget) are commingled.

Most of those revenue sources, except the utility profits, have diminished due to the recession. So, to make up for the diminished revenue, and to avoid the negative perception of raising taxes (in an election year), they are raising utility fees.

Shakespeare said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But, Lehi's rose stinks because it is actually a tax. Calling it a utility fee makes it smell better to the general public, but it does not change the fact that it is a tax. There is an old saying in city government that says, "It's a lot easier to raise fees than it is to raise property taxes." That is because the general public innocently assumes that their money stays with the utility and that the utility is operating on a break-even basis. Lehi's mayor and City Council are preying upon that assumption.

The mayor and City Council argue that their recent superficial across-the-board spending cut excuses them from additional fiscal discipline. Across-the-board cuts show a lack of budgeting sophistication and administrative laziness. The truth is that some city functions, like public safety, are more important than others.

Recently, according to the Associated Press, California voters said they "no longer want their legislature to balance budgets with higher taxes and complicated transfer schemes." Lehi residents should make the same demand of their mayor and City Council.

They should refuse to be saddled further with higher fees and insist that the City bridle its spending instead. They should demand that the mayor and City Council document specifically why additional spending cuts cannot be accomplished, starting with giving back the salary increase they recently gave themselves.

• Gordon Miner, P.E., is a licensed professional municipal engineer who lives in Lehi.