Tuesday night, the Emery County commission meeting was held, followed by a public hearing to discuss the budget for 2013 and also a proposed property tax increase.
During the commission meeting a tentative non-motorized trail along Huntington Lake was discussed. The trail would be suited for walking and biking, which would mean construction to fix the slope to meet Utah state requirements.
A proposal from Commissioner J.R. Nielson was also discussed, for the commission board to join in with the many groups around Southern Utah to write a letter to President Obama opposing the 1.4 million acres of land that Washington is currently trying to dedicate as a national park.
“It’s important that Emery County join in opposing this national monument,” stated Nielson. “196,000 acres of that land would be in Emery County!”
The public hearing brought forth discussions of not only the new budget for 2013, but also raising property taxes. В PacifiCorp appealed their taxes, causing a situation for the county where they would either have to write a check out to the Utah Power Line to make up for the taxation and lose county spending money, or they could drive an increase in the property taxes for Emery County residents, which in this case they decided to do.
The first of three proposed increases came from the county needing to increase their property tax value to $319,310. The impact this will have on a $110,000 residence will be $10.16 per year.
The second came from the Emery Water Conservation District for $28,030. The impact this will have on a $110,000 residence is $0.89 a year.
The final proposed increase came from the Castle Valley Special Services District, needing to increase their property tax value by $131,442. The impact this will have on a $110,000 residence is $7.61 per year.
All proposed tax increases were approved; the tax will go into effect in 2013.
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