This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BOUNTIFUL - The shovels have yet to start turning dirt. But the costs of building a new South Davis Recreation Center are already rising.
Officials approved the $18.4 million bond sale last week, despite an unexpected $450,000 interest-rate increase.
The center's financial advisers told board members the higher rate - 4.48 percent - was due to bankers' concern over a citizen watchdog group's grievance. Citizens for Tax Fairness sent a letter last August to the state Attorney General's Office accusing Bountiful City officials of misusing city funds to promote the election.
Monday, Davis County Clerk-Auditor Steve Rawlings disputed that contention, saying the holidays are a bad time to be seeking good deals on interest rates.
Rawlings said the higher rate will not increase the bond expense, pointing out that the winning rate still is below the national average of 5.10 percent.
"We are simply looking at a different financial picture than we were three months ago," Rawlings said. "It will not change the bond, but how we address the debt is something that will need to be discussed by the board."
Voters in five south Davis County cities - Bountiful, Centerville, Woods Cross, West Bountiful and North Salt Lake - approved the bond in an Aug. 3 special election. It is expected to cost the average homeowner in those cities about $38 annually to pay off the bond and to help cover operation-maintenance costs.
Ron Mortensen likes the idea of scaling back the building over raising taxes. The Citizens for Tax Fairness spokesman calls the building "ostentatious."
The bond-election voter guide said it would cost $2 million a year to operate and maintain the new building. The new tax would cover $500,000 while user fees would cover the remaining $1.5 million.
But by using the $38 estimate per household outlined in the voter guide and on the ballot, authorities could actually raise $750,000 a year in operational costs.
Therefore, Mortensen says the $38 levy does not have to be that high.
"These guys and their special district could be raising taxes from here on," he said. "They need to focus on taking care of the citizen's money, not just building this building, and [they need to] stick to the core functions of the present facility, which is swimming and skating."
Davis County Commissioner Dannie McConkie, who also sits on the recreation board, says his preference is that the unexpected $450,000 bump come out of the building costs. That could be problematic, he noted, because most of the calls he receives are from swimming patrons who want more lap lanes.
"It's hard to please everyone," he says.
How to pay the bills
The increased costs - roughly $22,500 a year over the bond's 20-year life - could be paid in several ways:
l A new operation-maintenance tax also approved by voters in addition to the recreation bond.
l Trim $450,000 from the proposed center's construction cost.
l Charge higher user fees.