Raising taxes | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Re "County tax increase needed" (Opinion, Nov. 17):

Five years ago, when I was chair of the South Salt Lake City Council, we went through a similar tight fiscal period that Salt Lake County is going through now. Revenues dropped for a number years and we coped by cutting costs and jobs, just as the county has.

Then the Legislature made matters worse by passing a bill to redistribute one-third of our sales tax revenues to other cities. To address the revenue shortfall, I led the council's effort to raise property taxes by about $10 to $12 per month for the average homeowner.

Was it a popular decision? No. Was it distasteful? Yes. Was it for the public good? In my judgment, it was necessary to preserve essential services.

One reason I lost my next election was because of this tax increase. Sometimes we have to suffer distasteful things to have a government that is truly of, by, and, most important, for the people.

Bill Anderson

Salt Lake City