Proposition 11 appears to have failed

MANTI—Sanpete County voters appeared to be rejecting a proposed sales tax increase intended to help fund emergency dispatch services, with updated election results Wednesday morning showing opposition to Proposition 11 growing following weeks of debate over rising costs and the financial burden on taxpayers.

According to unofficial results released by Sanpete County and updated at 8:55 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, the measure received 3,113 votes against, or 55.07 percent, compared with 2,540 votes in favor, or 44.93 percent. The difference of 573 votes was considerably larger than the 161-vote margin reported on election night.

The county reported 5,842 ballots cast, representing a voter turnout of 37.61 percent. Results remained unofficial pending completion of the election process and certification.

Proposition 11 would have authorized the Sanpete County Commission to impose a sales and use tax of up to 1 percent to help fund the county’s 911 emergency dispatch system and other eligible health care and emergency services.

Approval would not have automatically imposed the full tax, but would have given commissioners the authority to determine whether and how much to levy.

The results followed an Oct. 29 public hearing before the County Commission, where residents voiced support and opposition to the proposal. Much of the discussion centered on increasing emergency dispatch expenses, concerns about additional taxes and questions about how the revenue could be spent.

The hearing occurred after press time for last week’s newspaper. Although the election results indicated opposition to the tax, the county’s underlying emergency dispatch funding challenges remained unresolved.

Sanpete County Sheriff Jared Buchanan spoke in favor of the measure at the hearing, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the county’s local emergency dispatch center, known as a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

“We have a great thing with our own PSAP here in Sanpete County, and we need to keep that,” Buchanan said.

He explained that the county has historically covered dispatch services without charging individual municipalities.

If the county could no longer afford to operate its own center, it might have to contract for dispatch services elsewhere, potentially resulting in additional charges to local law enforcement, ambulance and fire agencies.

Buchanan also argued that visitors who use the county’s emergency services should contribute to their costs through purchases made locally.

Manti City Councilwoman Mary Pipes agreed, saying additional revenue from the sales tax could help distribute emergency dispatch expenses across the county rather than placing a greater financial burden on individual municipalities.

“One way or the other, it’s going to have to be paid for,” Pipes said.

Steven Herbert also supported the measure, emphasizing the importance of local dispatchers familiar with Sanpete County’s geography. He said road names and locations are not always consistent among available maps, making local knowledge valuable during emergencies.

Much of the hearing focused on the increasing cost of operating the county’s dispatch center.

Neil Johnson, the county’s 911 dispatch director, explained that the center’s annual operating budget previously ranged from approximately $500,000 to $600,000. New staffing and technology requirements have increased that figure to slightly more than $1 million.

Johnson said the county must maintain two dispatchers on duty at all times to meet changing emergency communication requirements, including handling text messages and video calls to 911.

He also described requirements for computer-aided dispatch systems to communicate with other emergency dispatch centers throughout Utah.

According to Johnson, existing taxes collected through telephone services provide slightly more than $200,000 annually. He estimated that the proposed sales tax would generate approximately $400,000 in additional revenue, with the county continuing to cover the remaining dispatch costs.

The proposal emerged from months of discussions about how to pay for increasing expenses. On Aug. 18, the County Commission unanimously approved placing Proposition 11 on the ballot.

During that meeting, Sanpete Valley Hospital President and CEO Aaron Wood encouraged commissioners to explore whether funding through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program might provide an alternative to raising local taxes.

Commissioners agreed to continue considering other funding options while proceeding with the ballot measure.

Not everyone attending the Oct. 29 hearing was convinced another tax was the best solution.

Bonnie Nielsen of Ephraim questioned the effect of increasing sales taxes at a time when communities are encouraging residents to shop locally.

She also questioned whether visitors make enough purchases in Sanpete County to offset dispatch center costs to any meaningful degree.

Brian Nielsen, also of Ephraim, opposed further tax increases and expressed concerns about rising health care costs and the financial pressures facing residents.

A Centerfield resident expressed mixed feelings about the proposition, acknowledging the importance of emergency services while raising concerns about people living on fixed incomes. She also questioned whether voters had received enough information about the proposed use of the money.

Although emergency dispatch was the primary focus of the proposal, Utah’s rural health care tax law would have permitted revenue to be used for a broader range of eligible services, including certain emergency medical, fire protection and search and rescue services.

Under Utah law, the proposed rural county health care tax would have been levied for a 10-year period, with reauthorization required to continue collecting it beyond that period.

At the maximum proposed rate, the additional tax would have amounted to $1 on a $100 taxable purchase or $10 on a taxable $1,000 purchase. Grocery food purchases generally would have been exempt, although prepared foods and certain other transactions could have been subject to the additional tax.

The widening margin against Proposition 11 indicated voters were increasingly opposed to authorizing the tax, although the results had not yet been certified.

The election does not eliminate the expenses associated with operating the county’s emergency dispatch system. County officials still face the challenge of maintaining local 911 services while determining how to cover increasing staffing, equipment and technology costs without the proposed additional sales tax revenue.