Mr. Sewell sends out a newsletter by email as occasion and as time permits. I subscribed to his newsletter long before I began serving on the Council. His newsletters helped inspire my "What's Up" updates, though there is a noticeable difference in scope and style. I admire his style and have considered emulating it. I highly recommend subscribing to his newsletter, that way you will get both styles and different perspectives. You can subscribe by sending an email to davesewellprovo@gmail.com or by filling out this form.
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| Freedom: I hope you enjoyed your celebration of
Independence Day. We live in a remarkable country where freedom and
opportunity abound – though we have many challenges. I join with you
in expressing appreciation for the men and women who have fought to
earn and preserve the freedom we enjoy today. We can each do our part
by getting involved in civic affairs, expressing our opinions, and
voting. I appreciate that you care enough about our city government
to read this. I do my best to study the issues and make good
decisions, but when you and others speak up on issues you care about,
I am aided in my decision making by your collective wisdom. Pigs: Last year, we learned from sad experience that when pigs are raised in an agricultural zone adjacent to a residential area, substantial problems for the neighborhood may result. It turns out that there is a state law (Utah Code 10-8-67) specifically allowing municipalities to regulate the establishment of, or control the location of, certain offensive activities – including pigsties. The proposed new ordinance would require that pigs in agricultural zones be confined to a secure outdoor enclosed area that is at least 100 yards away from residences. Deer: The city is getting close to implementing an Urban Deer Control Plan. As the local deer population has grown, there have been increasing problems including collisions with cars – often resulting in death to the deer, significant damage to the car, and risk of injury to the vehicle occupants. Other problems have included damage to property and foliage and even attacks on smaller pets. The goal with the proposed program is to thin out herds that have taken up year round residence in the city. The presentation on the proposed program Tuesday is for information only – there will be no public comment. An Open House will be held on Tuesday, July 12 (location TBA) to provide more information. Then there will be a public hearing at the next Council meeting on July 19. Property Tax: At the Budget Retreat before the last Council meeting, there was support from five Council members for the concept of doing an annual inflation adjustment to the property tax rate. Mayor Curtis has advocated for such a policy for years and the Council in 2012 expressed a similar intent. This time we got more specific and specified the western region Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year as the basis for the adjustment. That would have put the increase this year at 1.8% (not the 3.0% originally asked for) – about 15 cents a month for a $200K home. That modest increase would have provided about $77K in revenue – but it did not pass. I understood the concerns about even a modest adjustment in property tax during a time of steep utility rate increases. So I offered a compromise whereby utility rate increases would be reduced by enough to offset the $77K in property tax revenues. It was a revenue neutral proposal that would have reduced the overall tax and fee burden on our residents by the same amount as not passing the property tax inflation adjustment. The compromise had the support of three Council members and the Mayor but I felt it did not receive the serious consideration it deserved. The main reason given for not following through on the Budget Retreat intent statement was political considerations stemming from recent news that the School Board may be voting on a significant property tax increase this year – their first since 2009. Apparently there was concern that citizens would not be able to distinguish between a small inflation adjustment by the city and the much larger proposal purported to be under consideration by the School Board. I actually thought the School Board news provided a strong argument for proceeding with the inflation adjustment policy. Without such a policy, or rather without the political will to follow it, we may find ourselves in the same boat down the road – having to ask for a much bigger property tax adjustment to “catch up” to the effects of inflation. I was disappointed that we kicked the can for at least another year – missing an opportunity to establish a rational long term property tax policy. But my bigger disappointment was that we missed an opportunity to come together on a reasonable compromise that could have potentially united most of the Council and the Mayor on this issue. Missed opportunities often remind me of these words from a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier titled Maud Muller – that the saddest words of tongue or pen are these: “It might have been” Lessons Learned: Here are my thoughts on lessons learned from this and other events this past year:
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