TAX ALERT: Should 10% of Voters Commit You to a $7 Million Property Tax Hike?

Tell Mayor Jackson and the Eagle Mountain City Council to Put Bonds on the November Ballot

Eagle Mountain is proposing a $7 million rec center bond in this year’s June election. Taxpayers expect elections during November, so voter turnout in November is at least DOUBLE the June turnout. That’s why your Taxpayers Association is so concerned when the tax and spend lobby want taxpayers to vote on bonds during June.

Of course, that’s exactly why the tax and spend lobby like the June ballot. They don’t want taxpayers to speak up. They want as little participation as possible, so they can more easily spend YOUR taxpayer dollars.

The latest example of bad June bonds is in Eagle Mountain, where Mayor Heather Jackson is leading the charge to place a rec center bond on the June ballot.

Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson recently explained to the Salt Lake Tribune why she supports the June election. We certainly hope that her quotes were taken out of context, and thus not as asinine as they seemed. Nevertheless, we need to set the record straight.

According to Mayor Jackson, “A June election will bring out the people who are interested, whether they be positive or negative…November voters may be less interested and distracted by the other issues on the ballot.”

Your Taxpayers Association has far more confidence in Eagle Mountain taxpayers than Mayor Jackson. We know that taxpayers can simultaneously vote for a U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, and consider whether a bond for a rec center is a good idea.

Mayor Jackson wants Eagle Mountain taxpayers to cough up $7 million, but she’d prefer that only those “interested” in the issue vote. A taxpayer who’s paying for the property tax hike is an “interested” taxpayer. Since the number of “interested” taxpayers who will vote in November is DOUBLE the number who will vote in June, November is when the bond election should be.

We are glad that Mayor Jackson appreciates that the economy is still in a recession. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to care about how the recession is affecting Eagle Mountain residents. Otherwise she wouldn’t be asking for this $7 million property tax increase.

If opening the rec center early is really so important, why didn’t Mayor Jackson put the bond before voters last November? Eagle Mountain residents and officials have studied a rec center bond for years. Postponing the election until this June serves only one purpose—to prevent Eagle Mountain taxpayers from voting on Mayor Jackson’s $7 million property tax increase.

Contact Mayor Jackson and the Eagle Mountain City Council. Tell them that bond elections should be in November, not June.