After final vote canvassing this morning, Wasatch County has announced the recreation, arts and parks sales tax did not pass.
County Clerk Joey Granger tells KPCW it came up short by eight votes. Out of 7,610 voters, 3,809 (50.05%) voted no to the tax, and 3,801 voted yes.
The vote was over whether to impose a new county-wide sales tax of 0.1%, or one cent on every 10 dollars spent.
The ballots asked if the county should levy the tax to fund “recreational facilities, botanical organizations, and cultural organizations or facilities.”
The proposed tax would have lasted for 10 years and applied to all purchases, except most groceries.
Heber City, Midway and Wasatch County reached an interlocal agreement on how to share the new sales tax revenue in October.
Based on projections at the time, the county and cities hoped to generate $800,000 in 2022 and more in years to come. They estimated half of that would have come from non-residents visiting Wasatch County.
Heber City’s parks plan outlines new trails, parks and arts programs, as well as improvements to existing facilities, as future goals. One goal of the RAP Tax was to help fund 19 acres of new park development by 2030. More on the plan is explained at envisionheber.com.
Dozens of Utah cities and counties have already adopted a RAP tax, especially where tourism is popular. Those include Summit County, Salt Lake County, Provo, Orem, Duchesne City and Spanish Fork.
