Heber leaders have been working for three years to win support from neighboring governments for their community reinvestment area (CRA), a plan that would use tax increment funding to revitalize downtown. It would reinvest 75% of new development property tax dollars into downtown Heber for 20 years or until reaching a certain dollar limit.
At a Wasatch County Council meeting Nov. 20, city leaders asked the county to commit over $4 million in tax dollars to the CRA. But the vote was 3-3, and without a majority, the county council won’t support the CRA.
County manager Dustin Grabau said the split vote reflects mixed public opinion.
“Our county council has a lot of agreement on a lot of things, and the fact that they didn’t here speaks to the fact that it really was a lot of discussion, a lot of effort,” he said. “So, I don’t think it’s quite so clear that it’s just cut-and-dry.”
Grabau said the county council ultimately wanted to keep 100% of its tax dollars for its own budget priorities, rather than investing in the city’s plans. That includes a significant increase in tax revenue from the new Smith’s Marketplace along U.S. 40.
“The money that the Smith’s is generating is going to affect the county’s general fund instead of the CRA,” he said. “If it were a tax increment, the county would only be collecting 25% of that Smith’s increment.”
He said the county will use the money for things like public safety and road improvements.
But for the CRA, the decision means losing out on about $45,000 per year that would have come from the share of Smith’s taxes that will go to Wasatch County.
The CRA is similar to the agreement the county made with the Military Installation Development Authority, the state agency behind developments like Deer Valley’s East Village and the SkyRidge golf and equestrian facilities near the Jordanelle Reservoir.
In that agreement, Wasatch County agreed to let MIDA use 75% of new tax dollars from its development projects for 40 years, double the length of time Heber was asking.
When asked on KPCW’s Local News Hour why the county supported MIDA’s development plans but not Heber’s, Grabau said it’s not a simple comparison.
“The area in which MIDA is developing is literal green field – there was nothing there,” he said. “I think a key difference with Heber City, and part of the debate, was [that] there is already a lot of economic activity in the downtown area. Is this an appropriate use of county taxpayers’ funds to increase that level of activity?”
Some county councilmembers have said Heber is overdeveloping the valley.
Grabau’s Heber counterpart, city manager Matt Brower, said he and the city council will continue to try to reach an agreement with the county.
“We intend to continue the conversation with the county,” he said. “[We’re] hoping to engage in a conversation that allows them to see the significant benefits, not just to Heber City, but to Wasatch County as well.”
But Grabau indicated the two governments may have reached a stalemate, at least for now.
“Heber City is entitled to continue to ask the county for whatever they want,” he said. “With the current council, I think it’s unlikely that will change.”
Meanwhile, Heber leaders are pressing forward in their efforts to secure the Wasatch County School District’s support for the CRA. Brower has said he hopes the Board of Education will vote before the end of the calendar year.
He said being part of the CRA would be a net positive for the district.
“If you’re in this for the long game, the school district would benefit immensely from participating in this project,” he said.
If the district votes to join the CRA, it will generate roughly $17 million over the next 20 years. If not, Brower said it will “slow our timeline down considerably.”
A public meeting between Heber and the school board hasn’t yet been scheduled.
