July 30, 2012 (Cont'd) raise property taxes if we do it or cut something else in the budget." The West Haven City Council earlier this month signed a resolution to keep the existing contract running from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, at the current rate of $357,888, which is what the sheriff's office has offered. Anderson said he hasn't seen the resolution. The council hasn't made a decision on the proposal to increase the contract amount to $844,837, said West Haven City Recorder Shanda Rainey. West Haven Mayor Brian Melaney could not be reached for comment. Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham said his department hasn't been asked by West Haven or any other city to provide law enforcement services. Weber County Commissioner Jan M. Zogmaister said that several months ago municipal officials expressed concern about the proposed contracts and asked if the amounts are negotiable. "As elected officials they have to decide the level of coverage they want and what they can afford," Zogmaister said. "What the sheriff is trying to do is the right thing to bring equity." The sheriff's office hasn't received many comments from county residents about the new contracts, Anderson said. "I'm really surprised how quiet the whole issue has been," he said. The contract increases are needed, said Weber County Commissioner Craig L. Dearden. "Over the years, they haven't kept up with inflation, and to square that away they need to look at them again," he said. "I think it's the right thing to do, to bring the cost up to the 2012 level." When he was sheriff in 1994, Dearden implemented the first contracts with West Haven and Farr West. The contracts have expanded to six other cities since then. Although the county commissioners allocate funds to the sheriff's office, Thompson is responsible for determining how the money is spent. Contracts with the eight cities have been adjusted slightly over the last decade, but haven't kept pace with service costs, population increases and a reduction in grant funds, Thompson said. As a result, the contract requests are causing sticker shock for some officials in the eight cities, Anderson said. "If we had come to them We are trying to be fair to the taxpayers." — TERRY THOMPSON, Weber County sheriff every year, it wouldn't be so shocking," he said. The unincorporated areas of Weber County and the eight contract cities consume about half of the agency's services, primarily in patrol and investigations, while providing only a quarter of the funding, Thompson said. Sheriff's officials and representatives from cities have been working for more than a year to develop an equitable strategy for the contracts. Currently, Weber County residents who live in cities with police departments pay for local law enforcement through municipal taxes and the sheriff's office services through county property taxes. However, residents who live in unincorporated Weber County and the eight contract cities pay only for sheriff's services. "This is a tricky problem," Thompson said in an email to the Standard-Examiner. "While the cities are trying to balance their budget, we are trying to be fair to the county taxpayers. To be fair, taxpayers should only be taxed for the services that they receive and not be asked to pay for services that others use. The county — and by this I mean the county taxpayers — has been subsidizing the services that some communities in Weber County receive. As everyone is feeling the effects of the current economic conditions, it only makes sense to try and correct these inequities." Some communities pay a larger amount for sheriff's services than others on a per taxpayer or per capita basis, Thompson said. Under state law, only those services that the sheriff's office provides to all residents should be paid by all taxpayers, Thompson said. The proposal for the eight contract cities and unincorporated Weber County includes a cost formula based on each municipality's population and an 18-month call history. The proposal also calls for the county to take less in property taxes from all county residents. For example, the owner of a $200,000 home would get a $24 county tax reduction annually, Anderson said. Although taxpayers in the eight cities that contract with the WCSO would have a decrease in county property taxes, they may see an increase in city property taxes based on the decisions by their city officials, Thompson said. In addition, residents of cities that already have a police department, such as Ogden, would see a reduction in county property taxes and could see a net decrease in taxes overall. 73