A new bill would allow Salt Lake County to use money collected from an account called the “fourth quarter transportation fund” towards the Salt Palace Convention Center’s planned billion-dollar renovation for Jazz and Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith’s mixed-use district plan, according to Jordan Miller of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. The fund is “fueled by a quarter-of-a-percentage-point sales tax, which contributes a fraction of its revenue to the stash of cash.” Salt Lake City and the Utah Transit Authority “split the remainder of the revenue collected by the sales tax.” The County Council in November voted 7-2 to set aside the remaining $10.5M “in hopes legislators would free up the revenue this session.” If the bill, SB306 -- which is sponsored by Utah state Senator Daniel McCay (R) and awaiting Senate action -- is signed into law, the county “plans to use about half its annual ‘fourth quarter’ revenue allocation for the Salt Palace project.” With a billion-dollar price tag on the potential renovations -- which would “include a second ballroom, additional east-west connections near the facility and other beautification efforts nearby” -- the $10.5M infusion would be “just the first step to pay for the county-owned convention center’s face-lift” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/23).
Utah lawmakers seeking ways to use tax money for Salt Lake City mixed-use district
