Reauthorization of Cache County’s tax for recreation, arts, parks and zoos is Proposition 2 on the mail-in ballots now appearing in the mailboxes of local residents.
CACHE COUNTY — While there is much debate over Cache County’s proposed open space bond issue, the renewal of the county’s RAPZ Tax is expected to cruise to easy approval by local voters.
The Open Space Bond issue is Proposition 1 on the ballots that began arriving in the mailboxes of Cache County residents this week. That touched off a blizzard of pro and con letters to local media over that proposition’s potential to raise taxes and uncertainty about the proposal’s future administration.
The reauthorization of the county’s Recreation, Arts, Parks and Zoos (RAPZ) Tax is Proposition 2 on the ballot and seems to be drawing little contention.
“With your support of RAPZ during the past twenty years, citizens of Cache County have used good sense to reinvest a few cents in our community,” according to Wendi Hassan, the executive director of the Cache Valley Center for the Arts (CacheARTS).
“Your pennies and those of other residents have compounded into millions of dollars of support for recreation, arts, parks and our zoo over the years.”
Cache County has collected a 1 percent sales tax on prepared food since 1992 to fund support for tourism, recreation and the cultural arts.
The RAPZ (Recreation, Arts, Parks and Zoos) Tax — which is a tenth of 1 percent sales tax — was added in 2002 to support capital projects and the operating expenses of local recreational venues.
Unlike the restaurant tax, the RAPZ Tax must be renewed every 10 years.
Those combined taxes have allowed county officials and a volunteer screening committee to award more than $54 million in grants to worthy projects over the past three decades.
Since 2002, the RAPZ Tax alone has generated revenues of about $26 million.
North Logan’s recently-opened pickleball courts are a prime example of projects funded with RAPZ Tax monies.
“That was something that was paid for by RAPZ monies, at least in part,” said Mayor Lyndsay Peterson on Thursday on KVNU’s “For the People” program.
“I think it’s just so necessary,” she added. “It’s such an asset to this valley to have that fund available. It really just amplifies so many things that we can do as cities.”
Hassan said that tourists spend an estimated $180 million in Cache County each year and the county’s ability to capture a small portion of those funds with the RAPZ Tax enriches the entire valley community.
“RAPZ funding is crucial to several recipients’ budgets,” she added, “and supports a wide array of new purchases, upgrades, maintenance and programming.”
Examples of beneficiaries of RAPZ grants include local parks and recreation facilities; festivals and heritage events; museums; historic preservation; as well as theatrical and musical events.
Local voters don’t need to worry about the revenues from the RAPZ Tax being spent frivolously, according to Cache County Council Chair Barbara Tidwell.
Tidwell is a member of the committee that evaluates requests for grants from the Restaurant and RAPZ Tax funds, which includes citizens from all areas of the county.
“Allocation decisions are not arbitrary,” she explained. “They are based on a lot of time, research and thoughtful consideration by every member of the committee.”
For example, recently that committee evaluated more than 69 requests from valley organizations totaling $5.6 million.
With only $3.2 million in revenues to distribute in 2022, the committee prioritized 58 of those requests and trimmed their total distribution to $2.8 million.
“Park pavilions have been built and upgraded; more playing field for various sports added; playgrounds constructed; new trails created; walking paths extended; theater productions enhanced; community events staged; and cultural icons preserved,” Hassan explained.
“All of that happened because of local residents’ support for the RAPZ Tax.”