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MISS: Lumps of Coal
Maybe our Republican overlords missed it, but Russia is using oil and gas as a weapon in its war to take Ukraine. Nations around the world are struggling to move quickly into the alternative energy market, but it will take time. Economics aside, fossil fuels are the No. 1 culprit in climate change, which is shrinking the Great Salt Lake, polluting the air and risking the health and welfare of every citizen. And now, The Salt Lake Tribune points out the dismal truth of Utah’s dependence on coal and its role in the state’s unrelenting drought. Sixty-one percent of the state’s energy generation comes from coal, and natural gas makes up 24%— all this while Rocky Mountain Power is flooding its two coal plants with 26 million gallons of water a day (9.4 billion gallons a year). That’s not nothing. But our politicians love coal so much that it doesn’t matter. Let this sink it: the lives of their constituents do not matter.
MISS: Scold Diggers
There was an interesting story in The New Yorker about the Michigan state Senate race, where candidates are trolling the voters with more of the mean-spirited and paranoid tripe that proliferated after 2016. It’s all about staying in—or getting into—office. In Michigan, the narrative focuses on children and how “the left” is trying to sexualize them or blame them for the country’s troubled past. Here in Utah, we have only to look at candidates like Trevor Lee, the Davis County state House candidate who won the GOP convention over incumbent Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton, by calling the governor a “RINO” and maybe transgender at that, a Salt Lake Tribune report says. Then there’s Sen. Mike Lee, who along with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, wants to make an issue of service members being drummed out for not vaccinating— even though it’s less than 1% of the total workforce. Vaccine and transgender delusions are the latest election fodder.
HIT: Primary Colors
The June 28 primary election is coming up, and this time, everyone’s watching. Many Democrats aren’t Democrats anymore, and Republicans of all stripes have a stake in who wins. So it was good news that the Utah Debate Commission has already scheduled five debates in anticipation. Sen. Mike Lee will use his constitutional oratory to stomp on Becky Edwards and Ally Isom, and it should be something to watch. The John Curtis and Chris Herrod debate will be just as critical, and the Chris Stewart and Erin Rider race … well, because of partisan gerrymandering—meh. For sure, all eyes will be on Lee, who has been revered and reviled over his hundreds of text messages about overturning the 2020 election. The Washington Post worried out loud about the “kid glove” treatment of Lee. Will the media ask him the tough questions? You can watch debates from 2020 on the commission’s website for a hint of what’s to come.
Affordable Housing
Do you know what “adaptive reuse” means? It’s an important concept in the post-pandemic world where we face a troubling shortage of housing. “The pandemic economy has created an unprecedented opportunity to address historic housing supply shortages through adaptive reuse of existing structures into affordable housing,” say organizers of Adaptive Reuse in Post-Pandemic Development. Commercial, retail, hotel and office space could be converted to new housing, but much depends on government policies and a willingness to move forward. “Panelists will discuss the roles of local government, developers, financial institutions and others to facilitate these conversions, including building codes and zoning requirements, partnerships, creative financing solutions and the politics of making it all come together.” Virtual, Thursday, May 5, 11:30 a.m., free. https://bit.ly/3vTN3wy
Where There’s Smoke
Forty-one percent of home fire deaths occur in properties without smoke alarms, and the risk of dying is 55% lower if you have an alarm. The Red Cross knows this and aims to install free smoke alarms in homes without them during Sound the Alarm. This national event plans to install 50,000 free smoke alarms in 50 at-risk communities. You will be trained on how to install and maintain the alarms at the West Jordan event and others. While some 75% of homes with reported fires had smoke alarms, the rest were mainly in at-risk communities where death by fire was likely. At the Rose Park event, volunteers are needed to place door-hangers and get sign-ups before a May 21 event. LDS
Ward House, 7511 S. 2700 West, West Jordan, Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m.; Rose Park Neighborhood Center, 754 N. 800 West, noon, https://rdcrss.org/3xZxfuT
Lessons From Ben Franklin
Sure, Ben Franklin was a scoundrel, but he was also a visionary and a leader in civic action. “Join PBS Utah and the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab for a screening and discussion about how Benjamin Franklin was an example of civic engagement and leadership, and learn from local student reporters about how civic leaders in Utah are paving the way for the new generation of movers and shakers.” Ken Burns’ Ben-
jamin Franklin Screening & Discussion
will demonstrate how history can repeat itself successfully. Politics does not have to be toxic and partisan in a collaborative world.
Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 E. 400 South, Thursday, May 12, 7 p.m. Free/register at https://bit.ly/3vQteGG
Unlikely Environmentalist
Here’s a chance to hear adventurer and conservationist Rick Ridgeway as he talks about the five years he spent living in tents during 26 expeditions to the most remote regions of the world. Ridgeway will be speaking about his book Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map at this stop on his Life Lived Wild Book Tour, a special presentation co-hosted by the Utah Sierra Club.
Patagonia, 2292 Highland Drive, Tuesday, May 10, 6:30 p.m. Free/register at https://bit.ly/3s1EoHq
Touching the Hand of God
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel lets you get up close and personal with a legendary work of art.
It can often be true that an artistic experience is also a spiritual experience. It’s not every exhibit, however, that lets you touch the hand of God.
On April 29, See Global Entertainment’s traveling exhibition Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel opened at The Gateway. The walk-through experience features life-size reproductions of the 34 frescos painted on the ceiling and wall of The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo Buanarroti from 1508-1512 and 1536-1541. A 20-minute introductory video also provides historical context regarding Michelangelo’s creative process, and amusing anecdotes involving Michelangelo’s patron, Pope Julius II.
According to Kevin Olson, a spokesperson for See Global, the exhibition was born when the company’s CEO, Martin Biallas, took a trip to The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel a decade ago, and found the experience disappointing. “You have to wait in line for a couple of hours,” Olson says, “and then you are ushered in in an organized tour group for about 15 minutes, and you can’t take any photos. He felt it was very impersonal.”
In response, Biallas began the process of finding out if he could secure the rights to a tour that would bring visitors into a more up-close-and-personal experience with the works, though it required a bit of a detour. “We ended up going through Bridgeman Images, because The Vatican, that process was taking forever,” says Sylvia Noland, business development director for See Global. “Bridgeman said, ‘We have the images from The Vatican.’ So we do our licensing with them for the use of these.”
What began as a single touring show seven years ago has since grown to 10 separate full shows that are on tour at any given time, five in the United States and five internationally. Each exhibition space requires at least 10,000 square feet, but due to the unique dimensions of any individual exhibition space, the visitor experience can be quite different from city to city.
According to Noland, the available space at The Gateway provides a particularly compelling way for visitors to encounter the work. “Every turn, you see something new. Here you see the prophets, then you turn and see the ancestors of Christ, then another turn, and you see the Genesis [section], then you turn and see ‘The Last Judgment.’”
The experience of walking through the exhibit provides an incredible opportunity to learn about this celebrated work beyond the best-known image of God creating Adam through barely separated fingers. An audio component allows for detailed historical perspectives on each piece, including the possible reasons for their positions within the whole ceiling, like the prophet Zechariah being immediately above the Chapel’s entrance as possibly related to his vision about Jesus’ Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. And there are wonderful details that bring the works to life in a more personal way.
“In ‘The Last Judgment,’” Olson notes, “Michelangelo actually portrayed and painted himself as one of the many characters in the last judgment. He did not believe he was worthy of ascending into heaven, so he paints himself in a position looking up and hoping for mercy, so he can get redemption.”
Still, it’s not surprising if the main draw of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is “The Creation of Adam,” that iconic image of a soaring, enrobed God reaching down towards the reclining first man. It’s such a draw, in fact, that it necessitates a specific change in the way the images are presented. While most of the frescos line the walls of the exhibition, those from the Genesis cycle are generally suspended from the ceiling, allowing an approximation of the visitor experience to the Sistine Chapel.
“The Creation of Adam,” however, is an exception, placed at foot level. And the reason, Noland says, is to really emphasize that up-close-and-personal experience Biallas was looking for.
“Because everybody wants to touch God’s finger in a picture, you can’t do that on the ceiling,” Noland says with a laugh, “so we have to keep it down.”
That kind of opportunity—different from being in the presence of the original in such a time-condensed fashion—is what the exhibit was designed to facilitate. “It’s fascinating when you go and see these [images at the exhibition], because they look like a postage stamp when you look up at The Vatican,” Noland says. “They seem so tiny. This way, you get to see … the cracks in the plaster. You can see every brushstroke.” CW
“The Creation of Adam” as part of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
MICHELANGELO’S SISTINE CHAPEL: THE EXHIBITION The Gateway, 16 N. Rio Grande (Ground level below Flanker restaurant) Through June 19 $23 adult, with family packages available Timed reservation required sistinechapelexhibit.com
Information is correct at press time; visit event websites for updates on possible COVID-related cancellations or re-scheduling
Whose Live Anyway?
As a comedic form, improv is both difficult and muchparodied—a challenging art to master, and one often undertaken by amateurs. Creating comedy on the spot isn’t something everyone can do, which made the popular early-2000s American TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?—an adaptation of the British series of the same name—a delight for audiences as they watched experts at work. That success resulted in a spinoff touring live version of the show, Whose Live Anyway?, featuring regular members of the show’s various incarnations.
For the current tour, that includes comedians Ryan Stiles and Jeff Proops, whose tenure on Whose Line dates back to the British series more than 25 years ago. They’re currently joined by comedian Jeff B. Davis and actor-comedian Joel Murray (brother of Bill) in a 90-minute program that follows a similar format to the TV series, with the cast members participating in a series of “games” based on suggestions provided by the audience, resulting in humorously-distributed points for the players. The audience-participation component for the live shows might even include being brought up on stage to be part of the fun. After all, what is improvisation if not being prepared for the unexpected?
Whose Live Anyway? comes to the Delta Performance Hall of the Eccles Theater (131 S. Main St.) on Thursday, May 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 - $60; based on current guidelines, Live at the Eccles no longer requires proof of vaccination or masking by patrons inside the venue. Visit live-at-the-eccles.com for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)
MAGIC SPACE ENTERTAINMENT
Pygmalion Productions: Body Awareness
Pygmalion Productions’ staging of Annie Baker’s 2008 play Body Awareness is one of many local shows that was originally planned for presentation in 2020, only to be postponed by the COVID pandemic. But according to cast member Brenda Hattingh Peatross, it might actually be a more relevant show after all we’ve been through. “This play is about people dealing with some very personal situations and kind of getting a grip on things, when suddenly a wrench is thrown in the works,” Hattingh Peatross says in a press release. “I think that was pre-pandemic for many of us. … Everything we thought we knew about ourselves and our relationships was wrong in so many ways. It forced us to look at those things in a way we may not have done before.”
Body Awareness applies that notion to a premise set in a Vermont college, where Body Awareness Week is underway. The event’s organizer (played by Hattingh Peatross) and her family—including partner, Joyce (Teresa Sanderson, pictured), and Joyce’s son Jared (Tom Roche), who might be on the autism spectrum—are hosting a guest artist, Frank (Tom Cowan) known for photography of female nudes. Thus begins a complex exploration of female body image and a family’s own struggles with effective communication.
Body Awareness runs in the Black Box Theater of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 W. 300 South) May 6-21, with performances Thursdays-Sundays. General admission tickets are $15 - $22.50; the presenter will require the wearing of masks throughout the performance. Visit pygmalionproductions.org for tickets and additional event information. (SR)
Utah Opera: The Pirates of Penzance
Let’s face it: There are a lot of creative works that are best known by the general public for a part, rather than for a whole. Entire generations know “to be or not to be” without ever having seen Hamlet, or the “Ode to Joy” without experiencing the rest of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. That idea likely applies as well to Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, which includes among its musical solos “I am the very model of a modern Major-General,” a rapidfire lyrical tongue-twister which has been referenced and parodied for 100 years.
But if that’s all you know of Penzance, you’ve got some fun in store. The show offers a delightful mix of comedy, romance and adventure in its story of a young man named Frederic who has spent most of his life apprenticed to a band of pirates. During his first trip out into the world, he meets a lovely young woman named Mabel, and hopes he might find a normal life for himself, only to discover that his “contract” with the pirates might run considerably longer than he expected. Of course, when you’re dealing with a particularly empathetic band of pirates, things have a way of working out.
Utah Opera presents The Pirates of Penzance at the Jannet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South) May 7 – 15, with five performances. Tickets range from $15 - $110, depending on date of performance; Utah Opera currently does not require proof of vaccination or face coverings at performances. Visit utahopera.org for tickets and additional event information. (SR)
UTAH OPERA
Revising Eternity @ King’s English
In 2016, Arizona-based author Holly Welker released Baring Witness, a collection of interviews and comments by women members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about their experiences with love, sex and marriage. It seems only fitting, then, that the fellas would eventually get to tell their side of the story, which is exactly what Welker has done with her latest book, Revising Eternity: 27 Latter-day Saint Men Reflect on Modern Relationships.
As she did in Baring Witness, Welker serves primarily as editor, allowing her interview subjects to relate their own experiences in a series of essays centered around how male members of the Church approach romantic relationships and marriage, given the institution of marriage’s centrality in Church doctrine. Their experiences cover a wide range of topics pertaining to relationships, including struggling with the Church’s position on same-sex relationships, being unfaithful in marriage, facing crises of faith and much more. The honest and conversational contributions challenge the notion that marriage within the LDS church is a hegemonic experience, and how hard it is to be the kind of man—and husband—that is expected within the Church. Welker visits The King’s English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500 East) for an inperson event on Tuesday, May 10, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. She will be joined for the reading by several of her interview subjects, including Joseph Broom, Kelland Coleman, Tyler Chadwick, Scot Denhalter and Robert Raleigh. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on the outdoor patio. Visit kingsenglish. com for additional event information. (SR)
Short Circuit
A tax break for Utah seniors could be a lifeline—if only people knew about it.
By Cathy McKitrick
The following story was supported by funding from The Economic Hardship Reporting Project and was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with City Weekly, The Spectrum & Daily News, Daily Herald, Standard Examiner, The Park Record and Living and Aging With Pride.
Property taxes on the dream home Darrell Stanley built in Midway eight years ago have spiked. And while he and his wife own the home outright, rising costs are now threatening the housing and retirement he worked so hard to secure.
“From 2019 until 2021, my property taxes went up 70 percent,” said the 65-yearold retired commercial pilot, whose pension shrunk after the airline he worked for declared bankruptcy. In one year alone, his tax bill increased from $7,700 to $9,700 because his home’s assessed market value went up about $300,000.
“I’m on a fixed income now and can’t afford to have my property taxes going up like this every year,” Stanley said, noting that he worked hard for 30 to 40 years to make his Midway home a reality.
He said he fears it could reach the point where “I can’t afford it anymore and will have to move out.”
Stanley was excited to learn of one program that might offer some relief—a decades-old tax relief program known as “Circuit Breaker.” It’s geared for lowincome homeowners and renters in Utah who are 66 years of age and older. Recently, critics have noted that this program could be helping many, but remains underutilized, primarily because most Utah seniors don’t even know about it.
Tim Funk, a low-income housing policy advocate for Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City, referred to the Circuit Breaker program as a “golden secret,” especially for seniors who don’t actively use computers and are trying to navigate the application process.
“Economically, these are people on fixed incomes who have little or no recourse,” Funk told a group of low-income advocates recently. “This program—if it could pay them $300 to $500 on average, especially if they were renters—would be golden to them and make all of us feel a lot better.”
County-by-county data gathered by legislative researchers in 2021 showed that Salt Lake County—Utah’s most populous county at more than 1.1 million residents as of April 2020—led the way in use of the program, with 2,578 qualifying homeowners claiming the Circuit Breaker tax credit. But rural Daggett County—with a population of just 935 in 2020—logged just one Circuit Breaker recipient that year.
Across the state, a tiny percentage of seniors—fewer than 1%—are using the program. —Washington County: With 21% of the population 65 and older, only 0.54% were enrolled. —Weber County: With 12% of the population 65 and older only, 0.35% were enrolled. —Davis County: With 10% of the population 65 and older, only 0.24% were enrolled. —Salt Lake County: With 11% of the population 65 and older, only 0.22% were enrolled. —Utah County: With 8% of the population 65 and older, only 0.14% were enrolled.
Currently, the Circuit Breaker program is hampered by lack of resources for outreach and differing administration across 29 individual counties.
The program has also suffered at the state level from lack of promotion and a recently defeated attempt in the Legislature to increase participant income caps.
Breaking It Down
Under Circuit Breaker, Utah senior homeowners with annual household incomes less than $35,807 (in 2021) can receive a property tax credit on their state income tax return.
The sliding-scale program allows a credit of $1,110 for households making $12,173 or less, and that amount shrinks to $179 when household income rises to between $32,226 and $35,807.
Those income caps adjust annually to keep pace with the rate of inflation.
Utah’s 29 counties are individually tasked with administering the Circuit Breaker homeowners credit, because they routinely assess property values and send out valuation notices each year.
But the Utah State Tax Commission oversees a renters’ tax credit that’s also part of Circuit Breaker. The same income caps apply, along with a similar sliding scale where those at the bottom can receive more than $1,000 back if they file an annual income tax return.
According to informational materials released by the tax commission, unmarried surviving spouses of seniors who would have qualified for the credits can also qualify, regardless of age.
Rep. Steve Waldrip
COURTESY PHOTO
Numbers provided by the state tax commission show that 6,583 homeowners statewide tapped the Circuit Breaker program in 2021, for a total cash payout of almost $3.6 million. Those figures dropped from 12,094 homeowners in 2016, when qualified applicants received almost $4.9 million combined. Meanwhile, some 2,780 renters claimed credits totaling $891,090 in 2020.
Jason Gardner, legislative affairs director for the tax commission, said the agency had no numbers tracking actual eligibility for Circuit Breaker.
But Funk—who said he’s helped individuals apply for the program—believes the pool of qualified applicants could be triple the number who actually tap the benefit.
“Better than half the people who are eligible are not being very well served,” Funk told community advocates during an April Zoom session. He suggested forming a group that would challenge the state to improve outreach regarding Circuit Breaker.
Recent U.S. Census data estimated Utah’s 2021 population at roughly 3.3 million, with approximately 380,000 people who are age 65 and up. And about 244,000 individuals in the state live in poverty.
In 2021, the federal poverty level was $12,880 for a single Utah resident and $26,500 for a family of four.
Money Pit
Duane Sjoberg, age 81, recently found out about Utah’s Circuit Breaker program through tax-aide volunteers who work with seniors through AARP of Utah. Sjoberg, a retired mechanical engineer, said he’s lived in his home in unincorporated Davis County for more than 50 years.
“We want to stay in our home,” Sjoberg said, noting that the 1,100-square-foot structure still suits his needs even though certain things are becoming more of a chore, such as “seven fruit trees that need to be pruned and tended and a swimming pool that needs lots of attention.”
Now, homes like his are selling for more than $400,000, Sjoberg said (the Zillow estimate for his address: $470,000), and property taxes have risen accordingly. But his fixed income has not.
After looking into the Circuit Breaker option, Sjoberg felt it wouldn’t do much for him. So he’s checking out the state’s new tax deferral program instead.
“It wouldn’t be a problem to qualify for that,” Sjoberg said.
In the meantime, he sets aside $225 per month in escrow to cover his annual property tax bill—which he said now totals more than he used to shell each month out for his mortgage payment.
Sjoberg may have benefited more from Circuit Breaker had it gotten a boost in the recent 2022 legislative session. Rep. Steve Waldrip—R-Eden—unsuccessfully ran a bill that would have almost doubled the income caps for Circuit Breaker.
If HB401 had cleared both chambers, it would have lifted those household income caps to $22,173 on the lower end (to receive the maximum credit) and the upper limit would top out at $45,807.
Waldrip’s measure cleared the House with a unanimous vote but failed to come up for debate in the Senate before the final gavel fell on March 4. And while he said he planned to give the legislation another try in 2023, he recently announced that he was dropping his bid for reelection.
“I am concerned that with inflation happening like it is, the most vulnerable of our citizens—those who are retired and on fixed incomes—don’t have the capacity to keep pace with the rise in expenses,” Waldrip said. “It’s overdue to broaden the program so that more people can be covered—and to increase the amounts that they’re eligible for.”
Lawmakers did approve another bill this year, SB25, which allows a tax deferral to homeowners age 75 and up who have household incomes that extend up to twice the amount of the Circuit Breaker cap. But when the individual’s home changes hands, the delayed taxes must be reimbursed with interest.
Without dedicated marketing budgets, county officials say they’re limited in what they can do to spread the word about property tax relief programs, Circuit Breaker among them.
In Salt Lake County, that means posting information about the Circuit Breaker’s homeowners tax relief on its website, printing information about all the property tax relief programs on valuation notices that go out each July, visiting area senior centers and senior expos and also reaching out to local media outlets to spread the word.
But the COVID-19 pandemic put a two-year kink in most in-person activity.
Joy Hayes, tax relief supervisor in the Salt Lake County Treasurer’s Office, said she had hoped that Waldrip’s bill to raise income caps would pass this year.
“When I go to the senior centers and talk to them, I hear that the income limit is really low,” Hayes said. “And due to the tough economy, a lot of people have their kids living with them. So because the program is based on total household income, they no longer qualify.”
Weber County Clerk Auditor Ricky Hatch described various complications that arise.
“There are instances where several people live in a house. Because of how it’s calculated, we have to count the income of other (adult) household members too,” Hatch said. “And there are some instances where if they own assets in another area, they can’t qualify when in fact those assets might not be convertible. There’s a whole bunch of complex things that make it not quite as easy.”
But anyone who qualified in the past automatically receives a reminder to apply again, Hatch said. And when county officials across the state gather for trainings and conferences, Hatch said Circuit Breaker comes up “quite a bit.”
“But I don’t recall having a discussion about how we can better get the word out so that people are aware,” Hatch said. “That’s probably something we should do.”
Davis County aims to be as proactive as possible, Clerk Auditor Curtis Koch said. Its tax administrators meet with senior center staff and attendees, and they also distribute rack cards with key information about tax relief programs to libraries and city offices throughout the county.
—Rep. Steve Waldrip, R-Eden
“We want to stay in our home,” says Duane Sjoberg, whose monthly escrow payment for property taxes is greater than his mortgage. AARP of Utah’s Danny Harris says more Utahns are feeling the pinch of rising property taxes.
In Utah County, Burt Harvey—division manager for public services and tax administration—expressed frustration about the inability to reach those who could truly benefit from Circuit Breaker. He said the office simply lacks the time and staff.
“We don’t have the resources to go out to the various senior centers and maybe set up times to meet with seniors. The county hasn’t funded that,” Harvey said. “I have one person who processes applications and determines if people qualify. With the workload, there’s no way she could even spend one day out of the office.”
However, state law does allow leeway in the application deadline, so Harvey said counties often accept applications up until Dec. 31, which is the hard cutoff date.
Keri Pallesen doubles as human resource director and auditor for sparsely populated Daggett County—home to Flaming Gorge Reservoir. For this remote county, the back of the valuation notice serves as the main source of all tax relief information.
“We do have a senior center. I’ve gone there on occasion but not to talk about Circuit Breaker. But I might consider doing it,” Pallesen said. “Any time we can let our citizens know about a program, it’s good.”
Making Rent
The state tax commission publishes information about Circuit Breaker on its website, but that’s the extent of Utah’s renter relief outreach—again due to lack of resources.
“We don’t really have an advertising budget,” said Gardner, the agency’s legislative affairs director. “That’s not our business to a great degree.”
Gardner credited organizations such as AARP for picking up the slack. He also suggested that the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which regularly interfaces with people who could benefit from Circuit Breaker, could perhaps incorporate renters’ relief into their current framework.
When contacted about Circuit Breaker, DWS spokeswoman Christina Davis said this was the first she’d personally heard of the program.
“As far as that kind of need goes, we’re pretty focused on connecting people with heat, and we also have rental-assistance programs that are part of the pandemic response,” Davis said. “We’re certainly happy to help spread the word about Circuit Breaker.”
Steve Erickson, a consultant for both the Crossroads Urban Center and Utah’s chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), said he began working with the state’s housing authorities in the fall of 2021 to spread the word about Circuit Breaker’s renter-relief program. He also put together a one-page fact sheet that could be distributed or posted in offices.
“The renters’ rebate is not widely known … and $1,000 for a low-income senior household could be a real game changer,” Erickson said.
Danny Harris, advocacy director for AARP Utah, said that underutilization of Circuit Breaker also concerns his organization.
“One of our biggest priorities is to make sure that people have the opportunity to stay in their homes for as long as possible,” Harris said, “and that they have the tools and resources to live independently.”
Part of his role lies in supporting favorable legislation on Utah’s Capitol Hill. Recently, that included Waldrip’s stalled bill and the successful tax-deferral measure that requires paying the credits back when homes get sold.
“We’re paying more and more attention to this as property taxes increase, and it’s becoming more of a challenge for people,” Harris said.
Dave Moore works as a training resource specialist for AARP-Utah’s volunteer TaxAide division.
“Part of the [reason] Circuit Breaker is underutilized is that people don’t know about it,” Moore said. “But the other part is that Circuit Breaker is not simple to apply for, especially if you’re elderly and not computer savvy.”
Linda Oram, state coordinator of Tax-Aide, also described other limitations. “We have 24 sites statewide, each one staffed with two to 12 preparers (105 total),” Oram said. These trained and certified volunteers work with clients in rent-free spaces such as libraries and senior centers.
“Generally, all our sites that take reservations fill up weeks in advance. Our sites for walk-ins generally fill up within the first hour of the day,” Moore said. “There’s a huge demand for free tax-preparation help.”
But Moore aims to expand Circuit Breaker’s reach.
“Our state end-of-season manager meeting is next week,” Moore said. “I’m going to send up a trial balloon to ask if we want to host one or two days next fall where we’ll bring in our laptops and offer to help people at the same sites we do [income] taxes to actually do their applications for Circuit Breaker.”
The IRS also offers no-cost tax-preparation services to individuals who qualify through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs.
Koch (Davis County’s clerk auditor) described why he’s a fierce advocate of the Circuit Breaker program.
“If we don’t take care of people, we start to fail as a society. Keeping people in their homes has to be a priority,” Koch said “These folks have worked hard to have homeownership … so keeping them (there) when hard times come gives them the opportunity to move forward.”
Counties do get reimbursed after the fact for tax-relief credits, the tax commission’s Gardner said, adding that Circuit Breaker homeowners also receive a 20% reduction in the taxable values of their properties.
“The reduction in value comes out of the county’s budget,” Gardner said. “The majority comes from the state’s general fund.”
And Utah County’s Harvey noted the “donut hole” that exists for very low-income renters who could benefit from Circuit Breaker but do not make enough to require filing income tax returns.
“Those are the [people] least likely to reach out to us and also the least likely that I would have direct access to,” Harvey said. CW
BEN TECUMSEH DESOTO COURTESY
