Largest County Budget Contributors, Part 3 of 5

ZAP, Community, and Culture

Salt Lake County is home to Utah’s premier art, cultural, and recreational getaways. With 21 recreational centers, golf courses, 104 parks, the Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary, Rose Wagner Theater, Discovery Gateway, the Salt Palace, equestrian park and the aquarium (just to name a few), voters in Salt Lake County have repeatedly approved additional funds for recreation and arts. Among those additional funds are those that come from the ZAP tax.

Every 10 years the ZAP tax comes up for renewal and must be approved by the voters. This amounts to one penny of every 10 dollars in sales tax revenue devoted to Zoo Arts and Parks/open space.

After voters approve the ZAP revenue, the county projects that revenue and then bonds for that amount so they can begin the new projects. It is important to note that a great deal of the recreation and cultural facilities produce funds for the county and help pay for themselves. For example, although our golf courses for the county are profitable, they naturally still show up in our budget when it comes time to allocate funding.

Here are some of the county facilities located within District 3
• Gene Fullmer Fitness and Recreation Center
• Taylorsville Recreation Center
• The Ice Center in Murray
• Valley Regional Park
• Mick Riley Golf Course
• Meadow Brook Golf Course

Total ZAP, Golf, Convention Centers, Theaters: $177,405,381