in Education
Accuracy of posted Park City teacher salaries
Before Christmas we posted an article on Park City teacher salaries. We decided not to post teacher names but still received substantial pushback on the data’s accuracy. Most commenters said that they always found the numbers inflated. Some said that what we published did not match what they received. So, we decided to reach out to the State of Utah for an explanation.
Their response was:
The employee compensation data shown on the Transparency website for Park City School District (and all other entities) is submitted by the individual entity to the website.
The amounts shown for an individual employee is the actual amount paid during the fiscal year which in the case of Park City School district is twelve months ended as of each June 30th (i.e., July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016) [note: the Park Rag numbers were ending June 2015].
This amount also includes the total amount of employee benefits paid by the employer (such as employer paid taxes, health and/or life insurance, retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, etc.) and the various amounts for salaries or wages, leave paid, etc.
Once the entity has been selected on the Transparency website along with the applicable year and then selecting employee compensation, then the names employees can be displayed by selecting the “Name” tab which displays the employees and their position title along with the combined total of employer paid benefits and salaries or wages, etc. To see the detail for each employee, just click on the employee name and then the next panel to the right will show the break down of employee compensation components such as salaries and wages, leave paid (if any), and employer paid benefits.
If a person has a question regarding the employee compensation for a specific employee or the district as a whole, they can contact the school district office.
It appears that:
- Data comes from the school district (or whatever government entity you work for). So, if you have a beef, contact them.
- The numbers include dollars you may not see on your paycheck. For instance, you may see a 7.65% FICA tax on your paycheck but your employer is also paying 7.65% (and you may not see that). Likewise, you may see a healthcare expense of $200 but your employer may be paying $800 for you and your family (and you may not see that either).
We do see the employee’s point of view who may say, “but some of that isn’t really a benefit, so it’s unfair to present that as compensation. It paints an inaccurate picture.” There is some truth in that.
That said, from a taxpayer standpoint, many of us want to know what an employee is costing the people. That would include any expense related to an employee’s job, whether the employee sees it in the form of cash or not.
Again, perhaps every number submitted, from every organization, is over-inflated. However, its more likely that there is a substantial amount of cost that the average employee just doesn’t see.
Transit incentives could give Parkites a reason to ride the bus
As long-time readers probably know, we don’t have a lot off faith in the bus system solving our transit issues. However, we always like to hear new ideas that may convince us and other community members to ride the bus.
With that in mind, we received a letter from a citizen who had an interesting idea about increasing bus ridership. If you have a few minutes we would recommend you give it a read.
Transit Incentives
by Ellen Sherk
I believe we can put a band-aid on our transit problem. It might not be a permanent solution, but if residents and visitors give it a try, it just might work. Human nature calls for instant gratification, especially if it means altering your lifestyle. To get people on the bus, let’s offer them incentives: the more you ride the bus, the more incentives you get.
Before I moved to Park City, I lived in an area that started an incentive program for recycling through Recyclebank. The more you recycled, the more points you accrued, which could be used towards coupons. Why not do the same thing for our bus system? All busses can be equipped with a card reader. Every time you ride the bus, you swipe your card. Every time you swipe your card, you get points. Anyone can get a card, whether you live here or are only visiting.
So who’s going to pay for these card readers, cards and the marketing it will take to make this program successful? Vail, Deer Valley and the town of Park City. All three will benefit when people get out of their cars and on the bus. It will take a lot of marketing to make visitors and residents aware of this program, but the benefits will be no more Carmageddons!
But incentives must be worth it for people to change their habits: discounted lift tickets, free lift tickets, restaurant coupons, resort restaurant coupons, event coupons, shop coupons. Go to Recyclebank’s website and see how many different rewards they offer.
We already have a popular incentives program that works in Park City: Smith’s gas points program. And a successful one in Salt Lake as well: REI. Maybe Smith’s, REI and Recyclebank can give us some helpful advice on how to make this program work. If it can increase store loyalty and recycling, it can most definitely increase bus ridership.
Note: If you have an idea or would be interested in writing something, let us know.
in Education
That about sums up Park City’s Snow Day
Note: The fact that the Park Rag screws up language all the time is not lost on us. However, we just couldn’t resist.
Be careful if you brand your car and drive like a jerk
One of the trends around Park City is branding your car. You’ve probably seen the cars around town with decals plastered across the car, magnetic signs on the doors, or signs in windows.
They may be advertising their property management company, their coffee shop, their landscaping company, or any of a hundred different businesses.
However, we wonder if people realize that marketing works both ways.
It’s like walking into a shop on Main St and having an employee treat you like crap, the store is reflected in a negative way. When a driver, who had a branded car, acts in an inconsiderate way, it negatively reflects the brand.
We saw that about five times this morning during a ten minute drive.
Of course, at times, I’m sure we aren’t the best drivers in the world. The difference is that we don’t have enough money to pay for a car and put “Park Rag” signs all over it.
If you do, you should be aware that inconsiderate driving WILL impact how people view your ACME Pilates business, or whatever your car is pedaling.
in Education
Park City School Closures
We’ve received a few emails and comments on the school district closing school today. As is typical, we don’t really get the comments praising the school district for bowing to the snow gods (we’re sure many parents are happy to go skiing with their kids). However, we did get a few emails from parents who were upset with the decision. One parent emailed at about 6:45AM and said the road outside her house was completely plowed and couldn’t understand how schools were closed.
Another email commented, “Do you know how much not being able to work is costing me? While I’m all for safety, this seems ridiculous.”
We reached out to the school district for comment. Molly Miller with the Park City School District replied:
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“The decision was made this morning because there was about a foot of snow on the side roads and buses were unable to make it through. Here’s a look at the policy:
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We view the decision to close school as a damned if you do and damned if you don’t decision. If something were to happen to a bus, there would be an uproar, and potentially kids hurt. However, there probably are some kids who are hungry today because they didn’t get school lunches.
But heck, it’s a good day for Vail as kids flock to the resorts.
However, the best quote just came in from a reader. She says, “I was just at the doctor in Salt Lake and they asked what I was going to do with the rest of my day. I told them Park City schools were closed, so I am taking care of my children. The doctor said, ‘Park City closed for snow?’ and couldn’t stop laughing.”
Maybe that doctor has a point. Park City is the only school in the state to close because of this storm.
That said, it’s supposed to snow from 6PM tonight for the next day or two. They are predicting up to 30 more inches of snow by Thursday. So, it looks like Park City kids may get another couple of ski snow days.
in Development
Should Summit County help accelerate growth at the Canyons?
A fundamental question we face as a community is how much growth we want. We know that more growth is coming, not only from our own existing entitlements, but from Wasatch County. Now, it seems we have another question to answer:
Do we want to accelerate growth?
This Wednesday the Summit County Council will discuss creating a special services district at the Canyons. TCFC, the primary property owner at Canyons Village (Canyons), is requesting that Summit County create a $21 million bond to help pay for their infrastructure. Individual property owners at the Canyons Village would then pay higher property taxes to pay off the bond.
In a presentation created by TCFC for the Summit County Council, TCFC says it’s an “Opportune Timing to Accelerate Development and Tax Generation” for Summit County. TCFC wants to add infrastructure to the Canyons, including a new Main Street, a high mountain road, and an $11.7 million parking garage (among other smaller projects). TCFC’s arguments are:
- Park City is poised for strong growth in the coming years as a result of the “Vail Effect” bringing more skiers to the area
- Projections for overnight visitor growth quickly surpass the current bed base
- Accelerated development in the Canyons expedites generation of tax revenue for Summit County
- This will require a public-private partnership with Summit County to build key infrastructure to facilitate development
So, TCFC Is asking Summit County to issue a $20+ million bond, assess Canyon’s property owners via taxes, so that TCFC can expand the Canyons more quickly than they otherwise might. It also means that anything built via these bonds is owned by the County. So, Summit County would own part of a resort and could then pay TCFC to manage this infrastructure! In return for this, Summit County would benefit from increased tax revenue (according to TCFC’s presentation).
It’s almost so ludicrous sounding that we wonder what the real play is. Is TCFC asking for the special assessment, in order to later give that up, in order to get something they really want? Is TCFC finding it difficult to get workable financing? Or does TCFC just want to take advantage of a good economy and expand while they can?
We’re not sure. But we appreciate the Summit County Attorney’s Office drafting a legal memorandum outlining questions about this “offer.” Some of the questions that Chief Civil Deputy Dave Thomas brings up include:
- Why is the CVMA (Canyons Village Management Association) funding source (real estate transfer fees or assessments of CVMA members) insufficient to finance the construction of resort infrastructure?
- What are the financial risks to the County associated with establishing an assessment area at the Canyons? What happens if property owners within
the assessments? What are the legal ramifications of such nonpayment? Would the County have to wait 5 years to collect on any delinquency via tax sale? Would the County have to subsidize bond payments while collecting delinquent assessments? How will this impact the County’s bond rating? Why should the County take these financial risks? - What are the benefits to the County of establishing an assessment area at the Canyons? Will the tax base (sales, property, TRT, Restaurant taxes) be enhanced?
- Would the redevelopment proposed by TCFC occur anyway without establishing an assessment area?
- Why would the County want to own resort infrastructure? Who would maintain the resort infrastructure?
- The CVMA has obligations under the Development Agreement for moderate income
housing, roads and transit. Does an assessment area constitute a bail-out of those
existing obligations? - Is it in the County’s best interests to facilitate economic growth at the Canyons, given the current 2.8% unemployment rate in the County, the absence of adequate moderate income housing in the area, and the increased impacts to the transportation system?
We would add one more question to that list:
Does the county really want to help build a 700 car parking garage at the base of the Canyons while they are preaching “take the bus”? It just wouldn’t make a lot of sense.
It should be interesting to watch on Wednesday as the council listens to TCFC’s arguments and debates the issues. It will also be an initial litmus test on where our two new county council members Glenn Wright and Doug Clyde really stand on these types of issues.
If you’d like more information, the TCFC presentation is here. The Summit County Legal Memorandum is here.
As with any topic, if you’d like two let the Summit County Council know your feelings, you can email them at .
in Environment
Could Park City and Summit County do more to keep our air clean?
Most people agree that idling vehicles are bad for our community. Every year, it seems, the Park Record comes out with an article about Park City upping enforcement of anti-idling laws. Currently Park City and Summit County have laws that say you can’t idle for more than one minute. It used to be three minutes, but we suppose one minute sounds better.
What’s the problem? You get 3 warnings before you get a fine.
That’s crazy. Imagine if you got 3 warnings before a speeding violation. Many people would drive 100 miles an hour until they were caught a third time.
So, why doesn’t the city and county make it an immediate fine? The reason is Utah Code Title 41 Chapter 6a Part 2 Section 208 3 c ii. It says, “A local highway authority may not enact an ordinance that prohibits or restricts an owner or operator of a vehicle from causing or permitting the vehicle’s engine to idle unless the ordinance provides that a person must be issued at least three warning citations before imposing a fine.”
We often hear with our local politics that we need to contribute money to statewide efforts in order to have a seat at the table. What table would we want to have a seat at more than one that would help make sure we don’t have an inversion like Salt Lake is currently experiencing? Anti-idling ordinances help with that.
It seems our local governments want to tell people that there is a law the books, even though it’s really ineffectual, in order influence behavior. We get that. However, wouldn’t it be even more effective to be able to actually enforce a law?
If idling is really an important issue for Park City and Summit County, maybe it’s time they called in a few chits to change the law… and remove the three “warnings” that neuter our ability to keep our air clean.
That one step may help us from having massive inversions like Salt Lake.
in Skiing
A reminder why to put the safety bar down on the lift
Yesterday in Colorado, a mother and her two daughters fell from a ski lift at a small resort in Colorado. The 20 foot fall into snow killed the mother and seriously injured her 9 and 12 year old daughters.
While the official cause of the fall has not been released, witnesses of the accident said the lift had not been working properly for a few days. According to CBS 4 in Denver, “Each stop of the lift caused chairs to sway and bounce.”
I remember riding up a lift with a ski instructor at Deer Valley a couple of years ago and she said, “You always put the bar down. You just never know what might happen.”
We know that it is a pain to put down the foot-rest and bring it back up again. That said, that little inconvenience may someday save your life or someone you love.
Would a few signs on Highway 248 lower Park City’s collective blood pressure and make traffic more efficient?
This morning I drove Highway 248 to get to Deer Valley. As usual, traffic had backed up and the road rage was starting. What’s the problem? The merge from two lanes to one lane right before the narrows going into Park City.
You had some people getting in the left lane way before the merge. You had some people zooming down the right lane, passing by all those who had moved to the left lane. In order to “fight” this, drivers from the left lane began moving to the center of the road, blocking drivers on the right from getting by. Then there was what looked like a small city bus that used the shoulder on the right to fly by the “road blockers.” It wasn’t exactly the safest maneuver you’d want to see from a bus.
It’s frankly a mess, and you can feel the collective blood pressure of all people involved rising. Unsurprisingly, this problem isn’t unique to Park City. There are plenty of places in the world where two lanes merge to one. If you’d like to get into mathematics and queuing theory, we’d recommend reading this New York Times article called Urge to Merge.
If you don’t geek out to 0 = α0 1n (C2/kj), here is the gist. The most efficient way for traffic to merge from two lanes to one is using a “zipper merge.” Traffic uses both lanes as they approach the merge. Then cars in each lane take their turn merging.
So what would we suggest, three electronic signs on Highway 248 (the temporary orange variety). Two signs among 248 would ask motorists to use both lanes. This serves the purpose of educating EVERYONE that both lanes are OK to use. This should reduce road rage as the people on the left (called “Lineruppers”) don’t get enraged as people fill the right lanes (called “Sidezippers”). Park City has TOLD people to use both lanes, so it is OK that people are using the right lane.
Then a third sign is added near the merge that asks people to take turns merging.
Would it work? It looks like it has in other areas. Perhaps Park City has tried this in the past and it hasn’t been effective. If not, we won’t know unless we try.
It seems like both a way to improve traffic flow and make people happier. That would be a good combination for Park City.
in Food, Summit County
Did the restaurant you are going to tonight in Park City have any health inspection issues?
A few years ago, we used to make a trip to the Summit County Health Department to review paper restaurant inspections. About a year ago, the health department began putting inspections online. We view it as a great service provided by the county. Having watched our share of Kitchen Nightmares, we know that running a kitchen is hard but that it can also be deadly. So, we appreciate the work Summit County Health Director Rich Bullough and his team do in keeping us safe.
What sort of things might you find in these inspections? You might find a restaurant whose dish washing equipment isn’t actually using sanitizer. You might find a convenience store where the cold tables aren’t cold enough. You might also find things you don’t care about like signs reminding employees to wash their hands (does that do any good?).
So, what does a report look like for a place you may have frequented on Main Street (keep clicking the image below to make it bigger)?
If you’d like to search yourself, here is the link to the Summit County Health Department’s inspections.
Parkrag
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