Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Lawsuit alleges Corroon broke campaign finance law
SALT LAKE CITY -- The former chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party has filed suit against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Peter Corroon, accusing him of violating campaign finance laws that he signed as county mayor.
James Evans filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Utah's 3rd District Court. He wants Corroon to be ordered to return more than $300,000 in donations he accepted through his Corroon Leadership political action committee.
Salt Lake County prohibits individual contributions that exceed $2,000. Contractors that do work with the county are prohibited from donating more than $100 to county officials' campaigns.
Among others exceeding those limits, Corroon's PAC accepted $10,000 donations from the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Utah AFL-CIO and AEB Enterprises.
Corroon campaign manager Donald Dunn claims the limits only apply to county races.
"There is absolutely no truth or merit in anything that James Evans has put in this lawsuit, and James Evans is notorious for having his trick-or-treat campaign surprises and being a negative dirty trickster," Dunn said. "It doesn't surprise us that we're seeing his head pop up right before Halloween."
Corroon has made campaign finance reform one of the signature issues in his race against GOP Gov. Gary Herbert. Corroon has proudly touted the county's campaign finance limits and said he would seek to put caps in place on a statewide level if he were elected governor.
Herbert has said he opposes campaign contribution limits.
Evans contends Corroon was effectively using his political action committee as a second mayoral campaign account in 2009, although Corroon had already said he wasn't seeking re-election as mayor.
Corroon didn't formally announce he was running for governor until earlier this year.
"That (PAC) was filed before he ran for governor in 2009," Evans said. "People gave significant amounts of money because he was county mayor, and he benefitted from it because he's county mayor."
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Salt Lake County Zap Bond for Community Centers IS NOT fiscally conservative
So let's take a look at the recent news article on the Salt Lake County ZAP bonds that are building government rec centers across SLCO from the SLTRIB You paid for 'em, you got 'em: more rec goodies
Despite the downturn, rec centers have continued to rise in Salt Lake City, Herriman and Millcreek; trails have continued to branch out in Sugar House and Cottonwood Heights; skate parks have continued to pop up in Kearns and Midvale.Bonding and raising sales tax to build government-run rec centers at a time when Salt Lake County had to cut $140 million dollars from their budget isn't exactly "fiscal conservatism" Taxpayers will have to pay towards those bonds in the future and while borrowing money to build a rec center may create a temporary job for construction workers, there is no long term economic return on a public rec center.
Why? Because public funds didn’t stop paying for those amenities during the recession.
“The projects gave a boost to our economy,” Corroon said. “We were able to put construction workers back to work.”
That said, the ZAP tax also put funding for recreation centers above other critical services during tough economic times, according to the Utah Taxpayers Association.I wonder if the County employees who were laid off due to the budget shortfall are able to enjoy their time off at their new local rec center?
Howard Stephenson, a state senator and president of the business-backed association, described ZAP as “bad tax policy,” steering money toward a specific purpose — parks and recreation — without any consideration of overall government spending.
“A governing body,” he said, “should have to weigh expenses for zoos, arts and parks along with police, fire and streets.”
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Salt Lake County tax hike could derail Corroon guv bid
Politics » Mayor's increase would kick in right at election time.
By Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 10/29/2009 07:48:29 AM MDT
If Peter Corroon wants to run for governor, he has a funny way of showing it. With Utahns poised to pick a new governor just one year from now, the Salt Lake County mayor and perceived Democratic frontrunner for the state's highest office has proposed a dramatically downsized budget that also raises taxes.
So if higher property tax bills hit next fall, Corroon could be just days away from the election -- not the best combination by any stretch of the political imagination. Corroon might say that he cut a staggering $142 million from the county's budget. That's true. He might say that he replenished the general fund reserve to help preserve the county's coveted triple-A bond rating. That's true. But the mayor also might have to explain his decision to raise $13.4 more million in taxes. That's also true. "Obviously, nobody wants to raise taxes," Corroon said. "Politically, it's not a good thing to do. But I thought our budget was the best budget we could put together. The bottom line is I'm always going to do what I think is the right thing, whether it is good for me politically or not." Corroon hasn't announced whether he will seek the governor's seat, although political pressures are mounting for him to become the Democratic banner-carrier. The mayor says his attention remains fixed on the county's 2010 budget -- not yet approved by the County Council -- which comes amid the worst economiccrisis since the Great Depression. But pundits and politicos alike label the soft-spoken Democrat, who snatched the mayor's seat five years ago as a political unknown, as the blue-hued contender with the best shot at governor. The question is, will Corroon's willingness to balance the 2010 budget with the help of a tax hike undermine his carefully burnished image as a protector of the public purse?
Or will voters prove forgiving of a man who opposed taxpayer funding for the Real Salt Lake
soccer stadium during his first term, and then brandished his veto over the summer to keep fellow Democrats from raising taxes before the county had explored more cuts? Impossible to tell. But Corroon clearly has exposed himself to an electoral attack if he chooses to run for governor, political observers say, particularly if the incumbent, Gov. Gary Herbert, manages to mend the state's budget without boosting taxes. Sensitivity over the issue appeared even in the lingo that laced Corroon's budget presentationTuesday. The mayor never mentioned the word tax "increase." Instead, he dubbed the bump in property tax bills as a "shift" that would offset sagging sales tax revenues. "It is going to be difficult if he runs in a statewide campaign to not allow himself to be stereotyped as a typical Democrat who is going to raise your taxes," said Quin Monson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. "It would be a battle that would be winnable, but a difficult one." Corroon has proposed a radically reduced 2010 budget that would lop the county's overall ledger from $801 million to $659 million -- not counting the law enforcement dollars that will leave with the Unified Police Department next year. Under the plan, the county would cut employees' wages, close 10 recreation centers on Sundays, erase contributions to organizations such as the Utah Cultural Celebration Center and scale back department budgets by sometimes-double-digit percentages.
"I do not believe we can cut any further without harming the essential services that our county government must provide," he told the County Council on Tuesday. So Corroon turned to property taxes. It's a move that Thomas Wright, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, doesn't think will sit well with voters. "People are living on less income," he said. "They are learning how to adjust their budgets. Government should learn to do the same." Corroon can expect an eroded voter base, Wright said, if he chooses to chase the governor's seat. "People are smart enough to see that Peter has been making all the cuts possible before approaching the subject of rasing taxes," countered Weston Clark, chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party. "He has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility."
Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, suspects the political fallout will be minimal. "To some people, a tax increase is never justified," Jowers said. "And he will be susceptible to attacks from those groups. But on balance, the average voter will applaud his fiscal discipline and his attempt to solve an incredibly difficult budget year."
Taxation with poor representation
Salt Lake County's police fees may tap churches, too: Businesses will bear the heaviest burden if the new collections come to pass.
By Jeremiah Stettler The Salt Lake TribunePublication: The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Date: Sunday Jan 10, 2010
Jan. 10--Desperate to cover the cost of policing, Salt Lake County is poised to pass the collection plate to an unorthodox source: churches.
Although shielded from property and sales taxes that typically pay for law enforcement, scores of chapels in Magna, Millcreek and other unincorporated patches soon could find themselves shelling out a $1,000 annual fee for public safety.
That's the uncommon, but not altogether unprecedented, reality that faces the faithful in Utah's most-populous county, where a sputtering economy has sent government scrambling for more money.
Instead of raising property taxes to recover millions for services in the unincorporated county, officials have introduced a police fee that would charge homes, grocery stores, auto dealerships and even churches various amounts, depending on how many law-enforcement calls they have generated historically.
That proposed fee, scheduled for a vote Monday, would reach 170,000 residents and 2,500 businesses in the unincorporated county.
While the commercial community is accustomed to paying taxes for plowing streets, dousing fires and providing other essential services, churches aren't. They are tax-exempt. So when government calls on them to pay for policing -- not as a tax, but as a fee -- those churches are, not surprisingly, surprised.
The Rev. Handi Jo Dolloff-Holt, a pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kearns, described it as a "direct violation" of the
church's nonprofit status, one that could harm her 300-member congregation.
While $1,000 a year may not seem like much, she wrote in an e-mail, "that is the money I gave to three families in desperate need this Christmas. Next year, I won't have that money to give unless we cut other ministries."
The proposed fee would extend to 41 churches in the unincorporated county, stretching from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Copperton to the Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church in Millcreek. It also would affect the spattering of chapels belonging to Utah's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which declined to comment for this story.
Phil Hughes, pastor of Mount Olympus Presbyterian, said the proposed fee seems a steep price to pay for a service his congregation requests about three times a year -- mainly for parking lot problems.
Jan. 10--Desperate to cover the cost of policing, Salt Lake County is poised to pass the collection plate to an unorthodox source: churches.
Although shielded from property and sales taxes that typically pay for law enforcement, scores of chapels in Magna, Millcreek and other unincorporated patches soon could find themselves shelling out a $1,000 annual fee for public safety.
That's the uncommon, but not altogether unprecedented, reality that faces the faithful in Utah's most-populous county, where a sputtering economy has sent government scrambling for more money.
Instead of raising property taxes to recover millions for services in the unincorporated county, officials have introduced a police fee that would charge homes, grocery stores, auto dealerships and even churches various amounts, depending on how many law-enforcement calls they have generated historically.
That proposed fee, scheduled for a vote Monday, would reach 170,000 residents and 2,500 businesses in the unincorporated county.
While the commercial community is accustomed to paying taxes for plowing streets, dousing fires and providing other essential services, churches aren't. They are tax-exempt. So when government calls on them to pay for policing -- not as a tax, but as a fee -- those churches are, not surprisingly, surprised.
The Rev. Handi Jo Dolloff-Holt, a pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kearns, described it as a "direct violation" of the
church's nonprofit status, one that could harm her 300-member congregation.
While $1,000 a year may not seem like much, she wrote in an e-mail, "that is the money I gave to three families in desperate need this Christmas. Next year, I won't have that money to give unless we cut other ministries."
The proposed fee would extend to 41 churches in the unincorporated county, stretching from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Copperton to the Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church in Millcreek. It also would affect the spattering of chapels belonging to Utah's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which declined to comment for this story.
Phil Hughes, pastor of Mount Olympus Presbyterian, said the proposed fee seems a steep price to pay for a service his congregation requests about three times a year -- mainly for parking lot problems.
"Those are pretty expensive calls," he said. "Maybe we should just stop calling."
Charging churches for government services isn't an altogether new concept. Chapels are required to pay storm-water fees in some communities to cover the costs of treating rain water that runs off their properties. They also pay franchise fees for electricity, natural gas and telephone service.
"The precedent has already been set," said Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley, who serves on the county's three-member law enforcement district board that will decide whether to impose the fee. "This isn't breaking new ground."
Besides, Bradley said, it makes sense to charge churches for a service they use. It also widens the pool of potential payers, lessening the law-enforcement bill on homes and businesses that also face the fee.
"Everyone who is in the community and uses the service," he said, "probably ought to pay for it."
The proposed fee comes at a troubling economic time for Utah's most-populous county. While the cost of policing actually will drop about 6 percent this year under the newly formed Unified Police Department, the county is looking to raise almost $13 million to plug a hole in its municipal-services budget.
According to the latest fee schedule, which does not apply to cities, homeowners would pay an extra $174 a year.
Businesses would bear a heavier burden, depending on their demand for police service. A tavern would pay more annually than a preschool ($1,044 compared to $588). A big-box lumber store would fork over more than an auto dealership ($13,584 compared to $756). And a Walmart supercenter would pay $81,912.
Businesses and organizations would shoulder an additional fee based on how many employees they have.
The county's highest bill payers would be Kennecott and ATK, with annual tabs of $1.3 million and $100,000, respectively.
One question is whether churches and other nonprofits belong on that list. The bill for churches would be $1,008 a year. Nonprofits that generate less traffic and fewer patrol calls would pay $180.
"We try to have as much money as possible go into our programs," said Carol Coulter, president of the Assistance League. "Anything that detracts from that is less desirable."
However, she called the $180 fee for her organization "reasonable."
But government's decision to draw money from nonprofits worries others, such as Fraser Nelson, executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah and an adjunct professor at the University of Utah.
"These organizations," she said, "already are having a very hard time meeting the demand that they have for ... fundamental emergency-level services."
Jan. 10--Desperate to cover the cost of policing, Salt Lake County is poised to pass the collection plate to an unorthodox source: churches.
Although shielded from property and sales taxes that typically pay for law enforcement, scores of chapels in Magna, Millcreek and other unincorporated patches soon could find themselves shelling out a $1,000 annual fee for public safety.
That's the uncommon, but not altogether unprecedented, reality that faces the faithful in Utah's most-populous county, where a sputtering economy has sent government scrambling for more money.
Instead of raising property taxes to recover millions for services in the unincorporated county, officials have introduced a police fee that would charge homes, grocery stores, auto dealerships and even churches various amounts, depending on how many law-enforcement calls they have generated historically.
That proposed fee, scheduled for a vote Monday, would reach 170,000 residents and 2,500 businesses in the unincorporated county.
While the commercial community is accustomed to paying taxes for plowing streets, dousing fires and providing other essential services, churches aren't. They are tax-exempt. So when government calls on them to pay for policing -- not as a tax, but as a fee -- those churches are, not surprisingly, surprised.
The Rev. Handi Jo Dolloff-Holt, a pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kearns, described it as a "direct violation" of the
church's nonprofit status, one that could harm her 300-member congregation.
While $1,000 a year may not seem like much, she wrote in an e-mail, "that is the money I gave to three families in desperate need this Christmas. Next year, I won't have that money to give unless we cut other ministries."
The proposed fee would extend to 41 churches in the unincorporated county, stretching from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Copperton to the Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church in Millcreek. It also would affect the spattering of chapels belonging to Utah's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which declined to comment for this story.
Phil Hughes, pastor of Mount Olympus Presbyterian, said the proposed fee seems a steep price to pay for a service his congregation requests about three times a year -- mainly for parking lot problems.
"Those are pretty expensive calls," he said. "Maybe we should just stop calling."
Charging churches for government services isn't an altogether new concept. Chapels are required to pay storm-water fees in some communities to cover the costs of treating rain water that runs off their properties. They also pay franchise fees for electricity, natural gas and telephone service.
"The precedent has already been set," said Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley, who serves on the county's three-member law enforcement district board that will decide whether to impose the fee. "This isn't breaking new ground."
Besides, Bradley said, it makes sense to charge churches for a service they use. It also widens the pool of potential payers, lessening the law-enforcement bill on homes and businesses that also face the fee.
"Everyone who is in the community and uses the service," he said, "probably ought to pay for it."
The proposed fee comes at a troubling economic time for Utah's most-populous county. While the cost of policing actually will drop about 6 percent this year under the newly formed Unified Police Department, the county is looking to raise almost $13 million to plug a hole in its municipal-services budget.
According to the latest fee schedule, which does not apply to cities, homeowners would pay an extra $174 a year.
Businesses would bear a heavier burden, depending on their demand for police service. A tavern would pay more annually than a preschool ($1,044 compared to $588). A big-box lumber store would fork over more than an auto dealership ($13,584 compared to $756). And a Walmart supercenter would pay $81,912.
Businesses and organizations would shoulder an additional fee based on how many employees they have.
The county's highest bill payers would be Kennecott and ATK, with annual tabs of $1.3 million and $100,000, respectively.
One question is whether churches and other nonprofits belong on that list. The bill for churches would be $1,008 a year. Nonprofits that generate less traffic and fewer patrol calls would pay $180.
"We try to have as much money as possible go into our programs," said Carol Coulter, president of the Assistance League. "Anything that detracts from that is less desirable."
However, she called the $180 fee for her organization "reasonable."
But government's decision to draw money from nonprofits worries others, such as Fraser Nelson, executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah and an adjunct professor at the University of Utah.
"These organizations," she said, "already are having a very hard time meeting the demand that they have for ... fundamental emergency-level services."
While the county's approach has attracted plenty of critics -- during a recent public hearing one person described the fee on churches as "abominable" -- the proposal has sympathizers within the pews.
Mario Alejandre, associate pastor of the Salt Lake Christian Center, said he doesn't object to churches -- such as his 400-member congregation -- hefting some of that financial load.
"I don't find fault in [government] trying to be creative," he said, "in how these needs are met."
But across the valley, Dolloff-Holt said she will urge her congregation to oppose it.
"While I am deeply grateful for the service of our police and fire departments," she said, "this is not an appropriate solution to raise funding for their services."
jstettler@sltrib.com
Footing the police bill
People who live and do business in Salt Lake County's unincorporated communities soon could pay more for police protection. The county's law enforcement district board is considering the following fee schedule that would generate about $13 million a year.
Residential Annual fee
Single-family home $174
Duplex $198
Apartments $222
Mobile home $186
Nonresidential Annual fee
Auto dealerships/repair $756
Construction/manufacturing $192
Community grocery $25,104
Supercenters $81,912
Retail/wholesale $444
Big-box lumber $13,584
Drugstores $3,000
Transportation services $264
Jan. 10--Desperate to cover the cost of policing, Salt Lake County is poised to pass the collection plate to an unorthodox source: churches.
Although shielded from property and sales taxes that typically pay for law enforcement, scores of chapels in Magna, Millcreek and other unincorporated patches soon could find themselves shelling out a $1,000 annual fee for public safety.
That's the uncommon, but not altogether unprecedented, reality that faces the faithful in Utah's most-populous county, where a sputtering economy has sent government scrambling for more money.
Instead of raising property taxes to recover millions for services in the unincorporated county, officials have introduced a police fee that would charge homes, grocery stores, auto dealerships and even churches various amounts, depending on how many law-enforcement calls they have generated historically.
That proposed fee, scheduled for a vote Monday, would reach 170,000 residents and 2,500 businesses in the unincorporated county.
While the commercial community is accustomed to paying taxes for plowing streets, dousing fires and providing other essential services, churches aren't. They are tax-exempt. So when government calls on them to pay for policing -- not as a tax, but as a fee -- those churches are, not surprisingly, surprised.
The Rev. Handi Jo Dolloff-Holt, a pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kearns, described it as a "direct violation" of the
church's nonprofit status, one that could harm her 300-member congregation.
While $1,000 a year may not seem like much, she wrote in an e-mail, "that is the money I gave to three families in desperate need this Christmas. Next year, I won't have that money to give unless we cut other ministries."
The proposed fee would extend to 41 churches in the unincorporated county, stretching from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Copperton to the Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church in Millcreek. It also would affect the spattering of chapels belonging to Utah's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which declined to comment for this story.
Phil Hughes, pastor of Mount Olympus Presbyterian, said the proposed fee seems a steep price to pay for a service his congregation requests about three times a year -- mainly for parking lot problems.
"Those are pretty expensive calls," he said. "Maybe we should just stop calling."
Charging churches for government services isn't an altogether new concept. Chapels are required to pay storm-water fees in some communities to cover the costs of treating rain water that runs off their properties. They also pay franchise fees for electricity, natural gas and telephone service.
"The precedent has already been set," said Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley, who serves on the county's three-member law enforcement district board that will decide whether to impose the fee. "This isn't breaking new ground."
Besides, Bradley said, it makes sense to charge churches for a service they use. It also widens the pool of potential payers, lessening the law-enforcement bill on homes and businesses that also face the fee.
"Everyone who is in the community and uses the service," he said, "probably ought to pay for it."
The proposed fee comes at a troubling economic time for Utah's most-populous county. While the cost of policing actually will drop about 6 percent this year under the newly formed Unified Police Department, the county is looking to raise almost $13 million to plug a hole in its municipal-services budget.
According to the latest fee schedule, which does not apply to cities, homeowners would pay an extra $174 a year.
Businesses would bear a heavier burden, depending on their demand for police service. A tavern would pay more annually than a preschool ($1,044 compared to $588). A big-box lumber store would fork over more than an auto dealership ($13,584 compared to $756). And a Walmart supercenter would pay $81,912.
Businesses and organizations would shoulder an additional fee based on how many employees they have.
The county's highest bill payers would be Kennecott and ATK, with annual tabs of $1.3 million and $100,000, respectively.
One question is whether churches and other nonprofits belong on that list. The bill for churches would be $1,008 a year. Nonprofits that generate less traffic and fewer patrol calls would pay $180.
"We try to have as much money as possible go into our programs," said Carol Coulter, president of the Assistance League. "Anything that detracts from that is less desirable."
However, she called the $180 fee for her organization "reasonable."
But government's decision to draw money from nonprofits worries others, such as Fraser Nelson, executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah and an adjunct professor at the University of Utah.
"These organizations," she said, "already are having a very hard time meeting the demand that they have for ... fundamental emergency-level services."
While the county's approach has attracted plenty of critics -- during a recent public hearing one person described the fee on churches as "abominable" -- the proposal has sympathizers within the pews.
Mario Alejandre, associate pastor of the Salt Lake Christian Center, said he doesn't object to churches -- such as his 400-member congregation -- hefting some of that financial load.
"I don't find fault in [government] trying to be creative," he said, "in how these needs are met."
But across the valley, Dolloff-Holt said she will urge her congregation to oppose it.
"While I am deeply grateful for the service of our police and fire departments," she said, "this is not an appropriate solution to raise funding for their services."
jstettler@sltrib.com
Footing the police bill
People who live and do business in Salt Lake County's unincorporated communities soon could pay more for police protection. The county's law enforcement district board is considering the following fee schedule that would generate about $13 million a year.
Residential Annual fee
Single-family home $174
Duplex $198
Apartments $222
Mobile home $186
Nonresidential Annual fee
Auto dealerships/repair $756
Construction/manufacturing $192
Community grocery $25,104
Supercenters $81,912
Retail/wholesale $444
Big-box lumber $13,584
Drugstores $3,000
Transportation services $264
Professional/business services $252
Hospital services $1,740
Restaurant/food services $756
Fast food $1,692
Convenience store with gas pumps $4,548
Convenience store without gas $1,332
Finance $1,764
Self storage (per unit) $4.20
Adult care/assisted living (per bed) $77.40
Child care/preschool $588
Personal services $228
Nonprofit $180
Entertainment $996
Private clubs/taverns $1,044
Adult-oriented $588
Lodging (per room) $60
Churches $1,008
Note: The county would add an additional fee to businesses or organizations depending on how many employees they have. Those fees range from $72 annually for a business with less than 10 employees to $11,220 a year for an operation with 500 to 999 employees.
Source -- Salt Lake County
What's next
Salt Lake County's law-enforcement district board will decide whether to impose the new police fees Monday at 4 p.m. at the County Government Center, 2001 S. State St.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Rolly: City, county Democrats can’t seem to get along
One might think that with Democrats controlling the executive and legislative branches of both Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County governments, the two entities would be working together inside the otherwise Republican-dominated culture in Utah to reach goals common to their liberal-leaning philosophies.
The irony, though, is that liberal Democrat Ralph Becker gets along quite well with the conservative Utah Legislature, and that has enabled him to push through initiatives in the city without being molested by state lawmakers. But the city’s relationship with the Democrat-controlled county is deteriorating.
“The joke around county circles is that we miss the good old days of Deedee Corradini,” said County Councilman Joe Hatch, referring to the rocky relationship former Mayor Corradini had mostly with Democrats Randy Horiuchi and Jim Bradley when those two councilmen were county commissioners.
Observers credit much of the feuding among Democrats representing the two entities to the recession and the dwindling tax revenues putting pressure on both governments to maintain services.
But county officials attribute much of the discord to the different styles of the two councils and the personality of Becker.
Hatch, for example, cites the lengthy process in the city to develop a historic district on its east side.
“They tend to go through lengthy committee report hearings that end up delaying actual decisions for a long time,” he said. “We tend to either kill or pass proposals at a much faster clip.”
Whether one style is better than the other is debatable, but Hatch’s comment shows a certain level of disdain each government body has for the other’s way of doing things.
While former Mayor Rocky Anderson ran the city with a loud, chest-thumping passion for his issues and a personality that often had the force of blotting out the sun, Becker has a quiet, laid-back style that some county officials interpret as aloof and uncaring.
The two Democrat-led governments have sometimes clashed over policy decisions and appear to be upstaging each other.
Some of Becker’s staffers, for example, were furious when the County Council passed an ordinance last year prohibiting housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The city, under Becker’s lead, had passed a similar ordinance earlier but, through negotiations with the Legislature, agreed to delay its implementation until after the 2010 legislative session.
The county’s ordinance went into effect immediately after passage, which some city officials feared would threaten their agreement with the Legislature and possibly cause lawmakers to undermine both ordinances through legislation.
The county Democrats viewed the immediate implementation as a way to make it harder for the Legislature to pre-empt the ordinance because it would be viewed as taking away citizens’ rights that were already in place.
That incident shows not only a difference in style but an underlying mistrust that hovers between the two entities.
But the crux of the animosity is economics.
The city is constantly accusing the county of using its general fund to pay for county municipal services. The county steadfastly denies the charge.
The county’s general fund is fed by property and sales taxes collected countywide and is supposed to pay for services that are countywide. The county’s municipal fund comes from property and sales taxes collected just from residents living in unincorporated Salt Lake County and is used to provide municipal services to those residents.
Because the city provides nearly all the services the county provides, there is a constant argument that its residents are paying both city and county for services like public safety. The fact that both governments are controlled by Democrats doesn’t seem to help.