Austerity at work in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — A state panel has recommended 37 percent raises for Utah’s governor and other top officials.
The panel suggests 36.5 percent raises for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer and state auditor.
That kind of change would bring Gov. Gary Herbert’s annual salary to $150,000, and would push the other officeholders’ annual pay to $142,500.
Any raises would have to be approved by the Legislature to take effect.
Well, that won't be a problem. The Utah State legislature is controlled by Republicans.
Last week, the Mayor of Salt Lake proposed raising property taxes by 16%.
Oh, and this
Utah lawmaker proposes to raise food tax
Sen. John Valentine is proposing to double the state's food tax from 1.75 percent to 4.75 percent. The senator says the tax was cut five years ago and since then the state is hurting in the sales tax department.
The math is wrong because 2 x 1.75 = 3.50
And this
Downtown parking fee increase
The new budget includes a parking fee increase. Curbside parking will now cost $2.00 an hour and new parking meters enforcement hours will be extended from 6pm until 8pm. Saturday's are still free, except during the holiday shopping season.
And
Salt Lake County residents upset over tax for law enforcement
WELCOME TO ROMNEYLAND Utah
Oh, the two major roads leading into my small town are repaved every year. This year, they ripped up the asphalt and rebuilt with cement.
Can't citizens demand to see the actual books as in Who was paid what for what and when instead of just proposed budgets?
I don't trust the GOP State Auditors
Access for Sale A Report on Corporate Funding of Associations of State and Local Government Officials
Our research shows that almost all of these associations have no meaningful rules in place to prevent corporate funders from using their sponsorships to influence officials’ policy- making decisions.
Indeed, many explicitly state that a primary benefit of sponsorship is access to association members. In effect, most of these associations are selling special access to elected or other high-level officials, facing virtually no scrutiny as they do so. Almost all of the sponsorship programs overtly undermine the democratic process, allowing corporate interests to have the ear of government officials in a manner that no average citizen can expect to enjoy.
Several association representatives that we spoke with claimed that the association’s conferences were open to the public. As a result, they said, corporations received no access in excess of that available to members of the public. Yet, most association conference fees are close to or more than $1000
How do we untangle this mess?