Every year, the Permanent Community Impact Board spends millions of dollars on projects from museums to street lighting - most of it going to rural Utah. But is all that money being spent properly?
Some Utah counties say no, but according to an audit released Tuesday morning by the Legislative Auditor General's Office, the Community Impact Board "fully complies with legislative intent."The CIB has the responsibility of spending the state's portion of federal mineral-lease funds. Those funds are designed to offset the negative social and economic impacts of mining on federal lands.
But some Utah counties have complained that CIB-funded projects are authorized on a first-come, first-served basis without priority given to the importance or quality of the project.
"It is common knowledge among counties that a project not funded when first presented will eventually be funded, provided the county is persistent," the audit states. However, enough money was available last year that 98 percent of all requests were funded anyway, and "project prioritization has not been viewed as critical."
A concern expressed by counties that the CIB has been unwilling to fund social projects like drug treatment and children-at-risk programs appears unfounded, the audit states. "Board members indicated that they would consider any social projects brought before them; however, in the past three years no county has presented a social project for funding."
The audit also examined how Utah's institutions of higher education are spending their share of mineral-lease monies, noting they could do a better job of directing the funds toward affected communities.
While colleges and non-research institutions are often restricted in their ability to provide services to impacted counties, Utah State University and the University of Utah are not so restricted. "The research performed at these two institutions allows them to directly affect other locations within the state," the audit states.
"However, some counties are unsure as to how the money used for research by USU and the U. directly benefits them. In fact, some of the county representatives reported that they had approached these institutions with research ideas that would benefit their counties and were turned down."
The audit recommends changing the current allocation formula by either reducing the amount of mineral-lease money to institutions not providing services to impacted counties, or allocating funds based on "impact indicators," such as location of the institution and student demographics.
Currently, the portion of mineral-lease monies for higher education is allocated based on the number of full-time students enrolled. For example, if Weber State University has 10 percent of the total enrollment in the state, they would get 10 percent of higher education's allotment.
"The outcome of this allocation methodology is that 88 percent of higher education's allocation goes to Wasatch Front counties," the audit states.