Greg Newton, former mayor of Mona, said he never had the idea that Mona should not pay the Juab County Sheriff's Department for a law enforcement contract the city has with the department.
He said he didn't tell current Mayor Kevin Young that the city did not need to pay the contract fee. Nor did he go to the county and ask it to provide the law enforcement to the city for free. "It's something that didn't happen," he said.He said the fee was in his budget every year he was mayor.
Last week Juab County Sheriff Dave Carter reported to Juab County commissioners that the community did not think it needed to pay the department for the work.
The community signed a contract with the Juab County Sheriff's Department approximately five years ago, said Carter. At that time, he said, the community officials agreed to pay a fee for the service.
Newton said Carter and he had some early disagreements about the contract and what it did and did not entitle the town to expect. One of those items was the paying of the contract fee. "They (the sheriff's department) weren't submitting a billing. It's against the law for Mona to pay a bill without a warrant," he said.
Carter thought the contract included the payment billing but was willing to submit the bills to the community and had been doing so.
Newton said another disagreement had been that the city thought Sheriff Carter or a representative should come to council meeting and give a report of the work they had done in the community. Carter said he had begun doing so.
"I've never had a conversation with the commission or with Mayor Young about the contract or whether the town should or shouldn't pay," said Newton. "Nothing was ever said by me to any of them."
Newton said being blamed for something he didn't do had not "set well with me. I've tried to retire and be a nice guy," he said.