The future of the state's ethnic affairs offices appears to be clouded by controversy and questions.
A consultant hired by the Legislature last year offered preliminary recommendations for four of the five ethnic affairs offices. The Office of Indian Affairs was left out of the study because it is the only office created by statute.The others are created by executive order, and according to Bonneville Research president Robert Springmeyer, that may be part of the problem the offices have in determining what their roles should be.
"The executive order is far too broad . . . far more than any single group could actually do," Springmeyer said during a hearing in front of the Legislature's Community and Economic Development subcommittee.
Even the directors of those offices admit they don't have the budget or the personnel to accomplish what each feels they should.
Other questions include who should the directors work for, should they be ombudsmen for the community in state government or write reports on how state government is meeting the needs of ethnic minorities in Utah, and is there even a need in state government for offices that deal with special population groups.
The study suggests the offices should report to the director of the Division of Business and Economic Development. The directors all felt they should continue to report directly to the governor's office.
The problem with being placed in one particular state agency is that the issues the offices and their advisory councils deal with transcend all of state government.
The directors agreed they need more of a budget if they're to accomplish all they're being asked to do. The Bonneville study suggests the offices and their councils should be conducting studies, workshops and hearings to help in developing policies, programs and state budgets.
It suggests the offices should research and write annual reports setting forth recommendations to the governor with specific action plans and targeted outcomes.
At least one member of the subcommittee disagreed with Bonneville's recommendations for the offices.
"If you're going to make them into bookkeepers, then I guess you might want to shut them down," said Sen. Blaze Wharton, D-Salt Lake. "We don't even give them a secretary, and yet we want them to give training. It looks like what we're doing is relegating them into taking stats. I think we ought to look at what their roles should be. Maybe we've gotten away from that. . . . Maybe we should come back to it."
Bob Linnell, deputy for intergovernment relations, said the offices have served the governor and their respective communities in a number of ways that may go unnoticed. One way, he said, is when state government positions are open, the offices bring to the governor's attention people who might otherwise be overlooked.
"Doug Borba was invisible to us," Linnell said of the man recently named to head the state commerce department.
The committee isn't scheduled to meet again, but members will either meet informally to discuss the fate of the offices or early in the 1996 legislative session.