The Salt Lake County Commission may have a full-fledged revolt on its hands.
The Salt Lake County auditor and treasurer have each refused to issue a county check for $75,000 to Taylorsville-Bennion in the wake of a fight between the county's attorney and two commissioners.Auditor Craig Sorenson and Treasurer Larry Richardson agreed Wednesday night not to issue the check after discussing the matter with Salt Lake County Attorney Doug Short.
Overson was dismayed. "I think it's pathetic," he said Thursday morning. He doesn't believe the treasurer and auditor are refusing to follow the commission's direction, however. "I think they are just saying that until this dispute is resolved, they don't want to do anything," Overson said.
Short considered the problem solved. "If they aren't going to issue a check, the matter's resolved." he said.
For the time being, it's certainly a stalemate. However, the commission next week plans to issue a resolution outlining it authority and the legal basis for that authority, Overson said. The resolution will be on the agenda for Monday's or Wednesday's meeting.
The long-simmering power struggle between Short and the commission exploded Wednesday in threats of a lawsuit, a little name calling and the commission's decision to hire outside counsel.
When the commission considered the grant at its Wednesday meeting, Short told the commission the payment was illegal because the commission is not getting anything of tangible value for the money.
Salt Lake County Commissioner Brent Overson told Short to be quiet and sit down. When the attorney wouldn't, he called security.
By Wednesday afternoon, Short had told reporters he would file a lawsuit Thursday against Overson and Salt Lake County Commissioner Randy Horiuchi to block the payment of $75,000 to Taylorsville- Bennion.
Instead, he met with Sorensen Wednesday evening, persuading him not to issue the check. The two men then called Richardson at home and got his agreement not to send the money, Short said.
Overson Wednesday hired Dan Berman to represent the commission in its war against its own attorney. "We'll meet him in court if necessary. We are going to take this to the wall,' Overson said.
"Doug's really quick and fast with the terms `illegal' and `unconstitutional.' We are calling his bluff on this. The commission has broad powers to do this . . . it is absolutely legal."
Short says he has an armful of court rulings and memos from previous county attorneys that say otherwise. The commission can only spend the public's money when it is getting something tangible in return that will benefit the public, he said. Garbage collection and law enforcement benefit the public, he pointed out. Giving $75,000 to another town to help them get started does nothing for the county's population.
"The law requires if the commission orders an unlawful appropriation we have to go to court to stop it. They have ordered it, so we have to go to court," Short said.
But the real issue may be power. Tension between Short and Overson has been building for months, both men said. Overson accused Short of trying to dictate to the commission what it can and can't do.
"Doug wants to be involved at every level. He doesn't want us to act until he gives us approval to act. That's ludicrous."
Short, in turn, said the commissioners have discouraged him from advising them about the law or simply ignored his advice as they did on Wednesday.
Short promised a full investigation of what he called suspicious appropriations by the commission in recent years. If he finds any appropriations that were not either specifically authorized by law or were not given in exchange for some tangible return, Short will sue to get the money back, he said.
"Whether it's a gift, a donation or a grant, we have to review them to see if they are statutorily permitted," he said. "If money has been unlawfully appropriated, we have to sue those who have received the money to get it back."
He specifically targeted the county's budget for charitable donations, which hovers at about $500,000 annually. "Some of these donations are permissible, some are not" he said.
How far back does he plan to do? "There is no statute of limitations."
He said the commission may have misspent as much as $1 million in recent years.
Overson was scornful of the accusations. "The County Commission has authority to do what it has done . . . The commission will stand up for its authority. This needs to be resolved."
On the surface, the fighting doesn't appear to interrupt business. Short appeared before the commission later Wednesday to ask for some modest increases in his 1996 budget. He wants $15,000 to hire a law clerk, a similar sum for a new secretary and money to buy a car so the county's new environmental inspector to drive from site to site.
Everyone was very cordial during Short's brief presentation. But in interviews afterward, Overson said Short's complaints with the commission are motivated by politics and Short called Overson "paranoid."
The two also exchanged volleys over the cost of the commission's new private counsel. The issue, again, was power. Overson said the commission has the authority to hire private counsel, paying for the attorney out of the general fund.
Short said Overson must get the county attorney's approval to hire outside counsel. "He has to tender the defense to our office." If Short has his way, Horiuchi and Overson will have to pay Berman out of their own pockets, Short said.