Salt Lake County budget battle pits Corroon against auditor

The Salt Lake Tribune

For a vital but mundane topic, the process of preparing budgets has stirred up all sorts of drama lately within Salt Lake County government.

County Auditor Greg Hawkins, a Republican, and a half-dozen members of his staff stood up and walked out of the County Council chambers Nov. 1, when Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon recommended, in his 2012 budget address, that future budget preparations be moved to his office from the auditor’s.

Hawkins’ subsequent threat to sue over the proposal compelled the council to go into a closed session Tuesday to talk about the potential litigation. The discussion was supposed to take 15 minutes. It lasted more than an hour.

Later in the meeting, Corroon’s chief financial officer, Darrin Casper, accused Hawkins of telling the county’s other elected officials to ignore some of Casper’s requests for budget-related information. That prompted Hawkins to jump up from his seat at the back of the room and protest that “to make a blanket statement like that is slanderous.”

When Council Chairman Max Burdick, a Republican, later asked Hawkins to come up to the front and speak into a microphone, the first-term auditor complied. But, he added, “I’m not sure my back’s covered up here.”

The roots for this discord go back to the “GFOA Report,” the shorthanded name used for a study by the Government Finance Officers Association on the organizational structure of the county’s financial-management system.

Finalized in October, the report said Salt Lake County’s effectiveness, efficiency and collaboration could be improved by several changes to its organizational structure. Implemented as a package, the consultants said, the revisions would help the county achieve its goals of “improved accountability and transparency, improved county services and reduced operating costs.”

The report’s primary recommendations call for moving all budget preparations and revenue forecasting from the Auditor’s Office to the Mayor’s Office.

“Many policy and programmatic proposals are made through the proposed budget. The budget is typically the single most important recurring policy process undertaken by a government,” GFOA advised, contending the consolidation of budget and knowledge skills in a single office would help the county’s chief executive “perform long-term scenario analysis.”

Both Casper and the council’s fiscal analyst, David Delquadro, support the recommendations, noting that the changes would enable the Auditor’s Office to spend more time performing audits.

But Hawkins and his chief deputy, Lonn Litchfield, contend the changes would be potentially dangerous for county residents, removing an outside perspective on budgeting that preserves a system of checks and balances.

The relationship between the Auditor’s Office and the county’s executive and legislative branches, Hawkins added, should not be collaborative.

In a PowerPoint presentation, Litchfield spelled out his “Top 10″ reasons why the auditor should be involved in budgeting. No. 1 on the list: Moving the auditor’s budget and revenue analysts into the Mayor’s Office would give the chief executive a monopoly on the county’s financial figures to the detriment of an understaffed council.

He cited a couple of cases in which government executives inflated revenue projections to get budgets passed, leaving it to councils to work out difficult details when those revenue numbers fell short.

Corroon, serving his second and final term as mayor, objected to that characterization. Since the Mayor’s Office would be responsible for the budget, he said, it would “have to live with the consequences of revenue and expenditure levels.”

Litchfield also maintained the departmental changes would cost the county in terms of money and morale and could end up jeopardizing its cherished AAA bond rating.

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Ohio Voters Reject Union Limits

Fox News

Ohio voters Tuesday appeared certain to approve a ballot measure overturning some new restrictions on collective bargaining by state employees — with Gov. John Kasich conceding it was “clear the people have spoken.”

Early returns showed a large majority of voters rejecting a law that would have restricted the powers of unions representing teachers, police officers, fire fighters and other public-sector workers, The Wall Street Journal reported.

With 35 percent of precincts reporting, about 62 percent of voters in a referendum voted against the Republican-backed law, known as Senate Bill 5, while 38 percent supported it.

The vote’s likely final outcome was a victory for Democrats and organized labor, who had mobilized to roll back the Republican-backed law stripping Ohio public employees of many collective bargaining rights. The nation’s biggest labor unions spent about $25 million to defeat the measure.

Senate Bill 5 would have banned Ohio’s public employees from bargaining over health care and pension benefits. It would also have required them to pay at least 15 percent of their health care costs.

Kasich and other Republicans had argued that the restrictions were necessary to close the state’s $8 billion deficit and help local governments balance their budgets, while avoiding service cuts or tax increases.

The union victory was largely expected. A survey released Sunday by Democrat-aligned Public Policy Polling found that voters planned to overturn the measure by a margin of 59 percent to 36 percent.

“Though I would have preferred a different outcome tonight, the people of Ohio have spoken and I respect their decision,” Kasich said in a statement on his website.

“Ohio’s problems developed over time because too many people cared more about popularity than about making the tough — and sometimes unpopular — choices Ohio needed. Folks should know by now that that’s not my way.

“We won’t get Ohio back on track in a day, but our lives and our work aren’t sprints, they’re marathons, and we strive for bigger rewards than the fleeting praise of the here and now.

“We’ll keep moving forward, mindful of the lessons we learn, and we’ll restore the greatness of our state. I’m grateful for the chance to work with the people of Ohio on this mission. Together we can do it.”

Addressing a media conference after the result became apparent, Kasich said, “It’s clear the people have spoken.”

“Part of leading is listening and hearing what they say to you,” he added.

“They might have said it was too much too soon. There will be times that parties disagree. Point of the matter is we need to do things as much as we can together.

“I am anxious to get back to work and look forward to a brighter tomorrow.”

President Barack Obama congratulated “the people of Ohio for standing up for workers and defeating efforts to strip away collective bargaining rights,” according to a statement issued by White House press secretary Jay Carney and reported by The Huffington Post.

He also commended “the teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers and other workers who took a stand to defend those rights.”

Vice President Joe Biden meanwhile called the vote “a gigantic victory for the middle class.”

“Fundamental fairness has prevailed. By standing with teachers and firefighters and cops, Ohio has sent a loud and clear message that will be heard all across the country: The middle class will no longer be trampled on,” Biden said in a statement provided to FOX News Channel. “The people of Ohio are to be congratulated.”

Bill Burton, a senior strategist from Priorities USA — an Obama-allied PAC — applauded the result Tuesday night in a statement to FOX News Channel, name-checking GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney.

“Tonight, Ohio voters rejected the Republican vision for America that rewards big corporations and the wealthiest at the expense of middle class families,” Burton said.

“John Kasich’s agenda in Ohio is a mirror of Mitt Romney’s vision for America: Cutting education, health care and public safety to finance more tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthiest. In 2012, voters will not have to guess what Mitt Romney’s America looks like because they have seen and rejected it in Ohio.

“Thousands of working men and women hit the streets to fight for basic, decent fairness — and we won.

“In Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and other Republican-controlled states, voters have consistently opposed Republican efforts to target the collective bargaining rights of middle-class workers, cut education and reward big corporations and the wealthy.”

The law hadn’t taken effect yet. Tuesday’s result means the state’s current union rules will stand, at least until the GOP-controlled Legislature determines its next move. Republican House Speaker William Batchelder predicted last week that the more palatable elements of the collective bargaining bill — such as higher minimum contributions on worker health insurance and pensions — are likely to be revisited after the dust settles.

Earlier this year, thousands of people swarmed the Statehouse in protest when the bill was being heard. The bill still allowed bargaining on wages, working conditions and some equipment but banned strikes, scrapped binding arbitration and dropped promotions based solely on seniority, among other provisions.

Kasich and fellow supporters promoted the law as a means for local governments to save money and keep workers. Their effort was supported by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business-Ohio, farmers and others.

We Are Ohio, the largely union-funded opponent coalition, painted the issue as a threat to public safety and middle-class workers, spending millions of dollars on TV ads filled with images of firefighters, police officers, teachers and nurses.

Celebrities came out on both sides of the campaign, with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and singer Pat Boone urging voters to retain the law and former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn and the Rev. Jesse Jackson urging them to scrap it.

Labor and business interests poured more than $30 million into the campaign, with the law’s opponents far out-spending and outnumbering its defenders.

Opponents reported raising $24 million as of mid-October, compared to about $8 million raised by the committee supporting the law, Building a Better Ohio.

Tuesday’s result in the closely divided swing state was expected to resonate from statehouses to the White House ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Ohio’s bill went further than a similar one in Wisconsin by including police officers and firefighters, and it was considered by many observers to be a barometer of the national mood on the political conundrum of the day: What’s the appropriate size and role of government, and who should pay for it?

Kasich has vowed not to give up his fight for streamlining government despite the loss.

For opponents of the law, its defeat is anticipated to energize the labor movement, which largely supports Democrats, ahead of President Barack Obama’s re-election effort.

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Senator shares plans to change firing laws with teachers

This bill, at first glance, is taking the rights of due process away from teachers. A 5 year contact does not ensure due process and gives the administrators a way to eliminate good workers without cause. UAGE opposes this type of legislation and hopes Senator Osmond will focus on how to improve Utah’s schools without harming teachers or other public employees who have dedicated their lives in public service.

The Salt Lake Tribune

South Ogden • Utah lawmakers are no strangers to tweaking education policy. But one freshman senator is taking an uncommon approach before he introduces a bill that could reshape the way teachers are fired and paid in Utah. He is asking teachers for their advice.

On Monday, more than 100 teachers from Box Elder to Davis counties shared their frustrations, hopes and a few tears with Sen. Aaron Osmond, a South Jordan Republican. It was the first of four listening sessions Osmond has planned with teachers this week, including stops in school districts in Granite and Iron counties plus a conference call to Logan.

“If after all this feedback we find that we are pursuing the wrong path, I am willing to back away from it and pursue another one,” Osmond said Monday at the Weber district office. “That’s my commitment to you.”

With the backing of the State Board of Education, Osmond hopes to recast teacher employment laws to make it simpler for school districts to fire ineffective teachers.

Under current law, after three to five years in the classroom, Utah teachers may attain career status, which means they can still be fired but only after due process. Osmond wants to eliminate laws that require “orderly termination” in public schools, require that districts create their own policies to remediate or fire teachers and replace career status with five-year “at-will” contracts that districts could choose not to renew without providing cause. He also wants to add performance-based bonuses to teachers’ pay systems.

But teachers at the meeting in South Ogden expressed skepticism about his plans. Some said the new contracts would allow good teachers to be let go for arbitrary reasons, such as not appeasing parents who demand higher grades for their students. Many worried the changes could hinder districts’ ability to recruit and retain quality teachers.

“I’m afraid this kind of legislation just continues to be detrimental,” said Julie Anderson, a fifth-grade teacher at Box Elder County’s Fielding Elementary. “In the [32] years I’ve been involved in this profession, I’ve seen it go from one to be proud of to one that’s kind of looked down upon.”

Anderson said the system in place now for removing teachers works so long as principals do their jobs. She and others urged Osmond to fix what they see as a bigger problem in public education: large class sizes. Utah has the lowest per pupil spending in the nation, which means more students to every teacher.

Pete Previte, an Ogden parent, asked how Osmond’s plans would improve education for his own kids and others.

“I see a bill that you can probably get passed, but it’s not going to make a difference in the education of our kids,” said Previte, who attended the meeting with his wife, a Weber High teacher. “I truly believe if we don’t have a great public school system my community is going to be worse off.”

Sharon Gallagher Fishbaugh, president of the Utah Education Association, said in an interview that the teachers’ group opposes Osmond’s proposal, but she appreciates Osmond’s approach.

“We are very, very encouraged that Senator Osmond is listening not only to his constituents, but the people in the education community who will be affected by this bill,” she said. “There’s a myth that teachers have a perpetual job for life — and that is absolutely not the case.”

Ogden Superintendent Brad Smith, who attended an earlier meeting with Osmond for administrators, said he favors the senator’s proposals, which also coincide with a plan in Ogden district to move toward performance-based pay instead of pay based on years of experience and educational attainment. Under the current system, he said, a teacher has to receive two poor annual reviews in the past three years to begin the firing process. So it can take two or three years to fire a teacher.

“I don’t accept the idea that every teacher is equally effective and that there are no teachers in need of remediation or an opportunity to move to a new career,” Smith said in an interview. “Quickening the process is good for students.”

Brian Rutherford, a technology and engineering teacher at Morgan Middle School in Morgan County, wondered whether Osmond’s bill is intended to recruit or discourage people from teaching and whether it would raise or lower morale in the profession. A Canadian, he moved to Utah in 2004.

“I’m fairly new to Utah,” he told Osmond during the public meeting. “But I’ve never lived in a place where I feel like the Legislature hates me every time I listen to them.”

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Utah County plans to boost budget, but not taxes

Utah County is proposing a 6.5 percent bump in its budget for next year, but residents won’t see their property taxes increase.

“We’re not going to raise taxes this year [for the 2012 budget]. We’re not going to do it,” Commission Chairman Gary J. Anderson vowed Tuesday. “People are still struggling.”

With that declaration, county leaders unveiled what they called an “austere” spending plan for 2012. The proposed $70 million general-fund ledger is expected see further tweaking before aDec. 6 public hearing and vote. But commissioners pledge to extend a 17-year run of no tax increases.

The budget anticipates a 1.2 percent rise in property tax revenues in the coming year, with sales taxes — the next-largest source of income — remaining relatively unchanged.

Commission Vice Chairman Larry Ellertson said Utah’s second most populous county enjoyed a half-million-dollar jump in sales taxes this year but noted that number crunchers are assuming those figures will stay at that level.

“We’ve stopped the bleeding,” Ellertson said, “but we haven’t recovered yet.”

Ellertson foresees no layoffs in the county’s workforce, but staff may be reduced through attrition when employees retire.

In fact, County Clerk-Auditor Bryan Thompson said county workers are penciled in for 2.3 percent raises and, in an increasingly rare phenomenon, are not expected to see their health-insurance premiums go up. The county plans to cover those additional costs.

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Recession took big bite out of Utah tax revenue

The Salt Lake Tribune

Here’s another measure of how bad the recession was as it bottomed out in 2009: The combined revenue of Utah’s state and local governments dropped by 28.5 percent that year amid plummeting sales and income taxes as people earned less and spent less.

That was worse than average nationally, with state and local government revenues declining 22.1 percent that year, according to a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau entitled, “Annual Surveys of State and Local Government Finances.”

Economists say the recession technically ended in June of 2009, the point when economic activity stopped falling and began rising again — even though the economy has continued to be rough since then.

The new data show sales taxes for state and local governments in Utah decreased by a combined 8 percent between 2008 and 2009; individual income tax fell 10.5 percent; and corporate income tax dropped by a huge 37.7 percent.

Meanwhile, property taxes — which do not depend on earnings or spending by owners, but rather on rates set by governments — went up by 4.8 percent in Utah that year.

The report said all revenue to Utah’s state and local governments in 2009 was $16.4 billion, down from 23.0 billion in 2008.

Despite the sharp revenue decline, data show that spending by state and local governments rose by 7.7 percent that year — and their combined debt increased by 5.9 percent.

Also amid the tough times, unemployment benefits paid by Utah increased nearly seven fold, from $135.3 million in 2008 to $891.9 million in 2009. Also, state and local governments’ combined spending on public welfare assistance increased by 11.5 percent.

The report said 32.8 percent of spending by Utah and its local governments in 2009 went to education, 10.6 percent went to public welfare, and 7 percent went to highways.

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