One-Day Legislative Visit to SL County Carries Hefty Price Tag

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$100,000 to Bus and Cater Visit of Downtown and West Bench

(KCPW News) Once a year the Utah legislature takes a field trip to explore a region of the state. This year they're not going far. They've chosen to tour Salt Lake County, where they already spend more than 50 days of the year in legislative meetings. And KCPW's Julie Rose reports the visit won't be cheap.

 

$100,000. That's what it will cost to give Utah's 104 lawmakers a one-day tour of Salt Lake County, complete with private bus rides and classy meals. Salt Lake County taxpayers will pay one fourth of that tab. Councilman Randy Horiuchi sees the expense as a show of goodwill in the tense relationship between the Legislature and the County:

"I think we need to demonstrate our support to their reaching out into our communities and trying to find out more about our county," says Horiuchi. "It's an opportunity to put our best foot forward."

Lawmakers choose a different part of the state to visit once a year. Only yesterday did the Salt Lake Chamber, which is organizing the legislative visit, come to the County asking for help with the last bit of funding needed. The Chamber's Bob Farrington says Salt Lake City has been unwilling to cover any of the visit costs, despite much of the day's events taking place in the Capital City. The County Council grudgingly approved the $25,000 expense, though Jim Bradley expressed frustration that the council had no say in what lawmakers would visit:

"I think we're missing a whole lot of what the county does best - our intramural sports, our parks, our equestrian park," says Bradley. "That's what we do best and I don't see any of that here."

The legislative itinerary focuses mainly on downtown development like the City Creek Center and west bench development, including a stop at Kennecott's Daybreak community. Organizers say other counties have spent comparable amounts hosting legislative site visits in the past.

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