What Is At Stake?

What is at stake in the election for county mayor?

For most of us the term “county government” is both nebulous and only partially understood. Where do municipal services end, and where do county services begin? How much do I pay for county government? What difference does it make to me?

This post will not answer those questions. My expertise and your attention span are too small.

However, I have an exercise to recommend. It’s unscientific, somewhat random and entirely dependent on your initiative. Yet, if you’re like me, once you’ve done it you’ll approximately double your understanding of county government.

Simply go to the Salt Lake County web site. First, click on the tab that’s labeled “Departments and Agencies.” Then wander down that list of hyperlinks and branch off where ever your interest takes you. I spent my time exploring the Department of Community Services and the Department of Human Services.

Once you’ve finished that, go to the tab labeled “About Salt Lake County.” What follows is a puerile explanation of county government. Skip all of that and go down near the bottom of the page to a subhead listing Salt Lake County’s 18 elected officials.

There you’ll find offices like Sheriff, Assessor, District Attorney etc. - each with a separate executive, but all relying on the budgetary authority of the Mayor and County Council. Use the hyperlinks to explore those individual agencies and some of the services they provide.

Once you've finished, remember that it all costs the typical Salt Lake County citizen a little over $500.00 a year - a county tax burden about one third what a citizen of Summit County is expected to pay.

Truly, a lot for a little.

Now ask yourself, would you like to turn all of this over to a mayoral candidate whose single announced intention is to substantially cut taxes? Would you enjoy watching what Mark Crockett would do to Salt Lake County services?