According to this article in the Deseret News from October 2009: http://bit.ly/aqmpIM , victims of fraud in Utah County lost $45 million in 2006 and 2007 together, $64 million in 2008, and at least $76 million in 2009. We need to take down the criminals engaged in this fraud. Now.
But, with that said, we also need individuals to realize that if something sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Anything promising a likely return over 10% a year is risky. And anything promising a likely return over 15% a year makes it almost certain that there is a substantial chance you will lose your entire investment. GOVERNMENT CANNOT, AND SHOULD NOT, PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR OWN GREED AND STUPIDITY. Unless, or until, folks realize that, there are a lot of folks who will continue to invest money they cannot afford to lose.
However, if elected, I commit to do the following:
1. Give our Sheriff and County Attorney all the resources they need to prosecute individuals engaged in these investment fraud schemes to the fullest extent of the law, and recover as much as possible for the victims. Even if that means cutting my own salary as a Commissioner. These fraud schemes are harming thousands of individuals, and damaging the business reputation of our county. County Attorney Jeff Buhman states in the article that:
"The honest truth is we're barely scratching the surface [of the fraud in Utah County]," Buhman said. "We could double or triple our department easily, and we would still be extremely busy."
Maybe we need to make cuts else where, but if elected, I will get County Attorney Buhman the resources to go after these criminals, and recover as much as possible for the victims.
2. Start an aggressive education campaign on investment fraud. I will pay our employees in our County Attorney and Sheriff's departments to go out into the community and educate our citizens on how investment fraud works, and the kind of fraud they have seen in Utah County. I will ask the local churches to allow one of our employees to come to one of their Sunday meetings and take 30 minutes to give their presentation. I will also set up county web site that explains these things in detail, and a hot line where people can call to report investment schemes that are fraudulent so they can be shut down BEFORE they can steal millions.
But, what do you think? This is an important topic, and I'm very interested in your thoughts.
Thanks,
Joel
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Article in today's Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/closeup/ci_14182457
Race is on for commission seat in Utah County
By Donald W. Meyers
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:01/14/2010 08:42:39 AM MST
Former Cedar Hills City Councilman Joel D. Wright will seek the Utah County Commission seat now occupied by Gary J. Anderson.
Wright recently announced his intention to seek Commission Seat A in this year's election. He stressed that he is not running against Anderson at this point.
"I don't know if [Anderson] is going to run again," Wright said.
Anderson and commission chair Steve White, who occupies Seat B, are both up for re-election this year.
Wright said Anderson hasn't done enough to keep the county budget in check on his watch. Specifically, he pointed to the commission awarding raises in 2008, just before the county was rocked by the recession. His calls for the commission to cut wages went unheeded.
He said it was especially insulting in light of the fact that many people in the county have seen their wages cut because of the economy.
Anderson, who confirmed he is running to keep his seat, said the county has already made cutbacks. The current budget does not include cost-of-living increases and there is a hiring freeze in place.
As for the raises, Anderson said a market study recommended the increases to bring county employees into parity with their counterparts around the state, and to keep staff who were leaving for better pay. He said the county also altered its benefits program to give employees more take-home pay.
"We had a lot of young families who couldn't afford formula or diapers for their babies," Anderson said.
He said the commission has struggled to stretch dollars and to obtain federal funding for projects around the county.
Anderson said Wright may not fully understand how county government works.
Anderson first served on the commission from 1983-89, and was elected again in 2006. He previously worked for the Utah County Attorney's civil and criminal divisions and also had a private law practice.
dmeyers@sltrib.com
Race is on for commission seat in Utah County
By Donald W. Meyers
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:01/14/2010 08:42:39 AM MST
Former Cedar Hills City Councilman Joel D. Wright will seek the Utah County Commission seat now occupied by Gary J. Anderson.
Wright recently announced his intention to seek Commission Seat A in this year's election. He stressed that he is not running against Anderson at this point.
"I don't know if [Anderson] is going to run again," Wright said.
Anderson and commission chair Steve White, who occupies Seat B, are both up for re-election this year.
Wright said Anderson hasn't done enough to keep the county budget in check on his watch. Specifically, he pointed to the commission awarding raises in 2008, just before the county was rocked by the recession. His calls for the commission to cut wages went unheeded.
He said it was especially insulting in light of the fact that many people in the county have seen their wages cut because of the economy.
Anderson, who confirmed he is running to keep his seat, said the county has already made cutbacks. The current budget does not include cost-of-living increases and there is a hiring freeze in place.
As for the raises, Anderson said a market study recommended the increases to bring county employees into parity with their counterparts around the state, and to keep staff who were leaving for better pay. He said the county also altered its benefits program to give employees more take-home pay.
"We had a lot of young families who couldn't afford formula or diapers for their babies," Anderson said.
He said the commission has struggled to stretch dollars and to obtain federal funding for projects around the county.
Anderson said Wright may not fully understand how county government works.
Anderson first served on the commission from 1983-89, and was elected again in 2006. He previously worked for the Utah County Attorney's civil and criminal divisions and also had a private law practice.
dmeyers@sltrib.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Utah County borrows $40 million for a Convention Center in Provo
Very interested in your thoughts on Utah County borrowing approximately $40 million to build a convention center in Provo. The Convention Center should largely pay for itself through rental rates, and should be a great place for conventions in Utah County that are now being held else where, thus substantially boosting business in Utah County. However, if revenues are insufficient to cover debt service on the convention center, then the bond is guaranteed by the tax on restaurants and hotels in Utah County, which should be sufficient.
Nevertheless, several concerns:
1. Tax increase? Government spending is frequently just a delayed tax increase. Because Utah County could be using the restaurant and hotel taxes to cover the debt service on the convention center, they will have less revenue to cover all other expenses, and thus may feel a need to allow property taxes to increase again. (They allowed the property tax rate to go up 8.5% in 2009.) On the other hand, the convention center could increase the revenue from restaurant and hotel tax in Utah County substantially, meaning even more tax revenue for Utah County.
2. Elimination of Restaurant tax? The debt on the convention center is guaranteed mostly by the restaurant tax paid in Utah County, and many of the restaurants will benefit substantially from the additional business the convention center will bring. HOWEVER, the Utah Restaurant Association is currently lobbying hard to get a bill passed this year in Utah that would eliminate the restaurant tax, but allow counties to increase their general sales tax to make up for it. In other words, we'd shift the cost of the convention center largely from the restaurants to the general tax payer. Note the restaurants in Utah County support the Convention Center, but also support eliminating the taxes that would potentially pay for the Convention Center! In other words, they want to "keep their cake and eat it too".
Deseret News article on the Convention Center:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358118/Financing-in-place-for-Utah-County-convention-center.html
Financing in place for Utah County convention center
By Sara Lenz
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 8:48 p.m. MST
PROVO — Saying it couldn't have been better timed, Utah County Commissioners on Tuesday finalized plans to build a convention center in downtown Provo.
With the economy struggling and the federal government offering incentives to spend, Utah County locked down an interest rate of 3.89 percent on its $40.15 million worth of bonds issued for the convention center as of Monday. Without those conditions, the rate would have been closer to 6 percent or 7 percent, County Commissioner Larry Ellertson said.
"It's the culmination of a lot of work and effort and thoughts and ideas by a lot of people," Ellertson said. "This kind of puts the nail in the ground, so to speak."
There is speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise the borrowing rate later this month, so commissioners say they believe they finalized the project at the right time — even down to the date.
"The timing couldn't have been more perfect," Commissioner Gary Anderson said during a planning meeting Tuesday.
The county issued three types of bonds — tax-exempt bonds, Build America Bonds and recovery zone bonds — to various entities, including private health insurance and retirement fund companies, said Bryan Thomson, Utah County clerk/auditor. The bonds will be paid back over 30 years, with the total principal plus interest for Utah County at $69.75 million.
Thomson said the county was given a AA-minus rating in financial strength, which he said is basically saying to investors that the bond is a safe investment and has a low risk of failure.
While 90 percent of all municipalities' financial ratings went down with the economy, Utah County's did not. Thompson said he believes that's partly due to county commissioners' fiscal conservatism. Utah County has two-time coverage on all of its debt, he said.
Ellertson said the convention center will be paid for with Tourism, Recreation, Cultural and Convention Tax revenue, which has remained stable during the economic downturn. General sales tax revenue, on the other hand, has gone down in most cities.
Ellertson said the only drawback with the timing is that a proposal about the tourism tax is currently being debated by state legislators. The proposal is to eliminate the 1 percent TRCC tax and replace it with a .01 percent tax on all businesses across the board.
County commissioners met with architects Tuesday afternoon to go over design plans and discuss a timetable for construction of the convention center. Ellertson said construction should commence by the beginning of summer and take no longer than two years to finish.
The convention center is proposed to be built on 200 West, between Center and 100 North, near the Provo Marriott. It is planned to be three stories tall and 120,000 square feet, with a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall and an 18,000-square-foot ballroom.
County officials also have plans to expand the center to more than double its planned size if the need is there in the future.
END
Nevertheless, several concerns:
1. Tax increase? Government spending is frequently just a delayed tax increase. Because Utah County could be using the restaurant and hotel taxes to cover the debt service on the convention center, they will have less revenue to cover all other expenses, and thus may feel a need to allow property taxes to increase again. (They allowed the property tax rate to go up 8.5% in 2009.) On the other hand, the convention center could increase the revenue from restaurant and hotel tax in Utah County substantially, meaning even more tax revenue for Utah County.
2. Elimination of Restaurant tax? The debt on the convention center is guaranteed mostly by the restaurant tax paid in Utah County, and many of the restaurants will benefit substantially from the additional business the convention center will bring. HOWEVER, the Utah Restaurant Association is currently lobbying hard to get a bill passed this year in Utah that would eliminate the restaurant tax, but allow counties to increase their general sales tax to make up for it. In other words, we'd shift the cost of the convention center largely from the restaurants to the general tax payer. Note the restaurants in Utah County support the Convention Center, but also support eliminating the taxes that would potentially pay for the Convention Center! In other words, they want to "keep their cake and eat it too".
Deseret News article on the Convention Center:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358118/Financing-in-place-for-Utah-County-convention-center.html
Financing in place for Utah County convention center
By Sara Lenz
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 8:48 p.m. MST
PROVO — Saying it couldn't have been better timed, Utah County Commissioners on Tuesday finalized plans to build a convention center in downtown Provo.
With the economy struggling and the federal government offering incentives to spend, Utah County locked down an interest rate of 3.89 percent on its $40.15 million worth of bonds issued for the convention center as of Monday. Without those conditions, the rate would have been closer to 6 percent or 7 percent, County Commissioner Larry Ellertson said.
"It's the culmination of a lot of work and effort and thoughts and ideas by a lot of people," Ellertson said. "This kind of puts the nail in the ground, so to speak."
There is speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise the borrowing rate later this month, so commissioners say they believe they finalized the project at the right time — even down to the date.
"The timing couldn't have been more perfect," Commissioner Gary Anderson said during a planning meeting Tuesday.
The county issued three types of bonds — tax-exempt bonds, Build America Bonds and recovery zone bonds — to various entities, including private health insurance and retirement fund companies, said Bryan Thomson, Utah County clerk/auditor. The bonds will be paid back over 30 years, with the total principal plus interest for Utah County at $69.75 million.
Thomson said the county was given a AA-minus rating in financial strength, which he said is basically saying to investors that the bond is a safe investment and has a low risk of failure.
While 90 percent of all municipalities' financial ratings went down with the economy, Utah County's did not. Thompson said he believes that's partly due to county commissioners' fiscal conservatism. Utah County has two-time coverage on all of its debt, he said.
Ellertson said the convention center will be paid for with Tourism, Recreation, Cultural and Convention Tax revenue, which has remained stable during the economic downturn. General sales tax revenue, on the other hand, has gone down in most cities.
Ellertson said the only drawback with the timing is that a proposal about the tourism tax is currently being debated by state legislators. The proposal is to eliminate the 1 percent TRCC tax and replace it with a .01 percent tax on all businesses across the board.
County commissioners met with architects Tuesday afternoon to go over design plans and discuss a timetable for construction of the convention center. Ellertson said construction should commence by the beginning of summer and take no longer than two years to finish.
The convention center is proposed to be built on 200 West, between Center and 100 North, near the Provo Marriott. It is planned to be three stories tall and 120,000 square feet, with a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall and an 18,000-square-foot ballroom.
County officials also have plans to expand the center to more than double its planned size if the need is there in the future.
END
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Front page of the Daily Herald!
Joe Pyrah of the Daily Herald invited me in last Wednesday for an interview. I had wanted him to do an article on me last November when I announced I was running for Utah County Commissioner, but he told me I wasn't "news worthy" until I announced which seat I was running for (A or B).
So I called him up a week ago and told him I was going to announce who I was running for on Saturday, January 9, 2010 on Red Meat Radio. He kindly invited me in for an interview during the week, and took over 90 minutes with me to cover a wide variety of topics. He also promised to keep my announcement of who I was running against confidential until after I appeared on the radio show on Saturday morning.
Any rational candidate will always have multiple moments of terror during their campaign that no one will even care that you are running for office. Well, the Daily Herald kindly posted the article with my announcement for County Commissioner on the front page of the paper today. I'm excited because it helps me reach and connect to a much bigger audience than my immediate friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Anyway, the article is below. What do you think?
http://bit.ly/8YJGtP
Former Cedar Hills councilman running for county commission
Joe Pyrah - Daily Herald | Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:05 am
Don't be confused by the baby face. Joel Wright has been around.
Wright announced this week that he'll be challenging fellow Republican and incumbent Gary Anderson for his county commission seat.
His core push is for an expanded commission -- from three full-time commissioners to five part-time and one county mayor.
"I think Utah County has grown enough and matured enough ... that we need to have that discussion," he said.
While Anderson and fellow commissioner Steve White -- who is also up for re-election -- argue that expanding the commission would cost more money, Wright says it would cost about the same as long as they were paid the same as state lawmakers and didn't each have their own assistant.
Additional commissioners would help spread out the leadership role needed as the population continues to boom and issues such as transportation, trails and law enforcement are brought up, he contends.
The latter includes Ponzi schemes and prescription drug abuse specifically. Wright says the county needs to assume a stronger and more public leadership role in taking on such issues.
"I believe in limited government, but I believe in government that stands up and fights effectively for the county," he said.
Wright, though just 37, is a former Cedar Hills councilman as well as a former member of the state board of regents. His position as a regent generated some controversy early last year when he was linked to a UVU presidential candidate's decision to drop out of the race. Wright said he spoke with Ned Hill during the process about Hill's relationship with county legislators -- his wife was running as a Democrat -- and suggested he talk to a few of them to iron out differences. A smooth relationship with the Legislature is critical to getting funding at the university level, Wright said.
After Hill spoke with a few GOP lawmakers, he dropped out of the running for UVU president because he claimed it was too political. Wright, who said Hill was a "superb candidate," resigned his position shortly after because of the pressure being put on him over the incident, as well as his claim that as a regent "you are not supposed to think for yourself or vote as an independent person."
"I was too controversial," he said.
He currently works as a real estate attorney at the law firm Kirton & McConkie.
While Wright says he's running for the position more so than running against Anderson, he claims the incumbent isn't as responsive as he could be to the public.
"Is he managing or his he leading? Is he serving or is it a job?" he said. Service or a job, the position pays about $104,000 annually.
Because it's an intra-party challenge, Wright and Anderson will first meet at the party's convention in April. Should neither gather 60 percent of the party's delegates, they will face off in a primary in June. The winner would then move on to the November general election.
Joel Wright's issues:
• Better development of the Provo airport. While it belongs to the city, the airport has a growing regional significance that demands more attention from the county as a whole.
• Pay raise rollbacks. The county instituted significant pay raises in 2008 after a study revealed they were lagging behind other counties. Wright says that if the rest of the county is going to go through a recession, county government can cut back, as well. The existing commission has trimmed the budget over the past two years.
• A self-described Facebook and Twitter addict, Wright said the county could do more to reach out to the county's extremely young population through social media. The county has dipped its toes into the Twitterverse recently with a few government-managed accounts.
So I called him up a week ago and told him I was going to announce who I was running for on Saturday, January 9, 2010 on Red Meat Radio. He kindly invited me in for an interview during the week, and took over 90 minutes with me to cover a wide variety of topics. He also promised to keep my announcement of who I was running against confidential until after I appeared on the radio show on Saturday morning.
Any rational candidate will always have multiple moments of terror during their campaign that no one will even care that you are running for office. Well, the Daily Herald kindly posted the article with my announcement for County Commissioner on the front page of the paper today. I'm excited because it helps me reach and connect to a much bigger audience than my immediate friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Anyway, the article is below. What do you think?
http://bit.ly/8YJGtP
Former Cedar Hills councilman running for county commission
Joe Pyrah - Daily Herald | Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:05 am
Don't be confused by the baby face. Joel Wright has been around.
Wright announced this week that he'll be challenging fellow Republican and incumbent Gary Anderson for his county commission seat.
His core push is for an expanded commission -- from three full-time commissioners to five part-time and one county mayor.
"I think Utah County has grown enough and matured enough ... that we need to have that discussion," he said.
While Anderson and fellow commissioner Steve White -- who is also up for re-election -- argue that expanding the commission would cost more money, Wright says it would cost about the same as long as they were paid the same as state lawmakers and didn't each have their own assistant.
Additional commissioners would help spread out the leadership role needed as the population continues to boom and issues such as transportation, trails and law enforcement are brought up, he contends.
The latter includes Ponzi schemes and prescription drug abuse specifically. Wright says the county needs to assume a stronger and more public leadership role in taking on such issues.
"I believe in limited government, but I believe in government that stands up and fights effectively for the county," he said.
Wright, though just 37, is a former Cedar Hills councilman as well as a former member of the state board of regents. His position as a regent generated some controversy early last year when he was linked to a UVU presidential candidate's decision to drop out of the race. Wright said he spoke with Ned Hill during the process about Hill's relationship with county legislators -- his wife was running as a Democrat -- and suggested he talk to a few of them to iron out differences. A smooth relationship with the Legislature is critical to getting funding at the university level, Wright said.
After Hill spoke with a few GOP lawmakers, he dropped out of the running for UVU president because he claimed it was too political. Wright, who said Hill was a "superb candidate," resigned his position shortly after because of the pressure being put on him over the incident, as well as his claim that as a regent "you are not supposed to think for yourself or vote as an independent person."
"I was too controversial," he said.
He currently works as a real estate attorney at the law firm Kirton & McConkie.
While Wright says he's running for the position more so than running against Anderson, he claims the incumbent isn't as responsive as he could be to the public.
"Is he managing or his he leading? Is he serving or is it a job?" he said. Service or a job, the position pays about $104,000 annually.
Because it's an intra-party challenge, Wright and Anderson will first meet at the party's convention in April. Should neither gather 60 percent of the party's delegates, they will face off in a primary in June. The winner would then move on to the November general election.
Joel Wright's issues:
• Better development of the Provo airport. While it belongs to the city, the airport has a growing regional significance that demands more attention from the county as a whole.
• Pay raise rollbacks. The county instituted significant pay raises in 2008 after a study revealed they were lagging behind other counties. Wright says that if the rest of the county is going to go through a recession, county government can cut back, as well. The existing commission has trimmed the budget over the past two years.
• A self-described Facebook and Twitter addict, Wright said the county could do more to reach out to the county's extremely young population through social media. The county has dipped its toes into the Twitterverse recently with a few government-managed accounts.
Red Meat Radio
I really enjoyed appearing on Red Meat Radio (AM 630) yesterday. The show is hosted by State Senator Howard Stephenson and State Representative Greg Hughes, and takes two hours every Saturday to discuss politics in Utah.
Even though I had already announced I was running for County Commissioner, they kindly invited me on their show to announce I which County Commission seat I was running for, A or B. I announced I was running for Seat A, which is currently occupied by Gary Anderson.
They asked me some tough questions, but the show is really just a fun mix of information and banter. They asked me to come back again, and I told them they could count on it.
You can listen to my 20 minutes of fame on their program by listening to the last third of the first hour here:
http://bit.ly/6ZVDbv
Even though I had already announced I was running for County Commissioner, they kindly invited me on their show to announce I which County Commission seat I was running for, A or B. I announced I was running for Seat A, which is currently occupied by Gary Anderson.
They asked me some tough questions, but the show is really just a fun mix of information and banter. They asked me to come back again, and I told them they could count on it.
You can listen to my 20 minutes of fame on their program by listening to the last third of the first hour here:
http://bit.ly/6ZVDbv
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