Tempers fared over real-time access to budget information during a regular meeting of the Cache County Council on Tuesday.
CACHE COUNTY – Tempers flared once again in the regular meeting of the Cache County Council on Tuesday, June 28.
“You need to stop trying to control us,” council member Gina H. Worthen said to County Executive David Zook.
“I’m sorry,” she added. “But I’m getting really upset with this BS that we always get from you.”
Worthen then stalked out of the meeting, slamming the door behind her.
The argument between Council Vice Chair Paul R. Borup and Zook began as the council was considering Resolution 22-17 to amend the 2022 Cache County Budget.
While County Clerk Jess Bradfield was busy tabulating results of the GOP primary election at a counting center set up at the Logan-Cache Airport, the council members had questions about the budget for that facility.
Borup used that as an excuse to demand real-time access to budget figures via a computer program called Caselle.
“This is a perfect example of why I’ve been asking for us to get access to the Caselle system,” Borup said.
“We could be sitting here tonight and pull the information that we need right now,” he added. “We could know today (exact what the clerk has in his budget).”
Based in Provo, Caselle is an accounting software that offers government clients general ledger, utility management, payroll, property tax collection and community development support.
Members of the Cache County executive branch have access to Caselle; members of the county council do not.
Borup cited state law, which says that the governing body should have access to “any reports,” to justify his request.
“Any is not a limiting word,” he argued. “It’s all encompassing … I just wanted to share that, in a public setting, for folks who are trying to slow-walk my request (for Caselle access) and make it hard for this council to see budget information.”
Borup said that his previous requests for information to various executive departments have been routinely intercepted by Zook’s deputy, Dirk Anderson, and delayed up to five days.
Zook said that he would be willing to make Caselle access available to the council members provided that they agreed not to use any information they found to launch abusive political attacks on this staff.
“When has that ever happened?” Borup responded.
Borup and Zoom have crossed swords before.
In April, following a heated discussion in which Zook called a motion made by Borup a personal attack, an altercation took place in the county executive’s office that was briefly investigated by the Brigham City Police Department.
Previously, Borup supported a motion to deny pay raises to Zook, Bradfield and other elected officials.
On the hot seat for an opinion, County Attorney John Luthy suggested that, while the council is certainly entitled to any budget information it may require, at first glance he could find nothing in state code that guaranteed them real-time access to that information.
Council chair Barbara Tidwell waded into the argument late in the meeting.
“I don’t think that I need to agree to anything to get anything that I have a right to anyway,” she said simply. “I’m sorry, but I don’t like the word abuse.”
Borup and Zook continued to trade accusations about who did what in their previous feuds until council member Gordon A. Zilles, in the unaccustomed role of peacemaker, pleaded for cooler heads to prevail.
“We need to move on,” Zilles said, “so we don’t have to continue to look at each other with a real heavy feeling … ”
To put the issue in perspective, he noted that everybody involved in this issue is an elected official.
“Nobody can fire us but the people in an election,” Zilles said.
Zook finally relented, agreeing to give the council members access to the Caselle system, without any promise to avoid abuse.
“I’m looking at the financial information to see if the public’s money is being spent abusively,” Borup pledged. “And I will sure call that out if I find it.”