Rochelle says:

More special education waste ...

A diagnosed disability doesn't mean an educational classification reflecting the disgnosed disability. School districts waste who knows how much money giving evaluations that, in some cases, end up negating the medical diagnosis ... denying students the services that student is entitled to and that the state provides money for.

Health care plans aren't followed. In our case, the district refused to believe there was a cardiac arrhythmia they had reccived documentation regarding and refused to call for paramedics. It took the resource officer to call.

When a parent lets the school know of something that isn't working, which Beth Usui's own Do's and Don'ts for IEP meetings asks parents to do, the parent is kicked off school grounds and is unable to monitor adherence to IEPs. The school calls police citing the criminal trespass on school grounds, knowing being at school monitoring compliance is being there on valid business and therfore the trespass law doesn't apply.

Schools give substandard curriculum paid for out of education funds and grant graduation credits for 0, 6 and 10% progress toward annual goals. Goals completed 100% at home are marked 40% and insufficient progress for graduation credits.

Needed technology and services are denied based on personal feelings by administrators ... they don't even follow their own lawyers' recommendations.

Allen says:

Taxpayer health support should only be for those who are in this country legal. Employers who are found employing people who are not here legal should be charged criminally and given fines and jail. If we don't allow people to work who are not here leagl then they will not stay here. Proof of citizenship or a valid green card should be required to obtain any governmental assistance.

Allen says:

Our Legislators should not get health and retirement benefits for life. They are a part-time employee (temporary). I say we can contribute to their own 401K while in office and provide health care just like national guard, while on active duty only.

Mark says:

Why should our legislators get life time health insurance benefits after serving two terms? In 2005 the legeslature gutted the after retirement health insurance benefits that state employees recieved as compensation for unused sick leave. These benefits were cut because the cost of maintaining the level of health care insurance was too high for the state to fund. However, the same legeslators continue to protect their own life time health insurance coverage at tax payers expence. Hypocracy abounds!

Amy says:

Why do the people who decide to have more children than they can afford get a tax break while people like myself who have chosen to never have children still have to pay taxes for everyone elses children while they get tax breaks and I don't??? I think if you hit the age of 35 or 40 and you still don't have children that you should receive a tax break for not contributing to the population. For those people who want to have these large families, they should pay extra for their kids to go to school and to be a part of the population. I am tired of having to pay for other peoples children!!

Amy says:

I have worked in the Medical Field for quite sometime and through the years I have seen time and time again people on Welfare/Medicaid that are abusing system and truly do not need the assistance. I have acquaintances that are abusing the system. Every where I turn I see people working this system so when are we finally going to put our foot down and say NO! be responsible for your own life... go get a job! I have actually been told multiple times by acquaintances that they make too much money being on welfare so why would they go work? I agree with others on this site that state illegal aliens are getting assistance, that is also just wrong! On the flip side I know of a single mother who just needed Medicaid temporarily for her children and no other financial assitance and she was denied because she made too much at her job. There is just simply something SO wrong with this entire portion of government. I truly believe it needs to be fully revamped!

Rochelle says:

Education in Utah is broken. AG Shurtleff said it best when he called education a rogue agency who acts without regard to the law or consequences.
Administration in the Jodan School District is wasteful and abusive to parents who exercise their rights. They maintain at least two high priced law firms and involve them (wasting money that should be going into classrooms instead of compromising in the student's best interest as mandated by the USA Supreme Court. They falsify and purge record (Yes, I have official documentation proving that). They make false claims to CPS in order to create animosity they can then use to discredit parents who have been wrongly vilified and who are never infornmed their names are now on the secret list of people who have been reported regardless of innocence. They file false criminalcharges and get away with it because they are believed withourt question. They went so far as to intentionally trifgger an autistic panic so they could send a child who didn't belong in the juvenile court system there after the child was arrested. Juvenile court was less than thrilled and threw the charges back! as no evidence of a creime, but the district created documentation that says they dropped the charges.
Why waste money avoiding their obligations and trying to create precedent that relieves them of those obligations?
I would love to sit down and show you this documentation or at least find out how much money districts spend on legal fees.
Not even the USOE will help. The compliance officer is regularly out of compliance herself with no way to hold the office accountable because they have governmental immunity.
The legislature gave education the tools by which they've become that rogue agency.
They misuse the money and then cry poverty.

Kent D says:

We as a state need to quit allowing the illegal aliens to stay here and get on public assistance our crime rate is through the roof and it is approximately 97% hispanic the majority of which are illegal if we close our borders we save money on public assistance and law enforcement and housing these people in our jails and our prisons I am sick and tired of my tax dollars going to support them and every day I see something in the news about the government welcoming them here why it needs to stop immediately....

dmitch says:

I agree with Jon N, I drive commercialy and most buses and trains I see are empty. The UTA is a money pit. Same goes for UDOT, much scrutiny needs to be applied.

Bryan T says:

Uh guys...? So who was responsible for the Legislators' furniture? I can appreciate what you're trying to do here but tell me this isn't a bit hypocritical. Isn't this the exact sort of thing you're trying to find? Both of you guys were in the Legislature in 2007 right?

From today's SLTrib:
Per item furniture costs for legislative offices:
Desk » $1,931.80
Credenza with lateral file box » $2,523.67
Barrister bookcase » $2,744.00
Roll-top computer desk » $2,389.00
Wardrobe » $1,339.00
Round meeting table » $1,474.00
4 side chairs » $1,756.00
Office chair » $600.00
Secretary hutch (for senators) » $2,473
Television (for House members) » $442
Total
House office » $15,199.47
Senate office » $17,230.47
Source: Capitol Preservation Board

Chris says:

There were reports in the news recently about the legislative per diem, where even some who live within driving distance were still taking the hotel per diem.
Has anything been done about this? I recall that several top Salt Lake County officials lost jobs and the Auditor was convicted of theft for either unauthorized gas purchases or use of county property for personal reasons. I don't see how being reimbursed for something you never used is any different. Any legislator who takes the hotel reimbursement and didn't actually stay in one is unethical, in my opinion. This is just another example that gives the public the perception that our legislators can't be trusted.

Tmoney says:

I get PAID $9/hour to be someone's friend. The state (DSPD) reimburses the nonprofit I work for when I take a guy with retardation to buy his food and do his laundry. But they also pay me to take him to the movies, etc. I also get paid to do virtually nothing with another couple, and a woman who works at Carls Jr. but never needs a "job coach" like me.

Amy says:

Utah Birth defects network... They do NOT need a receptionist. The receptionist sits and does the job of the coordinator, while the coordinator sits and surfs the internet all day.

Dale M says:

Once again the State of Utah builds a new project and on the Security Access Control equipment they only allow one company in the state to give them a price Utah /Yamas Controls who is the only company in the state that carries the TAC product line. So they will again carge the state 3 x the price because of no competition. The project is Webber School District South Ogden Jr. High New School. The state of Utah over the past decade has spent 10's of millions of dollars to this company.Maybe you should check the state employees who go to Hawaii free each year on vacation and stay at the owners Condo for free.

Katherine says:

My husband works in construction building the schools. There is an incredible amount of waste when purchasing items for the schools. Custom built light fixtures for $800.00 when the same lights could be bought for under $100.00. There are many instances like this. Flat screen high definition televisions in every classroom, custom designs built into the brickwork, or floors.

RA says:

The following statement was made back in January 2006. Does anyone know if we are still feeding inmates above the USDA recommended daily calories of 2,000? The reference is from Warden Clint Friel of the Utah State Prison
Most of Utah’s sedentary prisoners, on the other hand, love their 3,000 calories of daily food so much that one warden fears prison riots if the portions are reduced and healthier food in introduced. “You get one riot, you’re into millions and millions of dollars,” says Warden Clint Friel.But inmates in Utah prisons gain considerable weight during their first year, 34 pounds on average for men, 17 for women.

Laura says:

i know families that receive food stamps that are more than what an average family would pay. For example, my family consists of two adults and two young children. We spend $150 a month on groceries and are comfortable. A single woman with children the same ages as mine receives $400 in food stamps!
A co worker of mine who has 4 teenagers in her home plus her husband spends $400 a month. A family I know with 4 latency age children and a couple receive $700 a month in food stamps.
Is something not wrong with this? Maybe when someone gets food stamps they need to be educated on how to use coupons and other smart ways of shopping. Let's educate and then hopefully the amount of food stamps being given can be decreased!

Randy says:

Rep. Dougall: Donate that new tv to my 2 daughters school. Wasatch Elementary in SLC.

Steve R. says:

Many fiscally responsible public corporations (not banks) are freezing cost-of-living pay raises for ALL employees (from the corner office down) to avoid the reduction of human resources to preserve operating income. Should not ALL Utah budgetary beneficiaries receive the same treatment as employees of these profitable corporations? Freeze ALL COL salary adjustments (at least for the legislature and their interns).

jed says:

All the new police cars that I see have the very expensive LED light bars (between 1500 to 3000 dollars each) and the strobe lights inserted into the headlight and tail lights (between 800 and 1200 dollars each). What was wrong with the old rotating lights which are just as visible and cost a lot less, half in most cases.

Jon N says:

I would say the buses (that the state of Utah helps to fund) driving around with no one on them a collosal waste (not only money wise but pollution wise too). There are a few things that can be done to help with the problem.
First we could cut back on the services for the buses that don't normally carry anybody around to once every hour, or even less if possible. Second, we could start purchasing smaller buses. Third, (now this is for the long term view) we could implement a "smart" system where the route varies depending whoever signs up to ride. You could automate this by having people sign up online and, of course, you would have to have a call in service for those w/o internet. This would take a year or two to develop but it would definitely be worth while, I imagine there would be less pollution and less financial waste once it is all said and done.
I write this because I had to take the bus the other day to go pick up my car at the mechanic and the bus driver said that noone ever rode on this route during the time of day I took it, what a waste!

JR says:

Capitol reflecting pool.How much does it cost to heat and soften the water all winter? Silly!!

Brian N. says:

Hey guys I have a real big tip on waste. Sanpete County and Ephraim City has been working on putting in a $23 million airport. This is airport only has 5 small private airplanes on it and only a handfull fly in and out of this airport. They have no way to sell them selfs on this idea its just a bunch of pork barrel spending they are wanting. UDOT has spent over $5 million on widening highway 89 between Manti and Ephraim for this airport project.

Ron C. says:

Quit wasting money on the Holiday Free Parking campaign. Those big bows are pretty but very expensive and the cost to install them isn't cheap either. Just announce that there will be free parking during December and if people aren't listening and put money in the meter . . . so be it. Their stupidity can be money in the tax payer's pocket!

Doug says:

A few years ago, I heard than there were 50 IT Data Centers in state agencies. Since then, I believe there may have been efforts to consolidate State services, but don't know if they included consolidating Data Centers. If so, there would clearly be cost savings on storage racks, server disk space, and administrative costs, etc.

Kevin says:

Remove 9/10 off the price of gas. I can't pay for 9/10 a cent so you shouldn't charge me for it.

Terry & Linda L say:

We consider it a shame that many people are unemployed and yet many retired government employees hold down government jobs. Government employees (once referred to as civil servants), now receive better pay with better benefits than the private sector and we now wonder who the servants really are. Anyway, we believe it time for Utah to pass a law forbidding any government agency from state to local governments to hire a retired government employee unless the employee is willing to give up the corresponding retirement pay. The U.S. government does that and it is now time to give more people an opportunity for a state or local government job. This should also apply to teachers, since there are approximately 7500 teachers with expired teacher certificates and many of those would like a teaching job and opportunity to get re-cert! ified. We are tired of the old excuse that they are saving the government money because they don’t have to be trained but we suspect that it is really nepotism or cronyism at work; or could it be that these people are going to live forever.

srb says:

The practice of man per car for public safety needs to be looked at for city,county and state agencies. You have to have 3 vehicles for a 24 hour shift along with the related expenses that generates. Also the officers are being susidized by providing them a vehicle for personal use at a miniscule monthly fee that includes fuel and the cost of insurance. The rationale that having the officers drive the vehicles home creates a deterant to crime in neighborhoods is not well founded and does this ofset the cost of the extra vehicles.

DB says:

There is to much time and money being waisted on "General Studies" at the colleges and Universities. The majority of students who get a degree don't retain a thing from their "General Studies" courses. Why? Because they don't apply to the students everyday life and so they don't get used or applied. These students just learn how to regergitate what the Professor wants for the test and then they forget it. These courses are a waist of the students and teachers time and Tax dollars. Let the students get on with the focus of their education.

David says:

Great website Rep. Dougall and Sen. Urquhart. I think that a significant amount of money is wasted every year to support the State's R.S. 2477 litigation. I think the budget for R.S. 2477 litigation is around $2 million every year. R.S. 2477 litigation involves attempts by the State of Utah and rural counties to assert ownership over faint two-track roads traversing public lands. They worry that eventually the federal government could prevent them from using these roads. The only way to definitively get title to these claimed routes is through the courts. While it is understandable that rural counties may be interested in these routes, this is a wasteful expenditure that should be cut in these difficult times. Utah has been spending this R.S. 2477 money every year for more than a decade and yet we still do not have one single R.S. 2477 claim validated. Furthermore, the routes the State and the counties are contesting are usually Class D roads (unmaintained dirt roads). They generally do not access anything other than a dead end or a vista; these are not the dirt roads that connect rural towns or that access coal mines or gas wells. The fight revolves around these roads because the federal government never threatens the State's use of the maintained, obvious roads that really matter. In the end, we flush millions down the drain every year to try and take title of faint tracks in the desert and mountains that are not necessary for our transportation infrastructure in the first place. This money would be put to better use funding education, repairing our vital highways, or helping with human services. Let's cut the R.S. 2477 budget.

Bob says:

The Salt Lake City School district is truly heavy on top, not just in staff, but also in the use of funds. Tens of thousands of dollars are spent on food each year for those that work in the District Office. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent each year for travel/lodging/food for "training" meetings to other states such as Hawaii, as well as foreign countries like China. Give the students a good education, and don't pamper the staff.

House of Representatives - New TVs

Here is a great example of waste we found on the very first day of the session. In a downturn budget year, somehow all of the members of the House found themselves with new 21" 720p HD TVs in their offices. You can see the TV I brought in from home off to the side, so I clearly don't need a new TV. I can't buy the new one myself, and I can't sell it and no one will take it back when I try and return it, and none will tell me who bought it! So I'm stuck with a travesty of an unconscionable waste of money in my office that I didn't authorize. -Rep. John Dougall

Danny says:

Why not have a section devoted to the waste in our legislature. Seems to me we've got people wasting a lot of valuable time on the hill passing bills preventing the distribution of birth control to wild animals and securing water rights for their own business (atomic power). I'd like to see some of the real issues in Utah taken up by the legislature instead of these borderline wacko and borderlline illegal (water for atomic power plants)non-issues. I think most of state government runs pretty well but there are some abuses. A site like this is a good one but we need to keep better tabs on the legislature itself.

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Jason says:

I have kids in elementary school and education is a top priority in my book. I have heard numerous remarks from teachers about the top heavy structure of public education. There are way too many administration and school board employees, and many of them are paid double what a great teacher is paid. The workload of a teacher is almost limitless and it is linked to their effectiveness. The workload of administrators is light and only loosely correlated.

Matt S. says:

The State of Utah get's ripped off when it comes to hiring companies to construct highways. How often do you see 10 guys standing around highway construction with a mouth-full of chaw, staring at one guy doing some work? Unbelievable! There needs to be an independent auditing firm awarded a contract to watch these people and make sure we aren't wasting millions of taxpayers dollars on all of these unecessary workers who are probably just family members of the contractor that was awarded the job!!!

J J says:

The office staff at Granite School District Transportaion. Has free catered steak luncheons. While making the rest of the employees pay for special events. tell me their not something wrong with this picture.

Brent C says:

I think this is a great idea if used correctly. This could create some accountability that would otherwise go unseen.
I would like to start with a question as to why Legislature is not listed as one of the Governmental agencies? There is waste their as well. For example, reimbursing for lodging, meals and travel even when Legislatures choose to return home. Also, was Legislatures included in the 7.5% cuts for the 2009 budget? Will they be take cuts in 2010 budget? All other State Agencies were and are taking these cuts.
So please let this be for ALL areas funded by Tax Payers.

B P says:

I am well aware of the vast population of Salt Lake County and the large amount of responsibility on its employees. However, when a person accepts an employment position with the state or county, it should be understood that they are accepting a position of civil service. My frustration falls on civil servants being paid more than business executives in private industry. Should a County Surveyor be making nearly 200K? Should a Sheriff earn a higher salary than a Doctor? Do many of these positions require a college degree or just a healthy campain contribution? Could these same jobs be just as effecient at 75K? Why should a civil servant being paid with tax payer dollars earn four times the amount of the average tax payer? Could someone set me straight?

JT says:

University presidents do not need to live in state owned residences. All of them make huge salaries, yet all their expenses i.e. food, utilities, vehicle, etc. are paid for by the taxpayer. These positions (along with their associated VP's) have turned into nothing more than corporate executives living fat off the taxpayer. Don't give me the BS that we need to pay them that much to get good ones becacuse that is simply not true.

Terra S says:

E-Rep (their new computer system)does not work, and never will work the way it was intended. Their response to every over-payment, ineligible case, error they get is "We expect E-rep will solve that problem." You need to talk to the people who know the facts, not to the people who are paid to sell DWS and their 'cutting edge' ideas.

Monica says:

I couldn't agree more with Kassi. My son attends a special autism preschool program for which we are extremely grateful, but it made me furious when I showed up on the first day only to find out that there were 2 new ILLEGAL students in the class whose mother had to have 2 paid employees there to interpret for her and they bent over backwards to accomodate her. She was mad that she was going to have to wait a week to get bus service and threw a fit so this ILLEGAL family got their kid signed up the first day of school to receive special instruction not only for autism but also in SPANISH AND THEY GOT BUS SERVICE THE NEXT DAY!!!!! When we signed up our child, we had to wait 2 weeks for bus service. WHY DO WE BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO ACCOMODATE THESE ILLEGALS!!!! It's infuriating and a HUGE expense.

Preston B says:

I as many others that I have talked to, believe something needs to be done about the Hunter application process. It used to stand before the computer age that hunting applications were completed by hand then sent off to Fallon Nevada for processing. Today 90% of applications are filled out the hunter on the computer with no need to process a application, yet the application fee still apllies with some proceeds going to Fallon NV, and more proceeds going to DWR even when they dont do anything to recieve it. Seems to me that with todays online system capabilities the DWR would save millions by creating their own online draw system and pockting the the money sent to NV that has no benift what so ever to the State of Utah. The old process of sending things to NV may have once suited a purpose, yet with todays Computer Technology this seems to me to need looked at and upgraded so all the money stays in the People of Utah's hands. Maybe someone with knowledge and clout can look into this, seems to me that this could bring millions to the state of Utah over the years to come!

Albert W says:

I have always felt the State Automobile Fleet is abused. I have witnessed employees driving state vehicles as personal cars and driving them home as a personal car.I have worked for Purina for 33 years and we do not have company cars, but are paid only for business mileage. I think someone needs to investigate the wasteful spending in the State Of Utah Auto Fleet.

Kassi says:

I absolutely think that the extra funding used to teach migrant children that are here illegaly in spanish only classrooms takes hard earned money from the mouths of children who speak our national language. STOP SPENDING OUR TAX DOLLARS EDUCATING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND PUT THE MONEY BACK INTO THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN WHOS PARENTS PAY FOR IT WITH THEIR TAX DOLLARS

Brad says:

The vast majority of the new road projects are a huge waste of taxpayer funds. I-15 expansion in Utah County, Vinyard Connector, Pioneer Crossing, Mountainview Corridor, and many others are all examples of little foresight and a lot of rutted thinking. These roads will lead to continues sprawl, increased travel times, increased congestion over time, increased air pollution, and less friendly communities. They provide no options for seniors or other disadvantaged people. When will we begin providing transportation options instead of the same old solution that has been proven over and over not to work? Where is the equal investment in transit and other transportation infrastructure?

Lloyd M says:

How much would it cost to run a data base that tracks a person having an alcoholic beverage? This is a stupid idea even if we had the money. Without the money it is even worse.

Martha G says:

Salt Lake Community parking services is over staffed and the staff is seldom seen actually writing tickets. If they actually worked some revenue would be generated.

tk says:

check Genesis Youth Center have had portable showers for 6 months @ $3000 a month and havent used them for 3 months

Dsfast says:

Allowing private insurance companies to exclude coverage that Medicare and Medicaid cover shifts financial burden to the state.Diseases that have treatments with private insurance companies are excluding(because the law allows them) that eventually drive the health conditions of individual to disability. The bottom line for private insurance should not burden Medicare and Medicaid(tax payer).