Daniel Olsen August 29, 2013 Email

From: Olsen, Daniel
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 1:15 PM
To: mbeyer@standard.net
Cc: Hatch,Ricky; Gibson,Kerry; Bell, Matt; Zogmaister, Jan M.
Subject: Inaccuracies in your article on Summit Mtn and Weber County

Mikayla,

Your story in today’s paper on Summit Mountain and Weber County’s special assessment arrangement has several inaccuracies that lead the reader to believe the County is paying a portion of the bonds on behalf of Summit.

Specifically, your article quotes me as saying, “We borrowed enough money so that Weber County can make the bond payments for the first two years” (emphasis added). I would never say such a thing because it’s not true.

Again you write, “In other words, the county, not Summit, will be making payments of just over $1.5 million for the next few years.” This sentence is completely false. Weber County is NOT paying any portion of the bond, nor would we have ever agreed to do so. You seem to have misunderstood how “capitalized interest” and “special assessments” work, so let me try again.

The first two years of bond payments come from cash that was included in the bond amount. So, of the $17.6 million bond, we put approximately $3 million into an account where it will be drawn down as bond payments come due during the first two years. Summit is then responsible for approximately $1.5 million in bond payments for the next 18 years. If we had not utilized “capitalized interest,” the bond would have been smaller, approximately $14.5 million, and Summit’s annual debt payment would have been about $1.2 million over 20 years. Either way, Summit pays the whole thing, and the County doesn’t pay a dime on the bonds.

Also, further in the article you state “the special assessment district will levy taxes within a 1,570 acre development” (emphasis added). Special assessments are NOT “taxes,” they are “assessments,” as defined in Utah Code Title 11 Chapter 42, and they are commonly used by other local governments in Utah. Under state law, the property owners, not the local governments, are responsible for repaying any debt incurred on behalf of those property owners.

What’s most disappointing to me is that the tone of your article implies the County has been lying to the public all along about this project. The County has been above-board about everything related to this project from the beginning. Your implications that anyone at Weber County would purposely try to deceive the public is deeply offensive.

I hope you will continue to report about issues facing Weber County, and I’m happy to answer your questions. But I also hope that in the future you will spend more time understanding the issues before you publish your articles.

Sincerely,

Dan


Dan Olsen


Comptroller | Weber County
2380 Washington Blvd Ste. 320 | Ogden UT 84401

801-399-8487 | dolsen@co.weber.ut.us | www.co.weber.ut.us