Funds for Torino trip were public money, GOP says

County Republicans have more questions about how Salt Lake City administrators paid for a trip to Torino, Italy, that carried Mayor Rocky Anderson's good-will message to its Winter Olympics sister city.

GOP leaders say funds donated for the trip are public dollars under state law and that some of the expenditure documents are contrary to some of the city's initial claims about the trip. Meanwhile, the City Council is considering how it might better regulate the mayor's access to donated money. One option being considered is re-establishing the Salt Lake City Board of Trustees, a citizen watchdog committee that used to oversee donated accounts. City Council members suggested Thursday that the council just needs to do a better job of overseeing spending in the mayor's office.

"It just seems to kind of get darker as we go on," councilwoman Nancy Saxton said.

County Republicans — out for blood since what they regard as the vindictive prosecution of former Republican County Mayor Nancy Workman a year ago — have been examining city records related to the Torino trip. Republicans, led by county chairman James Evans, want District Attorney David Yocom, a Democrat, to investigate Anderson, also a Democrat, for potentially misusing public monies for the Torino trip.

Olympic tradition calls for the previous host city to deliver a message on peace, youth and the environment to the next host of the Winter Games. The message is to be delivered by environmentally friendly transportation that doesn't burn greenhouse gases. Anderson's message was taken by bicycle from Salt Lake City to New York, by sailboat from New York to Belgium, then by bicycle across Europe to Torino. The mayor and his girlfriend joined the group in France on July 19 and biked through the French Alps and northern Italy for 12 days en route to Torino.

During the Torino trip, non-city employees, including Anderson's girlfriend, Deputy Mayor Rocky Fluhart's wife, a Park City couple Anderson calls friends and others, had room and meal expenses paid by private donations the mayor raised to pay for the trip.

Republicans insist those donations are public monies under state law. They have scheduled a 10:30 a.m. press conference today prior to sending a letter to Yocom asking for an investigation.

The Torino trip's total budget was $171,000 — $35,000 in tax dollars and $136,000 in private donations.

The administration has said it used the $35,000 in tax dollars up front because it didn't have donations in place when it was ready to start spending money for the Torino trip, which begin April 4.