The program returned more to the community — by twofold — than it cost, the audit found. The total amount spent on the program was $790,616, of which $682,829 went to grant disbursements. However, business spending — on supplies and other business-related materials — exceeded the total program costs by more than $800,000, the report found.

"The program pays back to the community more than it costs," Fielding said. "That's why this thing should go forward. It's the reason you plant a garden — you plant a seed and expect something to grow. That to me is a good idea, from a pure numbers standpoint, let alone from the sociological: It lifts those who might not otherwise be able to grow."

Previously, the program's funding had come from a state Temporary Assistance to Needy Families grant. Going forward, the audit recommends it seek appropriations under the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

The report noted that its analysis was limited by a lack of documentation — about two-thirds of the income data in the report was self-reported, for example — and recommended firmer record-keeping requirements if the program is funded going forward.

Further, the audit was unable to substantiate some people's assertions that the program resulted in less use of public assistance by program participants, at least in the short term. However, the report stated, only three program participants were still receiving public assistance as of May 2006.

If the Legislature opts to fund the program, the audit's recommendations included improving performance measures, including measuring the amount of money being spent, jobs created, and wages paid; enhancing tracking and accountability, via documentation requirements, of program participants; and making sure that the program continues to be overseen by a board that is representative of the counties being served by the program.

"When the state's Industrial Assistance Fund awards to big business so many millions of dollars for (hiring) so many employees, that is called an incentive," Fielding said. "When we give money to low-income people, it's called welfare. I'd submit that it's not. (The program) is an incentive for rural low-income people to start their business, to start their dream and be productive. In my mind, that's the same thing as offering money for big businesses to move to Utah to open their factory. They're both forms of economic development."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com