Fotheringham said once the Provo Municipal Airport has a manned tower and when improvements to I-15 reduce travel time to and from Salt Lake City International Airport, more big businesses will look longer at Utah County.

Another factor keeping Utah County from winning some bids is a lack of incentive packages, such as tax breaks. "A lot of communities offer all sorts of things. We don't offer anything (as an incentive)," Fotheringham said.

Commissioner Steve White said he feels the organization as it exists has produced little. White said significant projects and success stories like Cabela's — the outdoor retail giant that is coming to Lehi — have more to do with individual efforts on the part of developers like those of Traverse Mountain than on the part of the economic development association.

"My prejudice is toward privatization," he said.

Herbert said it takes a team to bring in a company like Cabela's, and it's unrealistic to assume one person or one contact brings such a coup.

While UVEDA didn't initiate contact with Cabela's, the organization facilitated visits to the Kansas store and helped with a lot of behind-the-scenes details, Fotheringham said.

Fotheringham said two things are needed to push Utah County forward where economic development is concerned: a valleywide involvement of leaders from all sectors and more resources.

"Frankly, we have a budget that is very anemic, compared to other counties like Weber and Davis who have smaller populations but bigger or similar budgets," Fotheringham said.

The department budget for the economic development bureau is $275,000 a year. Fotheringham said some of that is money raised by his organization.

Provo city dedicated $590,000 to economic development last year.

Commissioner Jerry Grover said the change ought to be made at the first of the year so it coincides with the start of the county's budget year for 2005.

Since Utah County anticipates only a slight increase in revenue this next year, White said it doesn't make sense to spend more money on increased staffing for UVEDA — which was previously combined with the Utah County Visitors and Convention Bureau and shared some staff.

White said the company selected will report to the county but will not receive funds from taxpayer coffers. He said if an outside company can run the bureau by doing what it's already doing for others, it can probably be done cheaper and more effectively.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com