COG gives members a place to cogitate

"It really grates my carrots to be sued by the state of Utah," Vineyard Mayor Rulon Gammon, talking at COG with other mayors over the Utah Lake boundary issues.

PROVO — The Utah County Council of Governments organization, or "COG" as it is popularly known, has a lot in common with "group therapy" sessions, say some of the elected officials who attend the monthly meeting.

The meetings bring together the 23 Utah County mayors and three county commissioners where they can share common problems, discuss solutions and "brainstorm."

The meetings provide a forum in which every topic is fair game, from rising utility costs to having to move Ten Commandments monuments.

The mayors and commissioners are free to vent frustrations, seek counsel from their elective peers and listen to how others have handled similar problems in their cities.

For new mayors, it is often a mentoring session where they can draw on the experiences and wisdom of more seasoned city fathers. It is a place where friendships are solidified and officials can joke with each other about the rough patches that come with holding political office.

"When I get in trouble in the newspapers, it's quite comforting to go to COG and get a slap on the back from people who've been there," said Springville Mayor Fritz Boyer, who is the current COG chairman.

Boyer is also in the midst of drafting an updated version of the organization's Articles of Association that will ensure the group's ongoing existence. The reworking of the incorporation articles was prompted by County Commissioner Steve White's observation that the current COG is quite different from the group that was originally chartered in 1967.

While the COG has no actual decision-making authority and no taxing ability, it does have broad influence, White said. The county concern is focused on the expense of providing space for the meetings and secretarial support. White said the county needs to define and defend the COG's existence.

White said COG members need to decide whether they want to formally become a Mountainland Association of Governments subcommittee or rewrite the articles of association, which called for periodic regional meetings and listed school board officials and representatives from a number of other entities as members.

Boyer said he will hand out copies of the draft document this week.

Meanwhile, legitimate or not, the majority of mayors say it's important to keep COG alive.