In September, during a special Legislative session, Salt Lake County was given authority to impose the tax. But lawmakers put restrictions on how the county could spend the tax money. A bill passed during the session required lawmakers to approve a process that county leaders used to pick projects to be funded by the tax hike.

"It, in my mind, was a big win," councilwoman Jenny Wilson said of obtaining funding for transit. "What guided me and the rest of the people in this process was the will of the public. And they wanted transit."

But Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said Thursday that county officials misinterpreted the legislation that authorized them to implement the tax hike and instead manipulated the process to fund their transportation priorities. The legislation was clear that roads should be funded in addition to transit, Killpack said.

"There's been a lot of hot air and little substance, because if you go back and look at the history of this and read the legislation, it's clear what the intent was," Killpack said. "I guess I'm disappointed, but not surprised in the least that they are couching this so incorrectly."

But councilman Joe Hatch said that Salt Lake County residents voted this November in favor of the tax increase with the assumption it would go to transit. County leaders delivered what residents wanted, he said. And they did it within the bounds of the legislation.

"At some point, we've got to say, 'It's what the public wants.' It's not what some individual legislator wants, who isn't even a part of Salt Lake County," Hatch said, referring to several legislators involved in the tax issue, including Killpack.

But Hatch on Thursday praised House Speaker Curtis for his role in allowing Salt Lake County to impose the tax. His praise came after Hatch and Curtis traded political jabs throughout the funding process.

"But for him, none of this would have occurred," Hatch said. "We got there on the process that he authored and he promoted. From my perspective, that's kudos to everyone."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com; ldethman@desnews.com