Importance of Oath of Office - Duty to Serve & Protect City vs Duty to Conceal Conduct of Past or Present Elected Officials- Transparency Needed

WE as a community appear to have a latent tendency to see things through Rose Colored Glasses or have a chronic infection of NOT wanting to know that Church Members may have strayed from the straight and narrow path. This is understandable since we know that ALL elected officials appear to set their moral compass by being active in the church of their choice.  Because of this essential fact we are very sensitive and reluctant to have a public discussion on matters of alleged misconduct…..AND UNDERSTANDABLY SO……NOT wanting to believe that our friends and neighbors may be subject to human weaknesses when holding public office.  HOWEVER in government, intended or unintended acts are of vital importance to a free society.  It’s how we hold government officials accountable to the public.    

Because Code Enforcement issues remain unanswered or measures for improvement are left wanting and not forthcoming….. It remains necessary for the public to demand an accounting. How much $$$  has already been spend on lawyers…..Seeking to delay and in keeping Code Enforcement Issues out of a Public Court Room, thus keeping the light of day from reaching the public. In the absence of transparency emanating from City Hall one has to ask…..WHO stands to gain from this obvious effort to deceive the public…..Who is really being protected in the shadows of darkness….. or is it MERELY a misrepresentation of facts as some would have you to believe. YOU DECIDE!

In the interest of TRANSPARENCY the completion of page xii of the Memorandum In Opposition to Motion to Dismiss filed In The United States District Court District of Utah; Central Division dated the 11^th day of June 2014 is listed under item 21 and 22 of Statement of Alleged & Inferred Facts2. Filed by Aaron J. Prisbrey and Trevor C. Sanders, Attorneys for Plaintiffs.

21 Since the filing of the Amended Complaint, It has come to the attention of the undersigned that Mr. Almquist was in fact apparently “investigated” by code enforcement in 2007. Almquist told a local reporter “while he believes city officials were aware he has been conducting commercial business in an empty residential lot, hidden behind two of his rental properties, since 2007 . . . the city didn’t care and they were happy he had cleaned up the lot.” St. George Mayor Jon Pike said he is disappointed that councilman Almquist had been using the property for his landscaping business.” Michael Flynn, Did City Attorneys, Enforcement Officers Know Councilman Almquist Was Violating City Code? Is Almquist Still doing It?, The INDEPENDENT, Feb. 25, 2014. http://www.suindependent.com/news /id_5530 Did city-attorneys.-enforcement officers-know-Councilman -Almquist was violating city-code?-Almquist still doing-it?.html.

22 This specific allegation was not made in the Amended Complaint but according to Defendant is appropriate in this Motion as “”(a) district court may consider documents referred to in the complaint if the documents are central to the plaintiff’s claim and the parties do not dispute documents’ authenticity.” Defs.’ Mot. To Dismiss at 4. Since this is a document found in Defendant’s appendix, Plaintiff’s assume Defendants do not dispute the authenticity of it.

My friends this Memorandum in Opposition To Dismiss is 22 pages in length and I encourage you to obtain a copy of this public record.

Promises made during the last and I believe previous elections included a commitment by candidates to review and update City Ordinances and improve upon Code Enforcement Efforts. As of this writing NO ACTION or reports on how Code Enforcement is to be addressed or improved has been forthcoming from City Government.

THAT IS WHY it is necessary for this issue to be addressed…..Over and Over.  Until and Unless City Hall makes it a priority to keep the public informed it appears…..At least to me that Code Enforcement is to remain the mechanism in which political favors may be dispensed in support of the status quo.

What a shame that this issue cannot be resolved by publicly airing out deficiencies using the knowledge and expertise of many qualified citizens. It is my hope that the next City Council Meeting will not be cancelled so that we may move on to other topics of interest.   

Thank you,  Ed Baca