Last week, Orem Mayor Dave Young and the City Council announced they received information from the Utah Attorney General’s Office concerning blacking out a portion of two city council meetings. There were no violations of the open meetings law and the investigation on the issue is over.

The investigation was focused on portions of the Sept. 27 and Oct. 11 meetings that were closed to online listeners so the council could speak freely about Proposition 2 and the Alpine School District bond. The AG’s office said that Orem leaders did not break any open meetings laws and that it was done investigating the issue.

On Thursday, Richard Piatt, public information officer for the Attorney General, confirmed to the Daily Herald that other complaints against the mayor and council are still being investigated.

“The Utah Attorney General will be looking into several complaints and continues to go beyond the shutting down of the meetings,” Piatt said.

Piatt said he did not know or have information on the scope of the investigation or the various complaints. However, if an investigation is ongoing then the information chain is typically shut down until a determination is made.

“The city of Orem is aware that the Attorney General’s Office has continued to receive complaints by both the proponents and opponents of Proposition 2. This is a common practice during any heated ballot initiative,” said Steven Downs, deputy city manager. “We understand that the Attorney General’s Office has an obligation to investigate all complaints, and we are confident that the city has full complied with the law.”

That does not mean there isn’t an investigation. Complaints about ethics and deceptive practices have been turned in covering concerns that go beyond Election Day issues.

It was reported earlier that dozens of complaints had been received, according to Utah Director of Elections Ryan Cowley, and that a number of them had been forwarded to the Attorney General.

The majority of the complaints specifically name Young, along with council members LaNae Millett, Terry Peterson and David Spencer. Young is out of town and Millet, speaking as Mayor Pro Tem, questions what the AG is investigating and will not give comment until she knows the nature of the investigation.

Many of these complaints came from individuals associated with the political issues committee StrongerTogether, which is opposed to Proposition 2. The four council members are in favor of the proposition.

While it is uncertain what complaints are being investigated, several of the complaints were obtained by the Daily Herald.

All members of the city council, except the absent Young, have been contacted for comment.

“I have great respect for the Attorney General and I expect a complete and honest investigation,” said Tom Macdonald, a member of the city council who is not mentioned in the complaints.

Orem resident Val Hale, who served under Gov. Gary Herbert as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is one of those who turned in complaints.

Hale said his complaints had nothing to do with the shutting down of part of council meetings. In fact, that issue was the least of his concerns.

“I am aware of complaints other than the shutting down the meeting,” Hale said. He was focused on ethics issues and how the council is functioning, among other things.

Sara Hacken, Alpine School District board member from Orem, said she has turned in complaints over deception.

“They are using deception and making things look one way when they are another,” Hacken said. She referred to a letter sent out by the mayor with the signatures of four of the seven council members that looked official but was actually a campaign letter on Proposition 2.

“There seems to be a pattern of behavior by the Mayor and some members of the Orem City Council which, while it may not be strictly illegal, is certainly misleading and in some cases, unethical,” Hacken said.

One of the lists of complaints in the AGs office comes from former city councilmember Sam Lentz.

Sam Lentz, a former member of the Orem Council, wrote a list of 10 issues with the city. He wrote that they:

“1. Cast aside working relationships with the District and neighboring communities, including canceling public meetings that were held regularly for many years.

“2. Restructured the city’s legal counsel to appoint a political ally as a Council-specific attorney outside standard hiring practices and with negligible experience in municipal law

“3. Departed from the city’s standard bid selection process to award the feasibility study to the least qualified consulting firm that bid, despite their admitted bias to split districts

“4. Used city staff and resources to perform elements of the study that should have been completed independently by the consulting firm

“5. Violated the privacy of private citizens and school staff by publishing sensitive personal information obtained from records requests targeted at specific school volunteers

“6. Quietly hired a separate PR firm (Intrepid) before the feasibility study was completed to advocate for an issue they intended to send to the ballot

“7. Misrepresented the safety and state of our schools, ignoring significant investments the District has made to rebuild and renovate Orem schools

“8. Modified the structure of Council meetings and public hearings to limit opportunities for citizens and even dissenting Council members to voice their concerns

“9. Added a controversial vote to the Council meeting agenda with no prior communication to the rest of the Council

“10. Blocked portions of Council meeting broadcasts to conceal public comments and inappropriate Council actions related to a ballot proposition.”

Resident Anna Greene’s complaint focused on a mailer that read “important notice regarding your property taxes.” She called the envelope “misleading” and said it was wrong of the officials to use their official titles “and deceiving messages to make people open the envelope and read the letter.”

Last Tuesday, a group of complaints were also sent from the Lt. Governor on to the Utah County Attorney’s Office. Those complaints revolve around potential public expenditures for political purposes, a class B misdemeanor.

The Utah County Attorney’s will not comment until they verify all the complaints.

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