If Utah hosts another Winter Olympics, speedskaters will race for gold in Kelly Bush’s town.
Bush, the mayor of Kearns, is already thinking about policing and emergency services — and who will pay for it all.
“We’re gonna need overtime and more manpower,” Bush said during a recent interview at the Utah Olympic Oval, near the Kearns municipal offices.
Utahns are scheduled to learn Wednesday whether the state will host another Olympic and Paralympic Games. Organizers of Utah’s bid for the 2034 games say private money will pay for the $2.38 billion operating budget.
But that operating budget is just one component of Olympics spending. Think of it as the circle in the Venn diagram that contains the costs of skiing, skating, hockey and other competitions, plus opening and closing ceremonies.
The bigger circle includes an estimated $188 million in spending by the federal government on security. And it could include improvements of roads, commuter rail and at least one town square.
“Our concern is with the transparency around spending," said Chase Thomas, a policy advisor with Alliance for a Better Utah. “We want the government to be upfront when it comes to the use of taxpayer dollars.”
Thomas points to an October report to the Utah Legislature showing state lawmakers have already appropriated $94 million to maintain Olympic venues remaining from the 2002 Winter Olympics. The figure is expected to increase to $140 million or more .
Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, said the state is paying to maintain those facilities because they are also community venues for public and youth sports.
However, there will be money in the organizer’s operating budget to repay local police who provide security for the 2034 Games.
“We don't need the state to spend any money or local municipalities,” Bullock told FOX 13 News in an interview.
Bullock also believes there’s no need for upgrades of highways and public transportation like before the 2002 Olympics.
“For our games, we don't need any additional infrastructure,” he said. “It's all in place.
“Now, if there's additional infrastructure added, great. That enhances the games, and we'll be a partner with [Utah Department of Transportation] or anybody else that needs a little Olympic boost to help them get funding.”
A 2001 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office found the federal government spent $1.9 billion in direct costs to the 2002 Winter Olympics and another $1.1 billion in indirect costs like highways. Those figures were before the Sept. 11 attacks increased security spending.
The money bought complaints from Congress. Then-Sen. John McCain of Arizona gave a speech on the Senate floor threatening to filibuster bills with “pork barrel” spending sought in the name of the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Then-Utah Sen. Bob Bennett defended the money, arguing the federal government had to take a role in the Olympics. Related projects like the Interstate 15 improvements, Bennett contended, were from funding pools that Utah would have been eligible for even without the Games.
This time around, Utah political leaders have some wishes, too.
In Midway, where cross-country skiers and biathlon athletes will race, the mayor told FOX 13 News that she would like state or federal money to create more event space on the town square.
Summit County would like help improving the Kimball Junction interchange with Interstate 80. That would make for smoother traffic in and out of Park City for skiing and sliding competitions.
The Utah Transit Authority and Salt Lake City both have projects they would like to finish before 2034. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has said another Olympics could mean federal funding applications will be received more favorably.
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has said the 2002 Winter Olympics generated $7.5 billion in economic output for Utah over the years. Another Games could generate another $6.6 billion between now and 2035. Bullock points to those figures in showing that the public will benefit from another Olympics.
And even Thomas, from Alliance for a Better Utah, says the organization isn’t opposed to another Olympics. He just wants some honesty about spending.
“I mean, we could look to improve our air or environment while [the Olympics are] here,” Thomas said.
Back in Kearns, Bush said she’s fielded funding questions from residents.
“It's been put out into the news that [organizers are] going to look for all means to not put this on the taxpayers,” Bush said, “and I think that they need to be held to that.”
But, right now, Bush says, the focus is on the excitement of Utah’s latest Olympic bid.
“And I want that excitement to continue.”
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