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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Frustrations are running high in a Utah County community, where residents are turning up the heat on the state auditor to get to the bottom of their high utility bills.
A large group of Eagle Mountain residents has been battling the city over what they claimed was a drastic and unexplained hike in their utility rates. They said a state audit cannot come fast enough.
In a letter to concerned residents, state auditor John Dougall said that while his office intends to investigate the city's spending, his staff is stretched thin and cannot commit to a start date.
These are tough economic times. The bill goes up and we're not as communicative as we should be. I've learned a lot over this whole ordeal about being more communicative toward our residents.
–Ifo Pili, Eagle Mountain City administrator
City administrator Ifo Pili said the government is doing nothing wrong and an audit will prove that. However, he said he understood why the city's 24,000 residents were upset.
"These are tough economic times. The bill goes up and we're not as communicative as we should be," he said. "I've learned a lot over this whole ordeal about being more communicative toward our residents."
In a 61-page report, critics accused elected officials of misspending on travel expenses and an exorbitant Pony Express Days festival. Sam Allen, a resident behind the report, said Pili makes more than Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.
"He was budgeted to make over $157,000 this year," Allen said. "He's a first-year city administrator and that's really incredible. The outgoing city administrator had 38 years of experience and made the same amount of money."
Pili said the city is working hard to pay off the infrastructure that accounts for most of Eagle Mountain's $55-million deficit.
