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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- State lawmakers slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget earlier this year, saying they had to cut worthy programs and employees to balance the budget.
But as they did almost everything except check underneath office couches for spare change, lawmakers hung on to one perk for themselves and state workers who survived the cuts: free bottled water.
An Associated Press review of state finance records shows that Utah state agencies, excluding public colleges and universities, have spent more than $220,000 on bottled water since July.
While it's only a small portion of the $5.1 billion in state funds budgeted for this fiscal year, the figure is more than twice as much as the governor earns a year and scores of programs have seen smaller amounts than that cut from their budgets in the past year.
States across the country are coming under increasing pressure to stop using bottled water as they look to save money and protect the environment by using fewer plastic bottles, which often end up in landfills and require large amounts of energy to produce and transport.
"In these difficult economic times, state government can easily cut waste and invest in shared resources," by stopping spending on bottled water, said Deborah Lapidus, a senior organizer for Corporate Accountability International, a Boston-based nonprofit corporate watchdog group.
The group is leading a national effort to persuade individuals, governments and businesses to stop using bottled water and support public water systems through its "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign.
New York, Virginia and Illinois have each cut spending on bottled water while others are considering it, including Connecticut.
The nonprofit has sent letters to all 50 governors urging them to end their state contracts with bottled water suppliers and request that federal economic stimulus funds be spent on upgrading public water systems.
"It's really important because when states purchase bottled water, they essentially send the wrong message," Lapidus said. "It's sort of like a chef that won't eat his own food."
Messages left with Gov. Jon Huntsman's spokeswoman were not immediately returned Thursday.
Government records viewable on the state's new accountability Web site, transparent.utah.gov, show that the Utah Department of Corrections has spent the most money on bottled water this year: $65,000. The Department of Transportation, at $31,000, and the Judicial Branch, at $25,000, are next.
The Utah House and Senate, which have their own kitchens, spent about $700.
The Career Service Review Board spent the least amount on bottled water, $16.50.
Angie Welling, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said it's not surprising her agency spent the most on bottled water because it's one of the largest agencies in the state and many of its workers are in jobs requiring them to be physically active.
"We have a lot of staff that work very hard that are on their feet. A glass of a water, I don't think, is too much to ask for your employees," she said.
Welling said the Corrections Department doesn't buy individual bottles of water like some agencies, but it does provide large jugs for offices. She said the department considered stopping the practice this past year to save money, but decided against it in an effort to keep employee morale from slipping further at a time employees were being asked to do more than ever because of staffing shortages.
"It was kind of a, 'If we have to do this, how bad has it gotten?"' Welling said.
Last year, the majority of about 250 mayors who attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Miami voted to phase out government use of bottled water.
San Francisco canceled its city spending on bottled water in 2007, saving nearly $500,000 annually. Seattle, which stopped buying bottled water last year, is saving up to $57,000 annually. Salt Lake City stopped buying bottles for personal use in 2006, although the cost savings is unclear.
"It's a simple way we can help the environment in terms of not producing more bottles in the first place and not filling landfills down the road," said Mayor Ralph Becker's spokeswoman Helen Langan. "We're trying to lead by example."
Spending on bottled water by state governments varies across the country and comparable numbers are difficult to obtain because of how governments categorize their expenditures.
A study by the Connecticut General Assembly found that state spends at least $500,000 annually on water and dispensers. Massachusetts spends about $600,0000. Minnesota last year spent nearly $166,000 on bottled drinking water and water cooler/dispenser rentals. That figure doesn't include large state institutions like the University of Minnesota, which spends about $178,400 a year.
Remi Barron, a University of Utah spokesman, said it's likely impossible to determine how much money the school has spent on bottled water because each department could include purchases for it under any number of categories, such as office expenses.
However, he said he's noticed fewer bottles of water and other snacks appearing at university events since the recession hit.
"I know a lot of university meetings are devoid of refreshments and things that might normally show up," he said. "They just can't afford to be shelling out for water or soft drinks at a meeting."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
