Philip Hornberger - Future Orem Mayor 2010-2014

Mounting City DEBT!

2009-10-29T11:12:00.010-06:00

DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Last 10 Years Orem City Debt Annual Budget

2000 $17,500,000 $31,000,000

2009 $80,000,000* $80,000,000

*27 Oct 2009 Council approved another $13,000,000 bond

**Plus- Orem City has co-signed for another $110,000,000!

That’s $7,862 per household!!! Debt is bondage!

Is this a “Legacy”, an “Investment” a “Balanced Budget”?

If you want to cut up the credit card, VOTE PHILIP HORNBERGER for Mayor

Phil promotes fiscal responsibility and supports Orem’s citizens and Business

Orem City Debt

2009-10-14T15:37:00.008-06:00

The current city council touts that they have not raised taxes since 1977, so where is the money coming from to pay our debt? Check out these clips from the budget, we still have increases in other areas.

Notice the INCREASE in each of the necessary city services, what is it for? To pay for debt

Please note the last sentence of each bullet point. It shows where the money is coming from to pay for debt... (the fees that they just increased)

Just read the last line of each bullet point. (It shows which bonds are being paid for by an INCREASE in property tax rate!)

Why did Mazda get money and not Audi, Porsche and Honda?.

2009-09-14T15:54:00.004-06:00

Tuesday, Sep 8th, the city unanimously spent an additional $750,000 of sales tax revenue, to replace a foreclosed Mazda dealer with another Mazda dealer. If car dealership revenue is so important (as stated in City Council meeting) to the City of Orem, then why is Hyundai, the only car dealership that has increased revenue in this economic downturn, relocating to Lindon when the City Council rejected their proposal to stay in Orem (March of '08)?

Click here for newspaper article

Click here for another newspaper article

One more newspaper article

Looking to Orem's future/ Orem Pride

2009-08-31T12:44:00.003-06:00

Orem Pride to me means a city where you want to live, where you want to work, where you want to play, where you want to gather, a city you want to call your home. As a community, when we do these things, everyone benefits. What is the city's role in nurturing and promoting civic pride? What can the residents do to show Orem Pride? How can our local businesses cultivate Orem pride?

Why Midtown Village?

2009-08-31T09:15:00.002-06:00

A picture from its better side!

Is the Midtown Village concept of putting 310 families and the equivalent of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on 8 measly acres the future you envision for our community? If so, then why weren’t plans put in place at that time for the widening of Orem Blvd and 400 south to accommodate the increased traffic, which comes with this type of density?

Why did the city create a special improvement district in order to issue a warrant for $7 million to the Midtown Village project for the construction of a parking lot? According to the Daily Herald article below, the city even agreed to upkeep and maintain said parking lot? Why isn’t the bond (warrant) for this parking structure, which is now in default being foreclosed? Why is the city even considering refinancing this note?

Why was it necessary for the city to rezone the adjacent acreage around Midtown to the same extremely high-density zone so that “additional street level parking” could be provided? This so called parking in such a dense new zone created a huge probable windfall for the developers and brings with it the potential for another unsightly twin tower. Can’t street level parking lots be constructed in any commercial zone? Do the residents in north Orem even realize that another one of these projects, named North Tower, was slated for 1955 N State?

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." -John Adams

Please refer:

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_ee605dca-bf44-5354-977d-e5d40b38a4fd.html

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_a2c88c5c-a249-5e89-8b3e-a7fdb0d49a87.html

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705296663,00.html

Luke 14:28-30

What friends and supporters are saying about Phil!

2009-08-28T13:50:00.000-06:00

A New Arts Auditorium

2009-08-28T13:36:00.001-06:00

Should the C.A.R.E. tax money be spent on a new 7.1 million dollar auditorium? For example, the SCERA has offered to modify one of their large theaters as a location to accomplish such a purpose. Should the city look to alternative options like this before spending such a large chunk of taxpayer dollars? Are there other places, or ways, this money could be used to better benefit the citizens?

Please refer:

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/article_aa90ffda-7572-5493-a460-b368b702d4de.html

Government vs. Private Enterprise

2009-08-01T11:09:00.008-06:00

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." –Thomas Jefferson

Is it really the cities responsibility to grant business loans or to guarantee business debts? Is it really the cities responsibility to compete with private enterprise? What about cities granting financial favors to one business over another? These actions effectively mortgages the resident’s future by earmarking future tax dollars for hopeful and possibly risky ventures. If these deals are so good why can’t they stand on their own? Why won’t the banks or private enterprise provide financing for them without a city guarantee?

Why Utopia?

2009-08-01T09:16:00.010-06:00

Why did the city council and mayor in 2008 unanimously agree to increase Orem’s funding guarantee to what has proven to be an unprofitable venture namely UTOPIA from 43M over 20 years to a staggering 110M over the next 33 years? Why is the city in the business of funding risky private enterprise?

Please refer:

http://www.heraldextra.com/business/article_da592665-0a9e-5b2c-99d6-98ff4c8f4877.html

http://www.utahtaxpayers.org/?p=1000

http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/article_3b0bf1bf-eb18-562a-bd14-22848a2cbd6e.html

What about Accessory Apartments?

2009-08-01T09:01:00.004-06:00

Several years ago the city created a fabulous opportunity for its citizens by designing the accessory apartment concept. This accessory apartment ordinance allowed residents to legally rent out their basement apartments, if and only, when the owner continued to occupy their property. Certain minimum codes of function and safety were required to be met should one desire to use their home for this purpose. This ordinance had multiple benefits; first it allowed homeowners another source of income. Many times this became a way for long time residents to keep their homes instead of having to sell and be consigned to reside in lower priced outlying cities. Second it had the effect of creating quality well managed housing opportunities for those in need. Third it had the effect of bringing non-compliant properties into the limelight, allowing them an opportunity to operate within safe, healthy boundaries. Fourth it was an eco-friendly approach as many homes have far more square feet than is necessary for one family. What better scenario for rentals can one imagine? However for unknown reasons the city has withdrawn the legal accessory apartment ordinance, why? Would you be in favor of this ordinance being reinstated?