SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah -- The race for the Salt Lake County Recorder’s Office is starting to heat up and the recorder says the attacks are getting ugly.
Candidate Mary Bishop is calling for an audit of the Recorder’s Office saying there's something fishy about this year's revenue loss.
Bishop said it appears revenue took a nose dive at the beginning of this year, which she calculates at a 30-percent loss.
“Real estate sales in Salt Lake County are only down about 9 percent, condominium sales are up 3 percent,” she said. “And the Recorder’s office because they record real estate documents is very much tied to the housing industry. So to me something didn't add up.”
“She knows nothing of what she is talking about,” said County Recorder Gary Ott. “She comes in, it doesn't make any sense.”
County Recorder Gary Ott said the office didn't make as much money as projected, for several reasons -- partly because of the real estate market and partly because of the economy.
He says the Recorder’s Office is still in the black. But Bishop demands and audit.
“We need to know where the money is. I have no big theories about it; I just know that's not right,” Bishop said.
“We just had an audit done at the end of last year, and generally we have audits every year and we came fine with no significant findings,” said Chief Deputy Recorder Julie Dole.
The Recorder’s Office says there can't be missing money, because that money was never collected. The deputy recorder also adds that revenue projects were conservative and later inflated by the Mayor's Office, which she said, is standard practice.
