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Note: We interviewed the Mayor of the county on AM630 talk radio on May 27, 2011 – and he admits to and confirms all of the information below. Download and listen here (25 minutes):
https://realitybloger.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/carroon-interveiw-edit.mp3

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Update: We have now interviewed the Sheriff who sold his county, Jim Winder!
This interview took place on AM630 talk radio on May 27, 2011. Please read update and listen here:
https://realitybloger.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/an-inteview-with-the-sheriff-who-sold-his-county/

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In the Great Salt Lake Valley, a once free land settled between the rugged Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges, the county’s last firewall of protection from outside influence has been extinguished.

The Salt Lake area is renown for its world-class ski resorts, its vast food storage industry, and its uniquely large population of Mormons. The county, with a richly seated and an often mythical, chaotic history, has now become the stuff of legend.

This is the story of what has become of Salt Lake County, and the private militant corporation that has become its new police department. And to this you should pay heed, for this story is happening across the country, and may have already consumed your own county’s last hope, your elected Sheriff.

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Let’s begin at the beginning of the end, when Salt Lake County lost its Sheriff’s Department…

First, understand that the County Sheriff is given the true lawful power of the people as an elected political office, and not a partisan appointment like all of the law enforcement officials beneath him. This political office is (or was) the protectorate of the people within each county; acting as the law of the land and the only instrumentality that has the real power to thwart the encroachments of the Federal government – the power to say NO! If you have a problem with the local police in your town or city (corporate municipality), the County Sheriff and his department is who you would call as the authority of the land (county).

Our current “elected” Sheriff of Salt Lake County, one Mr. Jim Winder, is of course a wealthy member of the local dairy tycoon family, aptly named Winder Farms. He recently won his reelection campaign in the 2010 elections due to the fact that the information I’m about to present to you is absent from the general consciousness and comprehension of the good people of the Salt Lake Valley. The good Sheriff actually campaigned on and was voted into this honorable office toting the success of the newly formed Unified Police Department – the “unification” of the sheriff, municipal, and unincorporated police departments within Salt Lake County into one corporately structured private police force – an act of treason and an assault on everything remotely constitutional.

The people have no idea what this man has done…

As of January 1, 2010, the day that Salt Lake County became a police state, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department was officially dissolved. In its place was created a brand new corporation, which is now described as “…responsible for all police operations”. This private company is called the “Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake”, or the “Unified Police Department” for short.

Manta.com lists this “private company” here: (http://www.manta.com/c/mt7k1nj/unified-police-department-of-greater-salt-lake).

This Unified Police Department (UPD) became the “new police force” for all municipal corporations (cities) and all unincorporated areas within the County of Salt Lake, thereby dissolving the only true lawful protective body within the county, the elected Sheriff’s “Department“.

To add to the treasonous nature of this takeover of Salt Lake County, this elected Sheriff was then appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Unified Police Department by the County Council. To clarify, the elected Sheriff Jim Winder was appointed by the elected County Council to be the CEO of the private company called “Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake”, which is in charge of all law enforcement within the County of Salt Lake.

And it gets worse… way worse!

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So who’s idea was this, anyway?

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Well… The local FOX 13 news affiliate reported it this way:

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah —

The details of a new metro police force for Salt Lake County, a feat that has taken several years to accomplish, have now been finalized. As of January 1, 2010, The Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office will be dissolved and will be replaced with a new metro police department. The new department will be run by mayors of participating cities.

“It’s happened, today we are formalizing what has really been a several year initiative to create a consolidated police entity that is managed by municipal (corporation) mayors,” said Sheriff Winder of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Instead of being run by a chief or the sheriff, the metro police force will be controlled by a board made up of the mayors of the participating municipalities (corporations). The sheriff will act as chief executive on that board.

(Source Link: http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-salt-lake-county-sheriffs-office-transition,0,2854276.story)

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What more could the leaders of organized crime (the mayors) ask for than a private police force that they control and use to take the people’s wealth and property?

And, right from the horses mouth, the county government website had this to say:

Mayor’s Report/UPD
Published: Oct. 2009

The Unified Police Department will be born January 1, 2010. A quarter million resident’s of Salt Lake valley will be served by a new police force. I have been honored to serve as the Chair of the UPD transition committee along with Mayor Dennis Webb of Holladay serving as vice chair.

Public Safety is the number one priority for every governmental entity, federal, state or local. The creation of the UPD is another step in providing the highest level of police protection for citizens living in unincorporated areas and cities served by the Sheriff.

The UPD will replace the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s patrol services. As it is currently formulated, the UPD will serve townships and unincorporated areas plus the cities of Bluffdale (which is considering other options), Herriman, Holladay and Riverton. The UPD will also provide limited pooled services to Taylorsville, including SWAT, narcotics and gang prevention.

Mayors of the member cities will join representatives from the unincorporated county as the UPD’s board of directors setting policy and budgets. The Sheriff will be the chief operating officer (CEO) and run day-to-day police operations.

This transformation has been a long time coming. Former Sheriff Aaron Kennard joined Sheriff Jim Winder last month before the Salt Lake County Council to report that groundwork for the UPD started more than a decade and a half ago.

The expertise and experience of the Sheriff’s Office means that police services will continue at its same high level. One major difference is that municipalities will become full partners and part owners of equipment traditionally owned by the county.

Great credit goes to Sheriff Winder, Mayors Lynn Crane of Herriman, Dennis Webb of Holladay, Bill Applegarth of Riverton and Claudia Anderson of Bluffdale Mayor Russ Wall of Taylorsville and our Salt Lake County Council members for their efforts directed at bringing the UPD to fruition.

In the years since the Salt Lake County Fire Department became the Unified Fire Authority/Unified Fire District, we learned that consolidation of services and providing ownership and policy responsibility to member cities creates a positive environment built on trust and common needs.

The Unified Police District will serve 250,000 residents with 339 officers on an annual operating budget of $45.3 million.

The new board guarantees local control under the power sharing agreement. The UPD provides a framework for future police services in our county. We are proud of our Sheriff’s Office and, starting next year, we will be proud of the Unified Police Department.

(Source:  http://www.co.slc.ut.us/html/upd/upd.html)

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The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake website (http://updsl.org/contact.html) lists its participating “precincts”, which are unincorporated townships and areas, as:

Herriman – 801.302.2080
Holladay – 801.272.0426
Kearns – 801.967.4420
Magna – 801.250.1474
Millcreek -801.272.5225
Southwest – 801.254.0167
Riverton – 801.254.0167

Of course, all municipal corporation (city) police in the Salt Lake County have now become “Unified”, and often have this fact printed on the sides of their shiny, expensive new Dodge Chargers and SUV’s. The “Draper City Corporation’s” Police Department is even the proud owner of an old but quite operational military tank!

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What Really Happened?
The History Of Police “Unification”

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From the Federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website:

“In 1996, the Utah Highway Safety Office and the Salt Lake Sheriff’s Office met to analyze territorial and coordination problems encountered by metropolitan area law enforcement agencies. As a result, the two agencies developed the Salt Lake County Multi-Agency Task Force comprised of all local, county and state law enforcement agencies; law enforcement agencies from schools and universities; and representatives from four other government agencies. Monthly meetings served two purposes: to develop cooperative law enforcement activities, and to showcase best traffic safety practices and programs.”

(Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/outreach/safedige/spring2000/spr00-8.html)

This single act abolished the traditional jurisdiction of each city (municipal corporation), and gave law enforcement authority and power to neighboring forces. Thus, in Salt Lake County, the Salt Lake City Corporation (city of Salt Lake) Police now have jurisdiction not only in Salt Lake City, but also in all other municipal corporations (cities) and unincorporated areas within Salt Lake County.

This, it turns out, is a national phenomenon that is indicative of the federal takeover of local and state law enforcement – the “Federalization” of all police in the country. It is the selling out of State’s rights as soon as the Federal Government waves grant paperwork and United Nations treaties in front of our legislators and constitutionally ignorant sheriff’s collective, treasonous faces:

“It’s important that people recognize the agency, and they will no longer say ‘Sheriff’s Office.’  It’s anticipated they will say Unified Police Department…” Sheriff Winder told KCPW in August 2009.

(Source: http://kcpw.org/blog/local-news/2009-08-12/new-unified-police-department-allows-more-local-control/)

But this is only the beginning of the tyranny. To understand what a true police-state means, let’s examine the corporate structure and design of this new Salt Lake County Sheriff’s corporation, the Unified Police (Federal) District…

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The “Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area”

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Once the “Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake (UPD)” was set up as a corporate entity; after this virtual mafia of mayors and council members of the county and cities of Salt Lake County gleefully dissolved the constitutional power of the Sheriff’s Department… the real fun began.

What follows is why the County Sheriff is such an important office, and why you should strive to protect yours if you’re lucky enough to still have one.

The County Council through the UPD then created a “district” called the “Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area (SLVLESA)”. This district is what is called in corporate government a “Special Financing District (SFD)”.

UPD referenced the Prima Facie (presumed law) UTAH STATE CODE 17B-1-201 and 17B-2A-901 as justification for their “right” to do this.

It is very hard to come up with a single definition of just what a “Special Financing District” actually is, and yet quite easy to find a multitude of private, non-governmental corporations just itching to help turn your area into one. There is even a “California Special Districts Association” which one can explore and join – online at (http://csda.net/).

A private, non-governmental Florida company describes “Special Taxing Districts” as:

Special District Services, Inc. creates and manages special taxing districts throughout the State of Florida. SDS was organized to meet the growing demand for urban services and provide a public financing vehicle to serve community infrastructure and service needs in a timely and cost-effective manner. SDS is a results-oriented company with the philosophy that a Public-Private Partnership is an essential ingredient for the successful delivery of public infrastructure through the use of special districts. The basic concept being that growth pays for itself. We are committed to tailoring services to provide essential planning, organization, management, financing and construction of public facilities through the use of special taxing districts.

Learn about Public Private Partnerships here (highly recommended):

Part1:

Part 2:

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In Washington State, statutes have defined special districts as:

• municipalities
• units of local government
• municipal corporations
• quasi-municipal corporations
• public body corporate and politic

Perhaps the worst aspect of Salt Lake County’s plight is that the Unified Police Department actually had the nerve to outsource this crime to another state!

The “NBS” website at (nbsgov.com) – which is the out of state, private, non-governmental company handling Salt Lake County’s SLVLESA – states that:

Special Financing Districts (“SFD’s”) include a wide variety of assessment-based, special tax, and other types of parcel charges such as:

• Assessment Districts
• Business Improvement Districts (BID)
• Community Facilities Districts (CFD)
• Connection Fee Financing
• Fire and Other Special Purpose Taxes
• Local Improvement Districts (LID)
• Maintenance Districts
• Miscellaneous Charges
• Parcel Loans
• Special Tax Districts

Exerpted from a “William Blair & Company” brochure entitled “Special Tax District Financing – A Guide to Funding Infrastructure Through Land-Secured Bonds”, this Chicago company might give us some insight as to what is actually happening in districts across the country like the SLVLESA:

This article sets out the basic concepts underlying land-secured municipal finance and how it can be used effectively by municipalities, home builders, and developers.

Land-secured bonds are used to finance the basic public infrastructure required for both new development and existing communities. Most often, these bonds are issued through-or for the benefit of-special tax districts. The bonds generally are non-rated and exempt from federal income taxes…

Now, I want you to pay special attention to this next part. For this above all else reveals the true nature of your private, corporate municipal “government”. And it proves without a doubt that you, the people, are not the owner of your land, your home, or your property.

The brochure continues:

Owners of properties that benefit from the bond-funded infrastructure agree to a lien on their homes (or commercial property) that is paid off over time through an annual special tax or assessment. That tax or assessment is used to pay debt service on the bonds, which are secured further by the underlying taxed or assessed property as collateral. The special tax or assessment constitutes a senior lien on the property, meaning it is superior to private liens such as construction or mortgage loans.

Land-secured bonds are used to finance many types of public infrastructure. For example, for transportation, bond proceeds can fund streets, sidewalks, traffic signals, highway interchanges, public parking, public landscaping, and street lights. For utilities and related infrastructure, the bonds can fund water supply, storage, treatment, and distribution facilities; wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal facilities; and storm drain systems. For economic development, the bonds can finance public infrastructure associated with shopping centers, business parks, and industrial parks. In addition, land-secured municipal bonds can fund flood control, recreational facilities, parks, and open space. What constitutes an eligible project is subject to specific state statutes, but in many locales the possibilities are expansive.

In short, land-secured bond financing can be used to fund the cost of public infrastructure for almost every kind of real estate development: existing urban and suburban neighborhoods, new master-planned communities, local and regional commercial districts, retail malls, big-box commercial centers, office and business parks, industrial complexes, redevelopment project areas, affordable-housing projects, and military bases being converted to civilian use.

In various states, a voter referendum is required to raise property taxes. This makes it difficult for local governments to cost-effectively finance new projects and existing infrastructure upgrades when they are needed… Consequently, a cash-flow mismatch exists between the up-front costs of public projects and generation of tax revenue. To fill this gap, land-secured bond financing was created so governments can fund infrastructure directly and developers can fund the public-use components of new neighborhoods before the improvements are conveyed to municipalities.

In other words… these bonds are created to bypass the lawful voting procedure that would otherwise be required of the people to raise property taxes. This is literally “taxation without representation”.

It continues:

Land-secured bonds generally are not rated by the rating agencies because they are considered riskier than other municipal bonds and are unlikely to receive investment-grade ratings. As home-builders have come to understand, however, as long as all goes according to plan, the risks lessen over time. Risks are highest as development begins and the project is still dirt’ risk then declines as the project reaches its full potential, builds out, and establishes a diversified tax base with a record of special tax or assessment payments. The annual tax or assessment levy is generally part of the owner’s property tax bill so payment can be routine.

The creative use of land-secured municipal financing through special tax and special assessment districts offers an opportunity for home-builders and real estate developers to partner with local governments to bring new development to fruition.

(Source Link: www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb…/WilliamBlair-SpecialTaxDistrictFinancing.pdf)

I am guessing that this answers the question as to why cities and counties across the country are building new housing, strip-malls, mega shopping centers, and business complexes all over the place in “planned communities”, while empty businesses and homes stockpile in the rest of the cities and counties as banks continue their siege of foreclosures on the clueless people.

The more buildings government builds, the more taxation can be brought into the government Special Financing District!

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So What Exactly Is The SLVLESA?

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Well, let’s start with what it is not…

From the SLVLESA website, under the “About the SLVLESA” section, it states:

Mission

The sole purpose of the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area (SLVLESA) is to provide funding for police services in the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County. The SLVLESA does not provide police service. Instead, it forwards revenues to the Unified Police Department (UPD), which provides law enforcement services to the unincorporated County. The UPD is responsible for all police operations.

Leadership

The SLVLESA was created by unanimous vote of the Salt Lake County Council (not the voting public). The Council appointed Jim Bradley, Michael Jensen, and Mayor Peter Corroon to serve as the service area trustees. Councilman Bradley serves as the chair.

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This SLVLESA Special Financing District and its self-appointed council, being created without the consent or approval of any of the home or business owners within these incorporated or unincorporated sections of the county, literally, unconstitutionally, and unabashedly forced these private land, home, and business owners to become a part of this Special Financing District.

To be clear, the county council and county mayor created this 4-person council (a special district within the main UPD private corporation), which has no law enforcement authority and does not provide police services, and appointed themselves as its trustees and chairman. They created a fake corporate city (a corporate veil), making themselves the administrators (slave-masters). This would be no different than a king making your unincorporated town or village a part of his kingdom, and then assigning a council (an oligarchy) and tax collectors (city police) to force you to pay for his majesty’s protection.

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The American Heritage Dictionary defines the term “Trustee” as follows:

1. Law. One, such as a bank, that holds legal title to property in order to administer it for a beneficiary.

2. A member of a board elected or appointed to direct the funds and policy of an institution.

3. A country responsible for supervising a trust territory.

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Webster’s Dictionary defines an “Institution” as such:

1: an act of instituting: establishment

2 a: a significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture ‘the institution of marriage’. also : something or someone firmly associated with a place or thing ‘she has become an institution in the theater’

2 b: an established organization or corporation (as a bank or university) especially of a public character; also : asylum

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Once this Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area (SLVLEA) was formed, the council then granted themselves the authority to arbitrarily create and charge each land, home, and business owner within their newly created “special financing district”, without the vote or consent of the people who now would be forced into participation within said mandatory “law enforcement service area”, a mandatory fee for police protection by the Unified Police Department.

Service… at the point of a gun.

But remember, this now mandatory “police protection” before January 1, 2010, was paid for by taxes and provided for by the Sheriff’s Department of Salt Lake County. But once that office taken over by a criminal cabal and was dissolved, the law of the land was not there to protect its people from this type of tyranny of government, and a traitorous elected Sheriff literally sold his soul and that of his people to the Federal Government… for profit.

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The Police Protection Fee
Pay It, Or Loose Your Home

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It is important to understand this concept. Our police, our Unified Police Department, is now a business. A business – a corporation – must make a profit to be soluble. A corporation is always designed to make a profit, even in a so-called a non-profit structure. Therefore the Sheriff, as CEO of the UPD Corporation, has been catapulted into a position that now directly conflicts with the lawful purposes for which the voters elected him into office. As the corporate president of this police corporation, he must ensure a profit is made for the company. Therefore, the people of the county will suffer the consequences of their Sheriffs conflict of interest. The result?

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Salt Lake City drivers beware!  Police are now patrolling these streets with a new need to write tickets, or face being written up for not doing their jobs.

“…What we are asking, is for officers to be accountable for their time,” says Sgt. Shawn Josephson, Salt Lake City Police.

A spokesperson for the department tells ABC 4, Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank says he’s recently stumbled upon patrol officers within the department who haven’t written one traffic citation in a year.  So, he’s writing a new rule requiring every cop to write at least one ticket per week, or they’ll be questioned.

“We’ve got goals we set as a department so we can make sure the officers are out there working,” says Sgt. Josephson…

Officers say that’s the number one complaint they get from people upset about fast moving cars flying through their neighborhoods.  But now, cops are going to be ready for them.  But the thought of getting slapped with a ticket, is not pleasing to those driving the streets of Salt Lake City.

Chief Burbank will not say what will happen to officers who do not meet this requirement.  On average, Salt Lake City 200 patrol officers write between 10 and 20 tickets a day.

(Source link: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Officers-required-to-write-more-tickets/EASmUKNoqU-Vc5cFBAWYZQ.cspx)

Here is a comment posted to the site from a concerned citizen:

The SLPD states via an interview in your broadcast, that the upgraded ticket-writing demand of its officers is to demonstrate to the PD and public that ‘OUR’ officers are doing their jobs. THAT’S BULL!!! PROOF: SLPD and ALL local city police cars have a nifty GPS puck attached to all vehicles. These ‘GPS pucks’ are tracked by FATPOT, SPILLMAN or comparable software. Each police, fire, ambulance and many/MOST other local-government operated vehicles are TRACKED 24/7 with recordings SAVED to computer hard-disks for months and years! The vehicle’s location is placed on maps in very real-time! 

But tickets are the least of the people’s worries. For the real dirty little secret of the Unified Police District and its special district “SLVLESA” is much, much worse…

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In March of 2010, the SLVLESA council sent out to each of the land, home, and business owners within this unincorporated part of Salt Lake County a letter of demand. This perversely friendly and polite letter stated that:

“We know you’re not going to be happy getting this letter or the bill in this envelope. It’s never easy paying a new fee or tax. And with the poor economy, the timing is especially inconvenient.

As leaders in Salt Lake County government, we’d much prefer to be writing you about a new service, but we also have a duty to keep our community safe. And that’s what this fee is about – preserving the safety and security that our families and businesses need to thrive.

Unfortunately, the national economic recession has hurt the budget of Salt Lake County, just like it’s hurt the pocketbooks of everyone in our community. Because sales tax revenues are down 30%, the fund that pays for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County faces a $13 million short fall.

We tried to close the gap with budget cuts. In fact, we cut the budget for non-police services (sidewalk and road repairs, animal services, and snow removal) by 26%. And we reduced the law enforcement budget by 7%. However, these cuts didn’t fill the gap.

In order to avoid a new fee or raising taxes, we would have had to lay off 60% of the police officers serving the unincorporated County. We just weren’t willing to sacrifice the safety of our community, so we instituted this new fee.

You should know that the creation of the Unified Police Department had nothing to do with the creation of this fee. As mentioned earlier, the police budget for the unincorporated county is actually less than what it was last year.

We chose the fee over a property tax increase, not because it sounds better, but because the fee is more transparent and flexible. All of the proceeds go to law enforcement, and we have the flexibility to reduce or eliminate the fee as the economy improves. The fee also allows us to broaden the tax base and charge more to businesses that put a greater burden on law enforcement. We think that’s only fair.

You may have seen some news reports about a franchise tax that might replace this fee. People in cities around Salt Lake County already pay these fees on gas, electric, cable, and telephone bills. However, even if the legislature makes this change, it may not take effect until next year, so we will still need to collect this police fee until an alternative funding source is in place.

We know this is a difficult fee to require you to pay. But, we’re all in this together. Without these funds, we wont be able to afford the police services that keep us safe.

Sincerely,

Jim Bradley

SLVLESA Chair

Salt Lake County Councilman.

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Now, keeping in mind that even though the Sheriff’s Department was dissolved, the same old taxes are still being collected – the second portion of this “courtesy” letter is in the form of a payment stub, or a statement of mandatory fees due. It states:

The annual fee may be paid in full, or paid in three equal installments during the year. If you pay your account in full for 2010, you will not receive another statement until next year. If you pay only the currently due installment, you will continue to receive statements until paid in full. Please see the reverse side for additional details about your payment options, the police fee, and the SLVLESA. Additional information can be found at www.slvlesa.org.

Your total Police Fee is: $174.00

A late penalty charge of $5.80 will apply if paid after 4/1/2010. Postmarks are not accepted. Electronic payments will be accepted soon. Visit www.slvlesa.org for current information.

NBS currently administers the billing for the SLVLESA. Requests for information regarding your fee, billing amount or payment should be directed to Property Owner Services of NBS at (888) 4-SLVLESA (888-475-8537)

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Now the reason that this pathetically apologetic yet demanding letter sounds like a typical, poorly written service notice from one of your utility or cable/Internet companies, is because for all intents and purposes, that is exactly what the SLVLESA is. This “special district service area” is the private servicing, fund raising, and money collection corporate agency for the Unified Police Department Corporation, with the Sheriff of the County acting as the appointed CEO of that mother company.

Also notice here that the website for this “Special Financing District” is not a government website (.gov), and instead ends with the extension (.org), which any organization, private corporation, or individual can obtain.

And just to add insult to injury, Councilman Bradley tells us that the already economically stricken home and business owners in the police-state County of Salt Lake must pay this “police protection fee” despite the fact that the county has already cut more than ¼ of the services that they already pay for with their hard earned tax dollars, and after exclaiming that the police budget was already cut by 7%.

Then, a few months after the first child-like letter was written to the residents and business owners of the unincorporated areas within the Salt Lake County, a new letter appeared in the mailboxes of those who had not responded to the first letter.

This now threatening letter of demand stated:

To Date, the majority of homeowners in unincorporated Salt Lake County have paid their law enforcement district fee. However, there are a number of residents that have not. The fee is necessary to keep our neighborhoods safe, and the fee is mandatory. All residents are required to pay their fair share.

More than 33,000 of your fellow residents in the unincorporated County have already paid the first bill they received from the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area.

Unfortunately, we have not received your payment.

We do want to give you the benefit of the doubt. This is a new fee, and we understand there may still be some confusion regarding your responsibility to pay it. You may have even accidentally discarded your first bill.

Regardless of the reason you haven’t paid, the Board of the Service Area has instituted a grace period on late penalties that normally would have been charged. Late penalties will be waived so long as we receive your payment for the amount due, on the enclosed statement, by July 1st (2010).

For your convenience, we are also now accepting payment via credit cards, online, at www.slvlesa.org.

Note: This is not convenient in any way to the home or business owner! The convenience comes to the UPD, in the form of private corporation in California handling all the billing and paperwork to collect an unlawful tax for a few corrupt council members and a CEO Sheriff! And when we add the mailing costs and profits of this California company, we have a complete waste of taxpayer money into a private out-of-state corporation.

The letter continues:

If we have not received your payment by July 1st, your debt will be reported to the County Treasurer’s office for certification. This is the first step to a lien being placed on your property.

We hope it never gets that far. We do not want to take any of these actions. However, in fairness to all those who have paid the fee, we must take action to ensure everyone is held to the same standard.

If you have already paid your first bill and believe you are receiving this letter in error, please call (801) 468-2342.

Sincerely,

Jim Bradley
Board Chair

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You may pay option 1 (remaining annual), or Option 2 (currently due) amount shown below on the Amount Due line. If you pay your account in full, you will not receive another statement until next year. If you pay only the currently due amount, you will receive another statement in early September. Please see the reverse side for additional details about your payment options, the police fee, and the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area (SLVLESA). Additional information can be found at www.slvlesa.org.

Your 2010 Police Fee is: $174.00

Amount Due: $116.00

A late penalty charge of $11.60 will apply if paid after 7/1/10. Postmarks are not accepted.

Credit cards will be accepted starting June 1, 2010. Visit www.slvlesa.org to pay online.

The Board has waived late penalties through July 1, 2010.

So the stakes just went up in a big way for the 10’s of thousands of home and business owners in the unincorporated areas of the county. Now, if they don’t pay the “protection fee”, their home will be collateral for the fee, and the SLVLESA will take that home to cover the fee. And business owners will lose their business license, making it impossible to legally do business in the state of Utah!

Houston… we have a problem.

To make matters worse, the “police protection” that this fee is supposed to cover is not for your elected county Sheriff and his lawfully appointed deputies. But instead, it is for a private mercenary security force, that have been described by the people living in these unincorporated areas as “militant, strong, scary, and some have tattoos all the way down to their wrists“. Some residents have even stated that they would feel more safe without these thugs for hire hanging around at their quickie marts.

That takes us up to September, 2010. A new bill was drafted by the private California company on behalf of the Unified Police District, the County Council, and the Elected Sheriff and unelected CEO of the UPD:

2010 Police Fee Statement – Billing Cycle 3

Option 1 (shown below) is the only amount due. Amounts delinquent from prior installment periods, including late penalties, have been reported to Salt Lake County as delinquent. Such delinquent amounts, totaling $127.60, will be included on your 2010 property tax bill. Please see the reverse side for additional details…

Balance due: $54.25

Credit cards are now accepted.

A late penalty of $5.80 will apply if paid after 10/1/2010

Final statement for 2010.

*The County Council and Mayor voted to extend a credit as sales tax revenues were slightly higher than projected.

Now, in September, we see that anyone who did not pay their gangland style protection fee is now subject to a lien on their home through a property tax levy, meaning that now all supposedly free people who falsely believe that they own their home and property, even if it is free and clear of all debts and liens, must pay extortion money to the Unified Police Department or they run the risk of having their home and property stolen from them by their county police department, the one that is supposed to be protecting them from theft!

The County Council, including the Mayor and the Sheriff, now have the ability to take your home if you do not pay the a fee to protect you.

Hopefully, the delicious irony of this whole situation is not lost on you who are reading this.

≈

And finally, we come to February of 2011, where we see the billing cycle start fresh for the new year of forced “police protection”.

With no poorly-writen apology to accompany it this time in 2011, a new year’s cycle and a new bill has been sent out to the enslaved occupants of the unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County, that have now been forced to participate in the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area:

2011 Police Fee Statement – Billing Cycle 1

You may pay the Option 1 (remaining balance), or Option 2 (installments currently due) amount shown on the Amount Due line. If you pay Option 1, you will not receive another statement until next year. If you pay only Option 2, you will receive another statement in April…

OPTION 1
2011 Police Fee: $162.00
Delinquencies: $63.80
Adjustments/Credits**: ($6.75)
Amount Due: $219.05

**The County Council voted to extend a credit, included here.

To view scanned images of these letters, please visit and explore this site: http://oooorgle.com/BeyondTheCorral/?p=8512

Now, it is important to understand what has happened here. The person to which these letters and bills were sent has not in any way acknowledged or offered his participation or support of this action taken by the county. He, nor any of his neighbors, did not vote to implement this corporate police force, this special district run by a foreign (out-of-state) corporation, or this police protection fee. It was not wanted or needed for him to feel safe and secure in his home. The only thing he fears at this point is that the county of Salt Lake, led by the very elected Sheriff who is supposed to protect his rights of property and freedom, will soon claim that they have ownership of his land and property and will confiscate (steal) that home and land he worked so hard to obtain from under his feet.

Is this what the Sheriff is supposed to be? A mafia leader that takes peoples property as a matter of force? A protectorate of tyranny and corruption? A Chief Executive Officer of a private police force that takes peoples property by the unconstitutional legal corporate codes that they voted in without the people’s consent?

Yes. Yes. And yes. This is the new Salt Lake County. And it isn’t the first bunch of suckers to fall prey to this federalization and privatization scheme. Do you know if you still have a Sheriff’s Department? Do you know which government entities within your county have become “Special Financing Districts”?

While we have just covered the police in Salt Lake County, we also have a Unified Fire Department, now run in the same manner as the UPD. And I just recently found out that my Sewer District, named the “South Valley Sewer District” is also a special district. When  questioning the receptionist as to why a lien had been put on a certain property by the Treasurer on behalf of the Sewer District, she informed me that we do not have a choice of whether we want to pay the $20.00 or so fee for the already-built-before-this-special-district-came-along sewer system. The county, it turns out, is involved in many of these types of revenue building un-voted upon districts, and the same liens and confiscation of property policies are in effect for each one.

Again, this is the definition of service at the barrel of a gun!

—————-≈—————-

Addendum:

-The Big Lie-
Is The County Indeed Broke?

—————-≈—————-

Once again, Councilman Bradley tells us in his first poorly constructed letter/bill that the home and business owners in the County of Salt Lake must pay this “police protection fee” despite the fact that the county has already cut more than ¼ of the services that they already pay for with their hard earned tax dollars, and after exclaiming that the police budget was already cut by 7%.

The stated causality of all of these budget cuts and the sudden necessity to create a fictional district and charge protection money for police services? Even as these same police drive around no doubt federally funded shiny new supped-up gas-guzzling Dodge Chargers and SUV’s, militantly armored in new black uniforms straight out of Pink Floyd’s The Wall ???

Why, “the national economic recession”, of course… Low tax, not enough property tax, and a general economic slump.

Well… I for one did not believe that excuse. You see, I just so happen to know where to look to verify whether or not a corporate government structure like “Salt Lake County”, the “Salt Lake City Corporation”, the “Draper City Corporation”, and all other private corporate “governments” in the United States are indeed telling the truth about their downtrodden economic financial circumstances.

Every government (all private corporations) by federal law must file a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for each fiscal year of business. This report, the CAFR, is the full accounting of what that government is holding (taxes, investments and the returns on those investments, funds, bonds, etc…), as well as what it spent, saved, invested in, purchased (real estate), and transferred into other funds and state or federal governments.

Salt Lake County’s most recent CAFR, for its business year ending December 31, 2009 reveals quite a different story than what our befuddling and grammatically challenged councilman Jim Bradley stated in his diabolical letter. Let’s just examine a few areas where Salt Lake County is hiding, or at least not reporting to the public in its purposefully limited general budgetary statements, more than enough money to pay for police services and beyond!

Remember, this is only the county, and not the individual cities, which each have thier own CAFR’s.

On page 16 of this revealing comprehensive annual financial report, Salt Lake County Auditor Jeff Hatch, along with the Director of Accounting and Operations, Stephen G. Spencer write in the “Manager’s Discussion and Analysis”, under the “Financial Highlights section”, that:

“The County’s government-wide net assets (the amount by which assets exceed liabilities) as of December 31, 2009 were $897.3 million.” 

“The portion of net assets which represents the amount the County can use to meet ongoing financial obligations is the unrestricted net assets.  This amount was $82.7 million at December 31, 2009, a decrease of $5.9 million from the end of 2008.  This decrease is explained generally by the economic decline.” –So, the County had $82.7 million in cash and liquid or sellable assets with no restrictions it could have spent on the “deficit” and on the Police, but did not—

On page 20, under the section entitled “Significant changes in expenses”, it states:

“Combined sales taxes and transient room taxes decreased $13.0 million compared to 2008 due primarily to declining taxable sales and decreased tourism, both coming as a result of the general economic downturn.”

However…

“Property taxes increased $5.8 million or 3.1% compared to 2008…” -meaning that our dear County Council and the SLVLESA either lied to the people of Salt Lake County, or is just more corrupt than anyone can imagine.

And…

“Government-wide expenses overall were $31.6 million less than the prior year.  This represents a 5.5% decrease compared to 2008.”

And…

“Public works expenses decreased approximately $5.0 million.  Due to shrinking budgets, less funding was available to maintain roads, plow snow, etc.  Therefore, actual expenses had to be reduced to adjust to budget cuts.”

And…

“Interest on long-term debt decreased $2.3 million (13.4% less than 2008 expense) primarily because certain bonds were recently paid off…”

≈

Therefore, when Councilman Bradley stated in his original letter that sales tax revenues were down for 2009/2010, he may have (purposely) forgot to disclose the above-mentioned facts, which quite belittle this fearful but well-played talking point used in his letter of demand to the people of the unincorporated county, now labeled the SLVLESA, for payment of a police “protection fee”.

But these are just small inconsequential potatoes when we realize what other wealth the County is hiding from us…

On page 23, as stated within the “Financial Analysis of Salt Lake County Funds” section, it states:

“As of December 31, 2009, aggregated fund balances of all governmental funds were $270.5 million, which is a $27.8 million increase over the prior year…”

“Approximately 57.3% (or $154.9 million) of the aggregated fund balances is unrestricted and undesignated, which represents $54.0 million of the General Fund equity which is available for appropriation by the County Council at its discretion, and $56.2 million in capital projects funds and $44.7 million in special revenue funds assigned for fund purposes.”

“As compared to 2008, the undesignated fund balance of the General Fund increased 37.5%, or $8.5 million.  In general, this increase occurred as a natural consequence of the budget plan.  Namely, the governing body determined the General Fund equity should be built up during 2009 so the minimum reserve policy could be preserved.  So, the budget was structured to achieve that goal.  This plan included substantial budget reductions and one-time transfers in.”

On page 52, we can see that Salt Lake County has some money socked away in the “Utah Public Treasurers’ Investment Fund (PTIF)” to the tune of $303,803,493.00 as of December 31, 2009.

This fund is described in the CAFR as:

“A voluntary external local government investment pool managed by the Utah State Treasurer to improve investment efficiency and yield.  These monies are invested in securities permitted by the (Utah Money Management) Act and contain no withdrawal restrictions other than timely notice of intent to withdraw an amount greater than $2 million.  Investment activity of the State Treasurer in the management of the PTIF is reviewed monthly by the Council and is audited by the Utah State Auditor.  Monies invested in this fund are not insured and are subject to the same market risks as any similar investment in money market funds.”

To add even more insult to our community’s economic pain, it states:

“Government and agency securities include long-term loans issued by the Agency for International Development which are registered and fully guaranteed by the Federal government.”

And, so instead of using that money to benefit the people of Salt Lake County or even the State of Utah, it is invested in federal:

“…certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury obligations, U.S. agency issues, high-grade commercial paper, banker’s acceptances, repurchase agreements, corporate bonds, money market mutual funds, and obligations of governmental entities within the state of Utah (meaning obligations to the Fed and other private corporations).”

And much of it is invested For “International Development”, leaving us poor tax-strapped Utahans out in the cold.

In fact, on page 152 it reports the total (on balance sheet) governmental fund balance totals since the year 2000 (not including funds like the above mentioned Public Treasurers’ Investment Fund (PTIF) listed above, as this is not a designated government operational fund, just an extra risky, barely legal investment fund). This is a good look at how governments continue to grow their power and wealth base over time, and why you should always look at what government totals are for a period of many years or decades, and not just one year (Note: these are just governmental funds, not all funds).

This chart shows that:

1) End of fiscal year 2000 fund balances totaled over $20 million for the general fund, and almost $80 million for all other governmental funds combined.

2) End of fiscal year 2005 fund balances totaled over $47.5 million for the general fund, and almost $179 million for all other governmental funds combined.

3) End of fiscal year 2009 fund balances totaled over $36.2 million for the general fund, and almost $235 million for all other governmental funds combined.

4) The actual portion of these fund totals as of fiscal year 2009 ending December 31 of 2009, again listed as unreserved (not appropriated/apportioned for anything specific in the future) for all of these funds is listed at $190,731,914.

So, not including the $303.8 million from the State Treasurers Investment Fund above as well as other listed investments, Salt Lake County has more than $190 million dollars that could have been spent on the budgetary obligations of the county, like police, schools… (and how about those ever-expanding potholes?) – but are instead sitting in a multiple funds being invested and building wealth – not for the people, but for the corporate government called Salt Lake County, its Council, its Sheriff, and its Mayor. Instead, taxes are raised, fees are charged, and necessary public services – including school and police services – are cut to the extreme!

And yet even trickier ways of hiding money and assets can be found hidden within the comprehensive annual financial reports, as we can see on page 64, where it states:

“8.6 Defeased Bonds—In prior years, the County defeased certain general obligation and lease revenue bonds by placing the proceeds of the new refunding bonds in an irrevocable trust escrow account to provide for future debt service payments on the old bonds. Accordingly, the trust account assets and the liability for the defeased bonds are not included in the statement of net assets. At December 31, 2009, $152,500,000 general obligation and lease revenue bonds outstanding are considered defeased.”

That’s another $152.5 million dollars we can add to the list of hidden of “off-balance sheet” assets not reported to the people of the county on the taxpayer budget.

And so the moral of the story is that the County of Salt Lake and that of the 99.9% of governments across the nation are not losing, but rather gaining money hand over fist each year, but not reporting this to its people in any comprehensible way, except on this comprehensive annual financial reporting system which is not discussed in any open or candid way with the public, ever. Instead, the people get the taxpayer budget report, accounting for tax in and tax and deficit out, never mentioning these hidden funds and investments; knowing that Americans have been dumbed down by design to never even imagine that this shell game and massive theft of taxpayer money, land, and corporate takeover and governance can possibly be taking place right under our noses.

And these “Special Financing Districts” are being set up all over the country as well, unnecessarily double-taxing the people within, and using their land and property as collateral without even their slightest comprehension.

≈

I have now given you this information, even with the fear of retaliation from my police-state, my corporate CEO Sheriff Winder, his private police force, the Mayors of each city and the County, and the County Council – who are all involved in this scheme.

Remember, the mayors of each city are on the board of directors of this UPD, along with the County Council and the Mayor, as stated above, “The new department (UPD) will be run by mayors of participating cities.” It is also rumored (from a reputable inside anonymous source) that the mayors of each city and the county mayor are meeting monthly, all together, at a different undisclosed private location each month, the knowledge of which is kept secret from the public.

This is organized crime… a well-oiled machine of corruption.

And this is not at all dissimilar to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which now that we understand the above information, could really be considered the ultimate in “Special Financing Districts”, covering the whole district of the United States, and taking the homes and property of millions of Americans for not paying what they also call a mandatory un-apportioned tax!

And for all of this, I am calling for an immediate recall and subsequent arrest and imprisonment by Grand Jury indictment of all parties involved, for the reinstatement of the lawful and constitutional Sheriff’s Department, and a reaffirmation of its lawful, constitutional purpose in Salt Lake County and the state by new law.

I am hopeful that the few elected lawful and constitutional Sheriff’s of other counties left in Utah, to which I will be sending this information, will rise up at their Sheriff’s Association meetings and commit to supporting those like me who wish to resolve this situation in the lawful manner described above, as well as helping to disseminate this information nationally to all law enforcement and military outfits, but especially to our still lawful Sheriffs. And I am hopeful that they will be supportive of a law that will never allow this type of corruption to happen again.

And now, if you have gotten this far, I am asking you who are reading this to please pass this information on, with the author’s (my) permission, to be posted, edited, re-written, and placed in any publication, newspaper, or website. I only ask that my name also be submitted as the original writer and researcher of this article, without any compensation or contract required.

This is too important to be shelved. Copyrights and credits be damned, for we are in serious collective trouble as a people. And this police-state tyranny, if it hasn’t already, is coming to a county near you.

Please stand up for your rights, and play this forward…

.

Clint Richardson (realitybloger.wordpress.com)

Sunday, May 22, 2011