Jan. 2023 | Vol. 20 Iss. 01
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CITY SPENDS NEARLY $100K FOR LOBBYIST TO HELP OBTAIN FEDERAL FUNDING By Zak Sonntag | z.sonntag@mycityjournals.com
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or the first time in almost a decade, the City of Holladay has hired a federal lobbyist. The decision is meant to help the city grab a bigger share of the money made available in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a federal law that’s earmarked a staggering $1.2 trillion for infrastructure enhancements across the U.S. The move mirrors a nationwide lobbying blitz by smaller municipal entities traditionally uninterested in pursuing federal influence, according to recent accounts by the Washington Post, which has raised the competition—and cost— for lobbyists. But if all goes to plan, the money will be well spent because the upside is significant—an opportunity at what Holladay City Manager Gina Chamness described in November as “maybe the most federal money that’s ever been available for communities like ours.” The city has contracted with Barker Leavitt, a firm with deep connections to Utah’s congressional delegation, and whose client list includes myriad public entities—Utah Transit Authority and Wasatch Front Regional Council—along
with private companies in the healthcare and electronics industries, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research group that tracks money is U.S. politics. Coming in just shy of $100,000, the retainer marks the city’s largest ever lobbying outlay, a reminder that access comes at a cost, a reality to which the council is not naive. “It kind of makes you squirm a little bit to think that you have to hire people to get access to funding. But the bottom line is that it ends up being money very well spent. Those lobbyists know where those pots of money are, what they’re specifically to be used for, and how to put your applications in,” said Mayor Robert Dahle in an interview, explaining that the city considered six firms and interviewed three before deciding on Barker Leavitt. “Even though we went with the more expensive (lobbying firm), we think it’s going to be the best value long-term for the residents of Holladay. It’s more up front, but when you're talking about hundreds of thousands in potential awards, that extra money is not as significant as it might be in a regular budgeting process,” One big ticket item leaders hope to pursue with the help of federal funds is the reconstruction of Highland Drive between Arbor Lane and Van Winkle Expressway. (File photo City Journals) Continued page 8
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