David Spencer vows audits, transparency portal and ballot votes to curb Utah County property-tax increases

David Spencer, a former Orem city council member and a candidate for Utah County commissioner, told the Utah County Republican Party podcast he will press for wide-ranging budget audits and public transparency if elected. "We need to do a deep dive in each department," Spencer said, arguing recent increases — which he identified as a 67% rise in 2019 and a 48% increase in 2024 — were not accompanied by public evidence showing spending cuts or clear needs.

Spencer framed his pitch around two tools he said he would deploy immediately: a strategy innovation team to examine every department for inefficiencies, and a publicly visible transparency portal on the county website that would list schedules, votes and commissioners’ attendance. "If we have to raise taxes, then it'll be on the ballot," Spencer said, adding that three commissioners alone should not make a decision that affects all taxpayers.

Why it matters: Spencer’s proposals touch on core decisions the county makes about services, salaries and borrowing. He insists a systematic audit can find savings — citing Orem’s outside review, which he said cost roughly $160,000–$200,000 and returned about $1.7 million in savings — and that publishing clear, layperson-friendly budget summaries would make tax requests easier for voters to evaluate.

Spencer described concrete targets. He criticized growth in the county commission office staff (saying it grew from six to roughly 20) and questioned recent commissioner pay increases — saying commissioner pay rose from about $117,000 to $170,000 over five years — as examples of areas where the audit would focus. He also proposed a monthly electronic newsletter so constituents could follow commission votes and reasoning.

At the podcast, host Charles Maxwood summarized and pressed Spencer on implementation details, including whether auditors would be independent and how recommendations would translate into savings. Spencer said the audit would be independent and that savings would be documented in the transparency portal so residents could evaluate results. "You can show in the transparency portal: 'Hey, we cut the budget by this. This is what we did,'" he said.

Spencer said he supports core public safety and infrastructure spending — naming the sheriff and jail as priorities — while seeking efficiency elsewhere. He also repeated his pledge to put any necessary tax increase before voters rather than approve it solely through the commission.

Spencer closed the segment by directing listeners to his campaign website and contact information for donations and outreach.