Lie: I have fired employees “who did not conform”.

Truth: As a city councilwoman, I do not have the legal authority or ability to fire any of the City staff or employees, with one exception, which is the City Manager. I have never, nor could I possibly fire any city employee. A legal part of my job requirement, as a City Councilwoman, is to sit in on closed door meetings where issues regarding employee performance are discussed, but I can attest that neither I, nor any other councilmember has fired any city employee in those meetings. We simply do not have the authority. The meetings are held only to inform us. We are also duty bound to keep all of those proceedings private.

Lie: I fired the former Orem City Manager.

Truth: The former Orem City Manager was not fired, he resigned of his own accord. I cannot speak about the conditions of his resignation because I am legally bound to silence. What I can say with 100% certainty is that I did not fire the former Orem City Manager.

Additional Truth: What I can say is true, is that I, as a member of the City Council, hired the new Orem City Manager, Brenn Bybee. I am very proud of that action I took. Brenn Bybee is, in my opinion, the best City Manager that the City of Orem has ever had. Under his leadership, they city has thrived. He has taken many actions that have improved Orem tremendously. A high ranking city employee said, that the 2 years following the hiring of Brenn Bybee have been the best 2 years of his career at Orem. Many others have made similar statements. I am very proud of the fact that we hired Brenn Bybee as our new Orem City Manager and I believe that it is due to his amazing leadership that Orem has accomplished so many great achievements in the past few years.

Lie: I “bent proper processes”.

Truth: I have always followed all Orem City processes. Many times I have consulted with the City Attorney to make sure that I was following all laws, ordinances, and procedures. I have a great working relationship with the City Attorney and always follow his instructions and council.

Lie: “Orem has been absent”

Truth: Orem is the absolute opposite of absent, we are present. Orem participates in multiple boards, commissions, etc, throughout Utah County and throughout the entire state. We are active participants in the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and the MountainLand Association of Governments. I, personally, serve on the board of the Utah Lake Authority and WHAT ELSE. While serving as mayor pro-tem, I participated in WHAT meetings when the Mayor was unavailable. I attended meetings with elected city officials from surrounding cities to discuss our new school district and a possible interlocal agreement. I, personally, have have many discussions with city council members and mayors of cities in Utah county and beyond. I have also had discussions with Utah County Commissioners and other officials. I attend, each year, the annual convention of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. We (Orem City) have met with both UDOT and Alpine School district. The Mayor serves on, and actively participates in the following: WHAT . Orem is most certainly NOT absent.

Lie: “Orem's economic position and attractiveness to new business has slipped significantly.“

Truth: Orem’s economic development is stronger than it ever has been. We have a thriving business community. In the past four years, there have been HOW MANY applications for new business licences in Orem. Orem has attracted some key businesses such as Cheesecake Factory, Trader Joes, Bobby’s Burgers, WHAT ELSE?

Additional Truth: There was a brief time of economic difficulty placed businesses in Orem as a result of the enactment of the State Street Master Plan (by a previous City Council). There was a stipulation in the SSMP that forced business owners on State Street to rebuild their entire building, if they wanted to change 20% or more of it. That stipulation prevented many business owners on State Street from renovating or updating their business because they did not want to, or couldn’t afford to rebuild their entire building. We fixed that problem when we repealed that portion of the SSMP. Since that time, several businesses on State Street have successfully renovated and/or expanded their businesses. I am proud that we were able to remove that road block from businesses on State Street.

There are currently more than 50 active projects under construction, with an additional 15+ under review. Many of these are remodel projects on State Street, that would not have happened under the old SSMP. Orem Active Projects

Lie: “These leaders are only respectful of ideas or perspectives which match their own“

Truth: I respect ideas from all Orem citizens. Personally, I have received many communications from Orem citizens via text, email, and phone calls. I appreciate receiving and respond to all communications. As a city, in each city council meeting, we have at least one public input session where any citizen can speak on any idea or issue they wish to. I welcome these public input sessions because many times we learn of issues that we might not have otherwise heard of. There have been many times when we have been able to act on citizen input and engage them with the City in a way to get their specific idea or concern addressed.

We also hold public hearings on a regular basis, especially when dealing with rezoning issues. In one of the most recent public hearings, regarding the rezoning of Wilkerson Farms, I was thrilled to see our city council chambers filled to capacity, and I was grateful for the input of all the citizens in that meeting. The citizen’s input helped to shape my own decision on that important matter.

Additional Truth: When they accused us of not being respectful of others ideas or perspectives, they might have been referring to Tom MacDonald, one of their own candidates who decided not to run for re-election. In a city council meeting that Tom could not attend in person, but attended electronically, he said (referring to Orem citizens who had made public comments in the meeting, and while he thought his microphone was muted) “put the exact quote here“.