It's been nearly two weeks now since I was sworn into office as a new Community Council member. That swearing in took the form of, "We're glad to have you with us, go ahead and sit anywhere you want." Turns out, that's the sort of ceremony I like.

I have to say I'm surprised that a community council has so many things brought before it.  Sure there's small stuff like a hearing on an over-sized barn that someone wants to build, but we also get to way in on things like light rail running up the canyons and a proposal to connect all 7 of our area ski resorts with lifts requiring one pass for all areas. I also learned that burning wood for one hour creates as much pollution as driving your car from Salt Lake to Disneyland.  During the first council meeting we were visited by a recently re-elected member of the state house of representatives.  Various members of the council took him to task on some issues regarding the Healthy Utah Plan.  Me? I was just trying to keep up, but I'll be sparring with them soon enough, and that's going to be pretty fun.

I attended a county budget meeting where I ate cookies, won a t-shirt by spinning a wheel and answering a trivia question that just happened to be about my community.  I was also surprised to learn that Salt Lake County has an annual budget of $50 Million, which when you consider there are CEOs that make that much in personal income, it's pretty amazing you can run a whole county for a similar amount.

What I've learned most about my two weeks in public service is that it's a really cool experience.  I've met new people, learned new things and have a new understanding of how local government works.  So while my election was quite inadvertent, I'm glad I'm getting involved.  I highly recommend it for you too!