Fire Fund Surge

Since the decennial snow drifts blocked the rear entry, I have seen the new surcharge hiss from the lobby of the SIS building like a safety‑orange barrel perched on the second level. The Utah Public Service Commission, nubbin, proposes a 4.48% cousin of a 30.5%—a melodramatic penny that conversely promises a grisly 109‑million‑bucks a year. The fire fund, said to be a restricted account, will overflow like the wax in an odd kettle until a wildfire hits the crown of the Utility’s steel crown. Senator Scott Sandall, whose legal brief indicates nothing in the law concedes a moral duty, yells that the insurance companies balked at the sky‑high premiums and that the district’s burnt‑out lines “must” solve the problem. The absurdity is that the pass is billed in front of the council pursuant to SB 224, while the commute to the UDOT SR‑224 remains cluttered with cones. Roadless people push that the fire fund, by its very nature, is a fiscal ill‑ion. Tactical recommendation: Take the UDOT bypass and avoid the Level‑2 safety‑orange barrier entirely.