Tetris, the well-connected but often-conflicted lobbying firm that came under fire for serving three masters during Utah's soccer-stadium saga, has severed its cord with Salt Lake County.

In a letter obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, Tetris principal Daniel Hartman says the firm "will no longer represent" the county, starting with the 2007 session of the Legislature.

County leaders, including key members of the council and mayor's office, hailed the news Monday as a triumph for ethics. Others labeled it ominous and predicted political payback from Utah's Capitol Hill - long considered Tetris territory.

"How much worse can it be?" Councilman Mark Crockett asked. "They've threatened to take away our tax base and tried to get us to build things we didn't want to build."

But Councilman Joe Hatch frets the firm will be hard to replace. He wonders why his colleagues are content to be "losers at the Legislature" and are singling out Tetris in what amounts to a "puritanical exorcism."

Tetris' Hartman did not return a call Monday seeking comment.

The move marks the end of a 15-year run during which the Tetris team represented the now-defunct County Commission and later the council and mayor's office on everything from tax issues to touch-screen voting machines.

It also follows a tumultuous year in which Tetris lobbyists were caught violating county rules for failing to disclose their client list and criticized for fouling their county contract by representing Real Salt Lake, Allied Waste and Diebold, while working for the county at the same time. On soccer, for example, the Sandy-based firm was simultaneously paid by the county, Sandy and RSL, purporting to represent all three.

Some council members, arguing that Tetris breached the county's 2005 ethics reforms, stood poised to dump the firm during today's final 2007 budget session. Then came word of Tetris' pullout.

"It's a good move," Councilman David Wilde said. "There were too many conflicts of interest."

At the same time, Wilde expects Tetris to retaliate against the county, calling the letter received Monday "a shot across the bow."

The letter made no threats and, in fact, thanked county leaders for their candor, patience and professionalism.

County officials had been negotiating with Tetris for months but made little headway as the contract renewal loomed. The government spends about $150,000 a year for lobbyists, $90,000 of which went to Tetris.

Doug Willmore, the county's chief administrative officer, says the cash will be redirected to another firm or used to hire a full-time political operative.

"They were told point blank what the issues were," said Willmore, who called the divorce "a good move for everybody."

"The five [council] votes were there to cut them."

The latest lobbying flare-up came after rumors spread that lawmakers - with Tetris' help - would try to strip the county of its restaurant tax, giving it to cities instead. That appeared to be the final straw for Crockett, who advocates a one-year hiatus for any lobbyist who violates county ethics rules.

"This is about our residents having trust in county government again," he said.

But Hatch insists trimming Tetris is a "real loss" to the county.

"It's weird," he said. "It really is a form of self-flagellation."

djensen@sltrib.com