Councilwoman Linn Strouse - she's up for re-election this year and on Tuesday advanced to the general election - was charged in 4th District Court on Friday with a second-degree felony for accepting a loan.

The Investigations Bureau of the Utah County Attorney's Office alleges she failed to declare a loan that she accepted from "an individual affiliated with a company that is involved with Eagle Mountain city," said Chad Grunander, deputy county attorney

Strouse did not return phone calls Friday afternoon seeking comment.

Grunander said Strouse will be served with a summons on the charges that stem from a July 2005 incident. An Eagle Mountain resident alerted the authorities about the issue in November 2006.

Grunander would not disclose the amount of the alleged loan. But in order for the charges to be a second-degree felony, prosecutors would need to prove the amount exceeded $1,000. He said, "The law requires, if you are a public official and receive a loan of this type, that you report that to three different entities" : the attorney general, the head of the agency involved - the mayor in this case - and the head of the organization that made the loan.

Eagle Mountain spokeswoman Linda Peterson said the city was notified of the charges. She said Mayor Don Richardson plans to meet with Strouse "to discuss her future involvement with the city."

Controversy has become commonplace in this city, located six miles west of Lehi.

For starters, Eagle Mountain is about to elect its 10th mayor in 11 years.

Strouse, the two-term councilwoman, was appointed mayor pro-tem in late 2006 to fill in for Brian Olsen. He resigned from office and days later was charged with seven third-degree felonies for misuse of public funds. Olsen is scheduled to appear in 4th District Court on Sept. 26 - a continuation of an August preliminary hearing, where witnesses were grilled about Olsen's requests for mileage reimbursement.

In 2004, then-Mayor Kelvin Bailey pleaded no contest to a class B misdemeanor charge that he faked his own kidnapping. In 2003, he called his wife, saying a hitchhiker forced him, at gunpoint, to drive to Barstow, Calif. His alert caused his wife to call the police, even though authorities say Bailey was actually returning late from a pheasant-hunting trip.

Earlier this year Councilman David Lifferth alleged that his colleague, David Blackburn, accepted gifts from an engineering firm and voted on issues that affected that company without disclosure. The accusation led to an internal investigation, but Blackburn was later cleared.

Lifferth was appointed mayor in August 2005, and served for just three months. He acknowledged double-dipping into city funds by using a city credit card to buy a hard drive for his laptop, then requested to be reimbursed for the purchase. He paid back the money and charges were never filed.

On Wednesday, former City Councilman Greg Kehl shot himself to death as he was flying his powered parachute, crashing the machine into a field near American Fork. Police said the incident followed a domestic disturbance.

sgehrke@sltrib.com