Last week, two residents brandished upside-down American flags at a City Council meeting, likening themselves to distressed ships stranded at sea.

William "Big Bill" Barsballe began flying an inverted Old Glory outside his home near 11000 South and 1500 East after being slapped in October with a ticket for "criminal mischief" when he fixed a road repair outside his home that he deemed shoddy. He paid $3,000 to fight the issue in Sandy court and lost.

"I am still a citizen in distress, and I will be in distress until Mayor Dolan is gone," Barsballe said at the council meeting, waving his arm at the mayor.

Council Chairman Chris McCandless told biker Barsballe he took "personal offense" at the upside-down Stars and Stripes, but promised to roll over the cul-de-sac on his own Harley-Davidson to see if it is up to snuff.

Barsballe's drop-in was prompted by recent revelations that Sandy secretly padded the salaries of its top administrators until forced by court order this spring to disclose the bonuses.

"They say they don't have the funds to properly fix the roads . . . and yet they're giving themselves all these bonuses," the Army veteran said in an interview. "Why aren't these people being charged with criminal charges for taking our taxpayer money?"

Gary Ricci, who also has had a number of run-ins with Sandy City Hall in his attempts to quiet truck noise at a shopping center behind his home, is following Barsballe's lead. He has begun flying the flipped flag at his house near 9000 South and Highland Drive and is urging his neighbors to do the same.

"I have no liberty or justice in Sandy, Utah," he told the council.

No naming names:

If Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde is playing politics by proposing changes to the county's nepotism and cronyism policy, he's sure taking a peculiar tack.

The Republican steered clear of mentioning the name of House Minority Whip David Litvack when advocating reform, even though the Democrat's appointment as director of the county's Criminal Justice Advisory Council rankled him enough to send an e-mail to the mayor's office stating that the hiring "smacked of nepotism and cronyism."

Not only is Litvack a fellow partisan to Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon, but also his wife, Erin, heads up the county's Community Services Department.

Wilde even urged The Tribune repeatedly by telephone - and again by e-mail - not to mention Litvack's name in the story.

"Please let me emphasize again it is NOT my desire to include David Litvack's name in this discussion," Wilde wrote. "I would be happy if his name were left out of any article you write."

For the record, the story did mention - and quote - Litvack.

Hmmm. Perhaps Wilde's political gamesmanship was based on reverse psychology.

Wilde paper chase:

Newspaper reporters aren't the only ones who sometimes get snubbed when snooping around for government records.

Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde, a Republican, was stonewalled by Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon's office this month when seeking the résumés of all eight applicants for the Criminal Justice Advisory Council's top job.

The councilman stated flatly that he feared the recent hiring of Rep. David Litvack - a high-ranking Democrat in the Utah House and husband of the county's community-services boss, Erin Litvack - smacked of nepotism and cronyism.

As a county official, Wilde argued he was entitled to review applicants' qualifications.

But the mayor's chief administrative officer, Doug Willmore, rebuffed the request based on the advice of the District Attorney's Office - led by Republican D.A. Lohra Miller - that employment applications "are designated as private records and should be treated as confidential documents."

Willmore assured the councilman that the mayor "has always gone above and beyond to attempt to get the best-qualified candidates while using a fair and evenhanded process. We believe that also happened in this case."

Responded Wilde, "I find it hard to believe a council member would be denied the simple and reasonable request I have made."

Wilde never got the documents.

All in the family:

During a recent Draper town-hall discussion about the historic Sorenson home, a slide presentation included a black-and-white 19th-century family photo.

The presenter explained that the photo showed the original residents - the Sorenson family.

Quipped Draper Councilman Bill Colbert: "I'm glad you guys explained that. We thought this was [a picture of] Herriman's department heads and their staffs."

The jab came on the heels of a KSL-TV report about nepotism at Herriman City Hall.

Four score and seven . . .:

Well, it was no Gettysburg Address, but Salt Lake County Democratic Councilman Randy Horiuchi certainly waxed idealistic last week in defending health benefits for domestic partners and other adult designees.

Here are few excerpts from the speech - even though it came up short in persuading Republicans to go along with fellow Democrat Jenny Wilson's insurance pitch.

* "Today's issue transcends symbolism to the stage of practical public policy. It takes basic human rights and focuses it into something that is tangible and makes good sense."

* "You [council members] would represent a more productive work force - one populated with better-trained employees who have chosen this unit of government to work for because of our foresight and vision."

* "While the press has tried to make this a Democratic or Republican thing, it isn't. I have far more respect for all of you than that."

Wilson's "adult designee" health-care policy failed - along party lines.

---

* Have a tip for Off the Agenda? Contact DEREK P. JENSEN at djensen@sltrib.com, 801-257-8785; ROSEMARY WINTERS at rwinters@sltrib.com, 801-257-8737; KRISTEN MOULTON at kmoulton@sltrib.com, 801-831-0467; JEREMIAH STETTLER at jstettler@sltrib.com, 801-257-8755; STEVE GEHRKE at sgehrke@sltrib.com, 801-257-8717; MARK HAVNES at mhavnes@sltrib.com, 801-647-2731; DONALD W. MEYERS at dmeyers@sltrib.com, 801-440-2859; MARêA VILLASE OR at mariav@sltrib.com, 801-257-8790.