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The attorneys general in Utah and Arizona are asking that former Utah Lt. Gov. Val Oveson be placed in charge of the United Effort Plan (UEP), the polygamous trust that owns much of the property in towns that straddle the two states.
Oveson confirmed in an interview Tuesday he is willing to take the job.
"There are a lot of reasons why I wouldn't want to do it, and some really good reasons why I'd be willing to," Oveson said.
Oveson, 62, was formally nominated in a court motion filed earlier this month. He and the attorneys general are waiting for a decision from 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg.
Oveson, like current UEP fiduciary Bruce Wisan, is an accountant, and one of the few people with institutional knowledge of the trust and its relationship to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Oveson and Wisan have been partners in the same accounting firm, called Wisan, Smith, Racker & Prescott LLP. Oveson has occasionally aided Wisan on UEP affairs over the years.
That includes pushing the Utah Legislature in 2013 to pay $5.69 million in UEP expenses. (The UEP later repaid $4 million to the state.)
Oveson said he also has given briefings on the UEP case to Utah governors.
Lindberg appointed Wisan to manage the UEP in 2005.
But Wisan stepped down as partner from his accounting firm last month after he was charged in Taylorsville Justice Court with patronizing a prostitute. The court motion nominating Oveson says Wisan plans to continue working at the accounting firm through Oct. 31. Wisan, in a previous court motion, has said he is willing to resign as the UEP fiduciary.
The UEP holds most of the homes and real estate in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The state of Utah seized the trust in 2005 over concerns that FLDS President Warren Jeffs was mismanaging the trust and refusing to answer lawsuits filed against it and was putting people's homes in jeopardy.
Managing the UEP has proven difficult. People loyal to Jeffs have refused to pay a $100 a month fee to live in homes or cooperate with Wisan. The trust racked up millions of dollars in debt — most of it owed to Wisan, his attorneys and other professionals — and Lindberg had to order the state of Utah to pay much of that debt.
Circumstances have improved in 2014. Wisan has been able to sell swaths of commercial and agricultural property to repay some of that money to the state and other debts. And Wisan is waiting for Lindberg's approval to distribute 26 homes in Hildale to people who built them or have long lived in them.
But relations with Jeffs loyalists remain bad or more often nonexistent. When Wisan began serving eviction notices on people behind on their $100 a month fee, it drew a protest from Jeffs followers and complaints from others who thought it was too aggressive a move for so little money.
Roger Hoole, an attorney who represents people who are beneficiaries of the UEP, filed a motion supporting Oveson's appointment. In an interview Tuesday, Hooele complimented Wisan for advancing the UEP to where it is now, but said Overson can provide a "softer touch" that is needed now.
"He's got the skills of a politician, and I mean that in a positive way," Hoole said. "I think he can work well with people."
Oveson declined to answer some questions about how he would manage the UEP, saying he was waiting for Lindberg to decide if he will be appointed. But Oveson did say he plans to continue the policy of distributing homes and real estate to put property in individuals' hands.
He said he wasn't sure whether he would have a better relationship with the people of Colorado City and Hildale than Wisan.
"I'm certainly a different personality than Bruce," Oveson said, "but what's possible and how that rolls out is just speculation at this point."
Wisan has pleaded not guilty to a class B count of patronizing a prostitute. He is to appear in Taylorsville Justice Court on Oct. 9 for a pretrial conference.
Twitter: @natecarlisle —
About Val Oveson
Partner at Wisan, Smith, Racker & Prescott LLP since 2009.
Chief Information Officer for the state of Utah, 2003-2004
Chairman, Utah Tax Commission, 1993-1998
Utah Lieutenant Governor, 1985-1993
Utah State Auditor, 1981-1985