His response to the unnamed general manager: Thanks but no thanks.

"Family members had to pay, and they were not happy with me," Corroon told Utah Valley State College students this week.

Corroon, a Democrat, and Utah County Commissioner Steve White, a Republican, visited the Orem campus to discuss ethics and accountability in government.

For White, the offer he refused was a 15 percent pay increase his commission colleagues voted themselves in December.

White had promised during the campaign not to accept a pay hike if elected. He said he knew how much the job paid when he ran.

"I thought it was improper once I was elected to say, 'I'm not making enough,' ” said White, who is donating his $11,000 pay bump to charity.

Ethics, both officeholders say, are at the forefront of their minds.

Corroon, who succeeded scandal-tainted Nancy Workman as mayor, has his own litmus test.

"The question I always ask myself is, 'Would I want to see this in the newspaper the next day?' ” Corroon said. "Even if it is legally OK, is it the right thing to do?"

Corroon is forming an "independent ethics commission" to monitor county government.

"It's always good to have outside people looking inside county government," he said. "When you have someone looking over your shoulder, it tends to keep you on the straight and narrow."

White and his colleagues have enacted in-house standards that, for instance, limit the communications that commissioners can have with litigants and developers.

"Every check issued by the county must be approved by all three commissioners," he noted. "Every procurement order must be approved by two commissioners."

The two differ on the prospect of taxpayer-financed elections. Corroon, who raised about $470,000 for his high-profile mayoral bid, spent about four hours a day calling potential donors.

Although he insists no donor can expect special favors or access, he believes having taxpayers - not special interests - fund campaigns would take care of the problem.

"Bottom line: It's always in the back of a politician's mind . . . that this person gave me money."

But White sees a problem in determining when the public campaign funds would kick in.

"If you do it from the day someone files to run, you'd have 50 to 100 people with no real political base" receiving money.

White, who spent $9,000 to get elected, says he believes in being tight with taxpayer funds and even more miserly when it comes to freebies. When the Freedom Festival gave him a shirt, he wore it for the parade then had it dry-cleaned and returned to festival officials.

meddington@sltrib.com

“The question I always ask myself is, 'Would I want to see this in the newspaper the next day?' ”

PETER CORROON

Salt Lake County mayor

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“I thought it was improper once I was elected to say, 'I'm not making enough.' ”

STEVE WHITE

Utah County commissioner, on turning down a pay raise

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