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01 Growth & Infrastructure 02 Housing 03 Public Safety 04 Education 05 Fiscal Responsibility
Priority 05

Fiscal Responsibility &
Local Control

Taxpayers deserve leaders who respect their hard-earned dollars. Government should be efficient, transparent, and accountable — and local communities should have the power to govern themselves.

Accountability

Every dollar matters. Every single one.

Government spending isn't an abstraction — it's your money. Every dollar the state collects in taxes represents hours of work by families across District 14. Kara believes that elected officials have a fundamental obligation to treat that money with the same care and discipline that families use when managing their own budgets.

Too often, government grows by default. Programs are created but rarely evaluated. Budgets expand year over year without serious scrutiny. Agencies duplicate each other's work. And when waste is identified, there's rarely political will to do anything about it. Kara believes that's unacceptable.

As Executive Director of Davis Education Foundation, Kara manages real budgets with real accountability. Every dollar raised must be accounted for, every program must demonstrate results, and every expenditure must serve the mission. She brings that same mindset to public service: government should be efficient, transparent, and accountable to the people it serves.

Fiscal responsibility isn't about cutting for the sake of cutting. It's about making sure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely, effectively, and in service of outcomes that matter to Utah families. It's about having the discipline to say no to wasteful spending and the courage to demand results from every program that uses public funds.

Community accountability
Local Governance

The people closest to the problem should solve it.

Utah has a proud tradition of local governance. Cities, counties, and school districts have historically been empowered to make decisions that reflect the unique needs and values of their communities. But that tradition is under pressure. In recent legislative sessions, the state has increasingly moved to centralize authority — overriding local zoning decisions, preempting city ordinances, and imposing unfunded mandates that strain local budgets.

Kara believes this trend is wrong. The officials elected by Clearfield and Syracuse residents — city council members, mayors, school board members — are closer to the community than anyone on Capitol Hill. They understand the unique dynamics of their neighborhoods, the specific challenges their residents face, and the priorities that matter most to the people they serve.

When the state overrides local decisions, it doesn't just undermine local governance — it undermines the democratic process itself. Residents who show up to city council meetings, who volunteer on planning commissions, who vote in local elections, deserve to know that their voices matter. State preemption silences those voices.

This is personal for Kara. As someone who works with a school district every day, she has seen how state mandates — especially unfunded ones — can disrupt carefully planned budgets and divert resources from the programs students need most. She will fight to protect the authority of local governments and school districts to govern effectively without unnecessary interference from the state.

Local community governance
Her Platform

Kara's fiscal platform — principled and practical.

Fiscal responsibility isn't just a slogan. It's a governing philosophy rooted in respect for taxpayers, accountability for results, and trust in local communities to make their own decisions.

Transparency & Accountability

  • Strengthen budget transparency at all levels of government — Taxpayers should be able to see exactly how their money is being spent, in clear and accessible formats. Kara supports expanded open-data initiatives, simplified budget reporting, and real-time spending dashboards that put information in the hands of citizens.
  • Reduce unnecessary and duplicative spending — When multiple agencies perform overlapping functions, taxpayers pay twice for the same work. Kara will push for regular audits of state programs to identify duplication, inefficiency, and waste — and she'll follow through on eliminating it.
  • Ensure state programs demonstrate measurable outcomes — Every program funded by taxpayer dollars should be required to show results. If a program can't demonstrate that it's achieving its goals, it should be reformed, restructured, or eliminated. Data-driven governance isn't optional — it's an obligation.
  • Support responsible tax policy that doesn't shift burdens unfairly — Tax policy should be fair, predictable, and designed to support essential services without placing undue burden on working families. Kara opposes tax restructuring that benefits special interests at the expense of ordinary Utahns.

Local Control & Governance

  • Support policies that allow local governments to govern effectively — Cities and counties need the flexibility to respond to local needs without waiting for permission from the state. Kara supports preserving and strengthening local decision-making authority on issues like land use, public safety, and community development.
  • Oppose unfunded mandates from the state — When the legislature requires cities, counties, or school districts to implement new programs without providing the funding to pay for them, it forces local governments to raise taxes or cut existing services. Kara will oppose any mandate that doesn't come with the resources to implement it.
  • Protect local revenue sources and taxing authority — Local governments depend on property taxes, sales taxes, and fees to fund essential services like roads, parks, police, and fire departments. The state should not raid local revenue streams or restrict the ability of local governments to fund the services their residents depend on.
100%
Commitment to Budget Transparency
$0
Tolerance for Wasteful Spending
Local
Control Is Non-Negotiable
Efficiency

Making government work better, not bigger.

Kara doesn't believe in growing government for the sake of growing government. She believes in making government work — effectively, efficiently, and in direct service to the people who fund it. That means asking hard questions: Is this program achieving its goals? Can this service be delivered more efficiently? Are taxpayers getting value for their money?

In her work at the Davis Education Foundation, Kara has learned that resources are always limited and priorities must be clear. You can't fund everything, so you have to fund what works. You can't hire everyone, so you have to invest in the people who deliver results. That discipline — the discipline of managing real budgets with real constraints — is exactly what's needed in the legislature.

Government efficiency isn't a partisan issue. Every Utahn benefits when state agencies operate smoothly, when tax dollars are spent wisely, and when public services deliver the results they promise. Kara will bring her operational expertise to the legislature and fight to ensure that government serves people — not the other way around.

She supports modernizing government operations through technology, streamlining regulatory processes that impose unnecessary burdens on businesses and residents, and creating a culture of continuous improvement in state agencies. Government should earn the trust of taxpayers every day, not take it for granted.

Efficient governance
Local Control

Protecting cities and school districts from state overreach.

Clearfield and Syracuse know what Clearfield and Syracuse need. The city councils, planning commissions, and school boards in District 14 are made up of neighbors — people who live in these communities, send their kids to these schools, and drive these roads every day. They deserve the authority to make decisions that reflect their community's values and priorities.

In recent years, the Utah Legislature has increasingly stepped into areas that have traditionally been governed locally. Zoning decisions, housing policy, regulatory standards — more and more, the state is telling cities what they can and can't do, often without understanding the local context or providing the resources to implement new requirements.

Kara has seen this dynamic play out in education firsthand. When the state imposes new requirements on school districts without providing adequate funding, the district has to make impossible choices: cut existing programs, increase class sizes, or defer maintenance on aging facilities. Those aren't abstract budget line items — they're real impacts on real students.

She will be a consistent voice for local control in the legislature — not because she opposes state government, but because she believes in the principle that the best decisions are made closest to the people they affect. When the state steps in, it should be to support local governments, not to override them.

Local community representation
"Fiscal responsibility means more than just balancing a budget. It means respecting the people who fund that budget. It means demanding results from every program, transparency from every agency, and accountability from every elected official — including myself. Taxpayers don't work hard so government can waste their money. They work hard so their families and communities can thrive. That's the standard I'll hold myself to."
— Kara Toone

Support responsible governance.
Support Kara.

Kara is running to bring fiscal discipline, transparency, and respect for local control to the Utah Legislature. Your support makes that possible.

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