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On TRCC, Provo airport funding and immigration, Paxman backs tourism investment and law-enforcement cooperation while pledging review
Summary
Isaac Paxman told the Utah County Republican podcast he supports using TRCC funds for projects that demonstrably attract visitors, defends the Provo airport gate expansion agreement as beneficial to the county, and says he defaults toward public-safety cooperation with ICE while promising to study the county's formal agreement.
Isaac Paxman addressed several county infrastructure and public-safety topics on the Utah County Republican Party podcast, including the TRCC sales-tax bucket, Provo airport funding, transit projects and the county's cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On the tourism/recreation/convention center (TRCC) tax, Paxman said the funds should be used for projects that demonstrably attract visitors (hotels, regional attractions) and stressed return‑on‑investment for tourism. "If it's going to just be a park in the corner of a neighborhood, that to me doesn't fit it," he said, explaining the principle that TRCC-funded projects should bring nonresident spending into the county.
Asked about a long-term interlocal agreement that funnels TRCC dollars to Provo airport expansion (discussed on the show as a $19.5 million initial and then $3.5 million-per-year commitment), Paxman explained FAA restrictions that require airport revenues to stay with airport operations and said the airport bond structure allowed the county to accelerate gate construction. He said he served on the TRCC board and views the airport investment as broadly beneficial to county businesses and institutions.
On transit and the UVX bus-rapid-transit line, Paxman said he would not close existing projects and sees a place for transit but that in many cases "roads" produce a larger immediate benefit for county residents. He said he would review costs and outcomes before expanding similar projects.
On immigration-related policy, when asked about the county's formal cooperation agreement with ICE, Paxman said he would study the agreement before changing course but voiced a default position of supporting public safety and law enforcement. "My major default is towards public safety... I very much am a law-and-order guy," he said, while adding that any lawbreaking by officers or federal agents should be addressed by the legal process.
Ending: Paxman emphasized case-by-case review of existing agreements and a preference for projects that demonstrably serve the county's tourism and transportation goals.
