Leo Memmott, a longtime fiscal analyst for the Utah Legislature and former staff chair for NCSL, died in May. He was 90.
Arturo Perez, NCSL vice president for state affairs, describes Memmott as a pioneer. Utah was one of the early states to create a fiscal office in the 1960s, and Memmott helped shape that work for other legislatures to follow, Perez says.
Memmott
“He was a very dedicated individual and took great pride in serving the legislature, serving the citizens as a public servant,” Perez says. “And to this day, the Utah fiscal analyst office is still considered a model for other states and what they do.”
Memmott was one of the founders of the Western State Legislators Fiscal Association and, in 1976, helped to establish a national fiscal association as part of NCSL. His goal was to create more opportunities for fiscal analysts to learn from one another and develop professionally. He served as president of NCSL’s National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices from 1980-82.
Memmott was described in a profile as “the most powerful person in state government” for his role in determining what legislators had to spend. The Deseret News wrote in 1990, when he was 25 years into the job, that Memmott didn’t seek such notice.
“It’s a question of whether you need the limelight or whether you’re intent on providing the information to the people who make decisions,” Memmott told the newspaper.
He instilled that nonpartisan philosophy in his staff, the paper wrote.
“We’ll say you’re a good analyst if you can give your information and watch legislators make the opposite decision,” he said. “After all, they’re elected to do that.”
Memmott left the fiscal analyst job in 1998 but did not end his public service. After he and his wife, Florence, served with an LDS mission in Greece, he became the deputy director of the office responsible for organizing the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. After that, he served in the cabinets of two governors.
Senior editor Kelley Griffin is the host and producer of NCSL’s “Across the Aisle” podcast.