If the arts are for everyone, and everyone pays for arts institutions through their taxes, than everyone should have a say in how those institutions are run, right?

That's not the way it works in Salt Lake County, according to a surprising analysis by my colleague Jeremiah Stettler in today's dead-tree Tribune.

Of the 238 board members for the county's premier arts institutions, Stettler found, 160 live on the east side of Interstate 15, while only 13 live west of I-15. The analysis found that 47 don't live in the county, and 18 are either government officials or their address couldn't be confirmed.

There are no west-siders on the boards of the Clark Planetarium, Discovery Gateway, Pioneer Theatre, the Utah Symphony or Wheeler Farm. Only one west-side resident sits on the Hogle Zoo board, and two are on the board for the Center for the Arts.

Defenders of the arts groups, particularly the independent nonprofits such as Pioneer Theatre and Discovery Gateway, say the main reason board members are selected is their ability to raise money - and that money usually comes from the wealthier, more corporate east side.

But, west-side officials point out, South Jordan has the highest average household income in the county, while West Jordan, Herriman and Riverton - all in the southwest part of the county - have average incomes higher than the median.

Stettler quotes County Councilman Randy Horiuchi, a Democrat, who says in his typical hyperbole: "We need to be way more proactive in trying to get more west-side members. Their tax dollars are going to these institutions like everyone else's. This is what the Boston Tea Party was all about."