This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Members of the Utah Rivers Council claim the campaign to re-elect Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker offered the council money last spring amid a disagreement over a rain barrel water conservation program.

Zach Frankel, director of the Rivers Council, and board member Deeda Seed said the mayor and other city administrators spurned the council's Rain Harvest program in January. But in an April email, Becker's campaign mistakenly lauded him for embracing the initiative.

On Friday, Becker announced the launch of the city's separate program, which will offer barrels to qualified Salt Lake City residents for $68.

Matt Lyon, Becker's campaign manager, acknowledged the email claim was a mistake, but said no firm offer of money was made to Frankel.

He noted, however, that there were a number of discussions with the Rivers Council after the error was made. "We were troubleshooting a problem and trying to find a solution," he said.

In separate interviews, Frankel and Seed said the campaign offered the council $4,000 after they objected to the email.

Frankel said he did not accept any payment because he believed it would be unethical and that his organization does not participate in electoral politics. "We're about conservation, not politics," he said.

In an interview Friday, the mayor said he could not remember the details of discussions between his campaign and the Rivers Council. He said Salt Lake City wanted to launch its own rain barrel program to better coordinate with its other conservation initiatives.

No state law bars campaigns from making donations to nonprofit organizations, and it's common for nonprofits to solicit support from campaigns, said Mark Thomas, director of elections for the Utah lieutenant governor's office.

Beginning in August 2014, Frankel and the Rivers Council attempted to approach Becker to discuss the Rain Harvest program. But the group was denied a meeting with the mayor, Frankel said.

"I can get an audience with Gov. Gary Herbert or Sen. Orrin Hatch," Frankel said. "Every city met with us, except Becker."

Later, Frankel and Seed met with Salt Lake City public utility officials. But they said they were told the city did not want to partner with the Rivers Council or its Rain Harvest program.

The program offers 50-gallon rain barrels to homeowners for $50. Water captured from rain gutters is stored in the barrels and then used to irrigate lawns and gardens.

To date, Rain Harvest has sold 2,000 barrels.

Seed said she was surprised in late April to see the Becker email campaign flier touting Rain Harvest. "Not only don't they have it," she said, "they disparaged it."

Frankel recalled the faux pas caused confusion on both sides. Lyon attempted to sort out the miscommunication and misunderstanding with the Becker administration, Frankel added.

"I think Matt was trying to make good on what was in the email," Frankel said. "But I didn't want to take money from the campaign."

Seed, too, said Lyon was trying to get City Hall to be responsive and he did set up a meeting between Frankel and the mayor. But it came to no avail.

"Matt calls me and said, 'I might throw some money at this from the campaign,' " Seed recalled. "I said, to make it right, the city should do the program."

Lyon recalls conversations with the Frankel and Seed differently.

"It wasn't like we had a detailed agreement. It didn't get that far," he said. "There was never a hard offer."

Frankel believes the difficulty may have started with a Sept. 30, 2014, Salt Lake Tribune story on a University of Utah report publicized by the Rivers Council. It said that through property taxes, Salt Lake City homes on small lots may be subsidizing residents in tony neighborhoods with large yards.

Frankel and Seed recall that when they met with Laura Briefer, deputy director of Salt Lake City public utilities, last fall, she reminded them that she was unhappy with the Tribune story. Briefer was not available for comment Friday afternoon.

In a January letter, the city declined to participate in the River Council's Rain Harvest program.