Highland Mayor Jay Franson has been the target of conflict of interest charges, and he doesn't like it one bit.

Complaints have been made that he has used his position as mayor to reward American Fork for hiring his engineering firm to work on its pressurized irrigation project. Franson replies that Highland benefitted as much as, if not more than, American Fork. The Utah Attorney General's office is looking into the matter.

Yet it's absurd to claim that this subject should be out of bounds in a political race, as Franson has claimed. It highlights his role and conduct as a public official and private businessman.

Small-town officials have conflicts of interest just like their big-city counterparts, and when they do it's important that the conflicts be revealed widely and clearly, starting with required disclosure forms. Franson says his declaration of a conflict of interest was lost by city staff, and he says he didn't keep a copy, which is odd for such an important document.

But a mere declaration of a conflict seems like the minimum in any case. The American Fork conflict -- or potential for conflict -- called for more than that. Public officials should go out of their way to address the spirit of the law, not just the letter.

Franson has made noises about his rights supposedly being violated by Councilwoman Kathryn Schramm and former city employee Jay Haws, who raised the allegations, and by the Utah Attorney General's Office for looking into them.

But, obviously, Haws and Schramm have not only the right but the obligation to bring such matters to the attention of the authorities if they honestly believe a problem exists. Then we have independent vetting. That's how the system works, and it's fair.

Franson says his Fifth Amendment rights have been violated because he was not notified about the case. No charges have been filed, however, so it's hard to see how the Fifth Amendment applies.

Of course, Franson may be innocent of any conflict of interest. It seems clear that Highland did benefit from his decisions, though that seems to sidestep the core issue. His reaction to the accusation was understandably one of irritation. And yet it was also revealing of his philosophy.