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Show Salt Lake County Government: Creating Synergy, Success, and Efficiency for the Next Ten Years Salt Lake County Mayor, Peter Corroon • The county should seek authority to coordinate all local government activities and developments which originate, extend or terminate beyond the boundaries of single local governments ("A Report on Recommended Action" 1986, 3). Further recommended in the study was construction of a medium/minimum security jail facility. That became the 500-bed Oxbow Jail in the City of South Salt Lake that has been for sale for several years since the opening of the 2,000 bed Adult Detention Center (ADC) in January 2000. There is now pressure to re-open Oxbow since the ADC is functionally at its prisoner limit. In the criminal justice section of the report, it "actively encouraged functional consolidation of law enforcement service among political entities." Sheriff Aaron Kennard has suggested this year a Unified Police Authority to consolidate many of the functions of our myriad of local police agencies in the county. The Sheriff's plan would keep local patrols in the communities, while consolidating investigations, gang units, communications and other administrative functions. A Dan Jones and Associates 45-question survey taken in 1985 indicated 65% of the respondents favored special user fees instead of normal taxes to provide certain county services (recreation, building permits, paramedic service). The COMPS report also made some dramatic recommendations concerning the executive structure. Besides having a chief executive, the report recommended elimination of seven elected positions including the sheriff, auditor, assessor, treasurer, clerk, recorder and surveyor. The only elected official the report determined should be retained as "elected" rather than appointed was County Attorney (District Attorney). By fall of 1986, Commissioners appointed "County Government for the Next Century: A Community Task Force." The task force assignment was to "determine whether to change" the form of county government. One year later the report was issued. Grant Holman, Chair of County Government for the Next Century Task Force, wrote in his cover letter to commissioners "...the ultimate solution to meet the problems of expected growth in Salt Lake Valley can only be met by a consolidated government for the total area." Mr. Holman decried the fragmentation of government "that now exists...particularly in the public safety area." Many of the recommendations mirrored the COMPS study and also suggested that county government assume the role of becoming the low-cost producer of services that are countywide in nature. Salt Lake County Today Today we have a Mayor-Council form of government. The executive branch of government includes not just the mayor, but eight other elected executives that have responsibility for important countywide operations. I am the second elected County Mayor in a system that is in its fifth year of existence after nearly 150 years of being served by a three member Board of Salt Lake County Commissioners. Salt Lake County's challenges today are exactly the same as commissioners faced in the mid-1970s. The county anticipates continued growth in both population and demand for services. A further challenge is to provide the best services at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. The citizens and elected officials must make critical decisions regarding growth. These decisions affect quality of life, ability to create jobs and how to retain those jobs. As Salt Lake County grows, decisions affecting transportation affect economic development, decisions affecting economic development will affect land use; decisions affecting land use will affect how our governments grow. As Mayor of Salt Lake County, I look forward to these challenges and how we as a community will plan for our future. With years of recommendations behind us and continued growth before us, there are a few key issues to consider. Police & Fire Police and fire service are two areas of government provided service that are critically affected by growth of Salt Lake County. The following are two examples of how multiple public safety providers in the county negatively affect the services we receive as citizens: 1-Earlier this year, one of the cities in Salt Lake County faced a bomb scare at a business. When the public safety officers arrived they asked the employees to look underneath their desks for something that might be a bomb. When one of the employees questioned why she should have to look under the desk, the Public Safety Officer replied "because we do not have our own bomb squad." The reason this city did not have its own bomb squad is due to a modest city budget and a low crime rate. 2-Criminals know no boundaries. In past crime sprees, criminals have robbed a bank or convenience store in one city then moved on to another and another. Each city responded appropriately but was not always aware of prior incidents. The obvious solution is to coordinate law enforcement efforts. There is no doubt the tax paying public expects professional law enforcement. The public also expects professional police departments to talk directly with one another, thoroughly investigate crime and protect citizens. In the past couple of years the cities of Draper and Taylorsville created their own police departments. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's office thereby became smaller. This causes stress on the remaining Sheriff's jurisdiction as economies of scale decrease while the countywide gang and investigation needs increase. The solution to the deadly combination of increasing costs and reduced capabilities is the Unified Police Authority (UPA) that will at first consist of unincorporated areas and 64 |
