With tipsters coming out of the woodwork to report on illegal or unethical activity in Salt Lake County, Mayor Peter Corroon took the bull by the horns Thursday, calling a press conference to address the ongoing scandals head-on.

"I want the people of Salt Lake County to know one thing: I am committed to open, honest, ethical government . . . ," he said. "This may not be the last bad news that we uncover. I hope it is, but it may not be. Our duty as public servants is to identify problems and correct them."

Corroon has requested that District Attorney David Yocom look into allegations of tuition assistance problems, timecard fraud, improper hiring practices — and who knows what else might be coming down the pike. Corroon's office is conducting its own investigation, and County Auditor Sean Thomas is also involved.

"There are people here who want to talk," chief administrative officer Doug Willmore said. "The anonymous tips have been pouring in."

"While the press and public rightfully criticize the county for the recent string of wrongdoings that have been found, I am also somewhat encouraged by those findings because it shows that we are identifying problems and taking steps to correct them," Thomas said.

Corroon's press conference was in response to a recent rash of allegations: Thomas' auditors have found sloppiness and possible abuse of the county's employee tuition-assistance program, and two whistle-blowers have come forward alleging fraudulent timecard keeping in the personnel office and possibly elsewhere.

In particular, the whistle-blowers allege that tuition assistance coordinator Lisa Funderburk took advantage of that program as well as falsified her time sheets. They also implicate personnel director Felix McGowan.

In addition, another whistle-blower as well as an independent investigation conducted at the request of the County Council has alleged "suspect" hiring practices in the County Clerk's office, alleging that clerk Sherrie Swensen and then-chief deputy Nick Floros hired and promoted unqualified friends and family members with the knowledge of personnel staffers, including McGowan.

Swensen strongly disputes the investigator's conclusions, saying his motivations were "questionable" and that he did sloppy work, asking her about specific allegations only in vague terms or not at all.

For example, with regard to one employee named in the report who has low typing skills, the investigator said her job (in the passport section) required such skills. But Swensen points to a "desk audit" done on the position that concluded that only 94 key strokes per minute were required.

The investigator, James Morton, also said the wife of a personnel staffer was not recommended for a second interview but was hired anyway. Swensen said no second interview was required.