From Deseret News archives:

Corroon does damage control

Mayor vows to tackle scandals, restore trust

Published: Friday, April 15, 2005 12:11 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
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.

Story continues below
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.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon says he has asked the district attorney to look into allegations of wrongdoing in county government.

previousnext

Latest comments

Notre Dame fires Weis

"Just get them off Saturday television...maybe ABC will see the light."...

What a bunch of cry babies.This is why BYU or Utah is not taken seriously....

BYU says Hall incident resolved

Umm... get your facts right. It was at most 30 minutes after the game, in...

Utah is the only place this article would ever get published in a newspaper.

Prep basketball ready for change

Olympus will be hoisting the state trophy high above their heads this year...

whoever you play in Boise doesn't have tight ends. You guys cant cover them....

Hall reprimanded by MWC

Hall shouldn't have to apology for anything. He does have the right to say...

BYU says Hall incident resolved

Scoreboard!!!

Excuse me, yes I am that dead horse you're kicking. Can you please stop now?...

"In all this, Hall did more damage to his own image than he ever did the...

Advertisements