Democratic Salt Lake County Commission candidate Randy Horiuchi accused the commission Friday of becoming a "boondoggle of upper-level manager bureaucracy."
Millions of dollars could be saved by trimming positions in the county's management structure, Horiuchi said, pointing to a list of salaries and positions that cost the county about $500,000 each year. He did not identify where the rest of the savings would come from.Horiuchi specifically targeted three positions for elimination: commission staff manager, a position created by the commission one year ago, Salt Palace and fine arts director, and possibly the public works director.
Commissioner M. Tom Shimizu, who is Horiuchi's opponent in the commission race, said Horiuchi "needs to point a finger at himself" when he talks about cutting upper-level managers. Shimizu characterized Horiuchi as a close associate of former commissioner Dave Watson. "It was his man that hired two extra people" in public works administration, Shimizu said, charging that extra positions Watson added in the Public Works Department were cut after Shimizu regained his commission seat following Watson's resignation.
The county has fewer employees - including managers - now than it did 10 years ago, Shimizu said.
Horiuchi said money saved from trimming county management could be reinfused at the level residents see when they seek county services.
Horiuchi said Friday that bureaucratic "layering" has added unnecessary expenses to the cost of running county government and has added red tape to the county's operating procedures.
If elected to the commission, Horiuchi said he would enlist a group of volunteers from the business community to review county government operations, scrutinizing every job position, to see where government operations could be streamlined.
