Vehicle session not a big draw

If a lack of attendance is any indicator, the ethical use of Salt Lake County vehicles may not be a critical issue for county taxpayers anymore.

Only one person was on hand to express views during the first hour of a special two-hour public meeting on the issue this past week at the Salt Lake County offices.

Mayor Nancy Workman created a volunteer citizen advisory group last June to provide recommendations on policies, practices and controls relating to Salt Lake County vehicle usage.

Kerry Knighton of Magna, a former employee of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department, was the only resident to speak during the first 60 minutes of the hearing. He believes there is also a regular misuse of police vehicles in the county.

He said a sergeant on the force, for example, routinely takes his vehicle several cities away from his jurisdiction to have lunch with friends and associates.

"He's misusing his vehicle and using taxpayer money to go out of his area and get his meal," Knighton said.

Officers regularly take their vehicles home at night, but Knighton said this misuse takes place while they are still on the work clock.

Knighton is also not sure that some personnel of the county jail, who have county cars, need them either.

He said he has video evidence of his allegations.

The controversy over the use of county vehicles began last May after the press reported that some county officials had higher-than-expected mileage and gas usage.

Former chief financial officer Randy Allen resigned after it was found he used his county-owned SUV to tow his boat to Lake Powell twice last year. Auditor Craig Sorensen also came under scrutiny for his frequent gas purchases. Sorensen resigned as auditor, and last month he entered a guilty plea for filling the gas tanks of his personal vehicles with fuel intended for his work-assigned SUV. He will repay the county $8,600 as part of his reduced charge.

Workman, now on paid administrative leave due to pending felony charges, and her staffers gave up their county vehicles June 15 and began taking mileage reimbursement in their own vehicles.

Anyone still wishing to weigh in on this issue with recommendations or concerns on vehicle usage in Salt Lake County can still mail their comments to: Citizens Review Panel, c/o Gil Miller, Pricewater- house Coopers, One Utah Center, 201 S. Main, Suite 900, Salt Lake City, UT, 84111. Comments can be e-mailed to: SLCitizensPanel@yahoo.com.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com