S.L. County to review ethics reform proposals

Salt Lake County leaders are tightening the reins of their ethics policy, with a gift ban and stricter hiring practices leading the charge.

County officials will get their first peek today at the initial reform proposals to come out of five months of deliberation by council members, government watchdog groups and community members.

"County residents are really looking to believe in their government again," Councilman Mark Crockett said. "In each of these ethics topics, we're looking for the thing that will most increase people's confidence."

The first round of those proposals cracks down on hiring relatives and accepting gifts, but the committee still plans to look at 10 other issues, including whistle-blowers, campaign finance, the creation of an ethics commission, open meetings and ethics training.

Crockett, who spearheaded the proposed reformation of the county's nepotism policy, said the overarching goal was to clear up the county's image, which has come under attack in recent months with allegations of improper hiring of personal friends and family.

Although the reforms were already under way when an in-house investigation turned up the bulk of those accusations, Crockett said the discussion following that investigation highlighted the need for clarity in personnel policies.

"There is a perception that the county is full of favoritism," he said. "Hiring practices — who we hire, how they perform their work and how they're supervised — should be as independent as possible."

Crockett's reform proposals explicitly prohibit any county employee from appointing or trying to influence the hiring of a relative to a position paid out of county funds. The measure also disallows any employee from supervising a relative. A new supervisor must be chosen for workers hired before a relative became an elected official.

The proposed reform does allow, however, for temporary or seasonal employees to be recommended or even hired by family members.

"To the extent that we could tighten up the rules to make it crystal clear to the public that we do not tolerate this, I think that's a good thing," Councilman Joe Hatch said.

The second reform up for debate today by the county council is an alteration of the gift ban that would lower the limit on acceptable gifts from $50 to $20. That $20 maximum would be allowed four times per year by any single group.

The proposal, headed by Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, also takes much of the guesswork out of the county's gift ban policy by enumerating the only exceptions to the policy not to "knowingly accept or solicit any gift."