Salt Lake County seeks to boost diversity

Salt Lake County might be one of the most diverse areas in the state, but it's hard to tell from walking into the county's government building.

Nearly nine of every 10 county employees are white, a statistic that Mayor Peter Corroon wants to counter with a heightened effort to diversify the county ranks.

"As the county gets to be more and more diverse, we need to include those groups in government," Corroon said. "You make better decisions when you have everybody at the table."

Corroon's first effort to get more minorities weighing in on county decisions is set to start this week with a Council on Diversity Affairs. With more than 60 applicants for the 15 advisory panel slots, director of diversity affairs Phil Bernal said residents are responding to Corroon's commitment to a more diverse county government.

The new group will take the place of former Mayor Nancy Workman's Hispanic Task Force but will stay true to the same goal of hiring and advocating for the county's minority groups.

"The county has 108 boards and commissions, but they're very homogenous, even though some of their decisions impact low-income diverse populations," Bernal said. "This council will help us to make their boards more inclusive of the county population."

A view from someone other than the traditional white male county employee will particularly help in areas like health care and law enforcement, Bernal added, because minority representatives will be better able to bridge language and culture gaps.

The added input by minorities also is likely to help the county bolster its numbers of Hispanic, black, Asian and American Indian workers, Bernal said. Currently, minorities make up only about 11 percent of the county's 4,000-plus work force.

Although the number of minority workers has increased in all job areas since Corroon assumed leadership this year, some groups still fall short of reflecting the county's population and its labor force.

In particular, the county is severely lacking American Indian employees in occupations ranging from managers to maintenance personnel. Debra Smith, manager of the county's Equal Employment Opportunity office, said the low recruitment in the American Indian/Alaskan subgroup has been an ongoing concern for several years.

Only half a percent of county employees are American Indian, a slight increase from about a .42 percent portion in 2000.