Taylorsville seeking a new chief

Taylorsville has begun looking for a new police chief to replace Larry Marx, whose sudden firing last week will cost the city about $42,000.

Marx, who oversaw the formation of the city's new police force in April 2005, believes his dismissal was retribution for being a whistle-blower against Mayor Russ Wall. When Wall fired Marx on June 8, the mayor cited his desire for "a new direction."

Marx's 2 1/2-year contract, which had about nine months remaining, called for him to receive six months' pay if fired before the contract ended, City Administrator John Inch Morgan said. That amount, given to Marx when he left, was $42,000.

Once a new chief is hired and starts collecting a salary, Marx's termination compensation will be an extra cost the city will have to somehow work into its budget, Morgan said.

"It was unfortunate but necessary," Wall said Thursday. He had no further comment on Marx's firing, maintaining his earlier statements that it was just time for a change.

Dozens of residents showed up at Wednesday's City Council meeting to express their disapproval of Marx's firing. The police chief is one of five "at-will" positions in Taylorsville, meaning the mayor can fire the chief for any reason at any time.

"The theory is you need department heads who carry out (the administration's) philosophy," said Morgan, whose position is also at-will.

But Marx said he was fired because of a series of conflicts between him and Wall, including a disagreement over a police report that named several juveniles and was therefore required to remain private. Wall's wife, who is a paralegal with the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office, saw the report and believed it was filled out wrong. She faxed a copy of it to her husband, who approached a police lieutenant.

The lieutenant informed the chief, who then confronted the mayor about it, and Wall was infuriated, Marx said.

Marx now is considering legal action, he said.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard tried to get Taylorsville on board with a planned Unified Police Department in the fall of 2004, when the city was discussing the creation of its own police force. Wall said Marx's firing has nothing to do with the ongoing unified-department plans.

"There's no intent, as far as I know, for the city to join the UPD at this point," Wall said. "We haven't got enough information on that yet."

The proposed unified department would combine law-enforcement duties under one central agency for unincorporated county land and any number of the cities currently served by the sheriff's office, which included Taylorsville until the new force was created.

But Morgan said the search for a new police chief is already on, meaning the city intends to keep its own police force running at least for the time being. Wall has put together a panel of five former police chiefs from various Wasatch Front departments, and they will begin taking applications for the new chief immediately.

In the meantime, a lieutenant from the Taylorsville police force will serve as acting chief.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com