New government for S.L. County

It's official: At noon on Jan. 1, 2001, Salt Lake County will have a new form of government.

By a 53 percent to 47 percent margin, voters Tuesday approved a proposal to switch from the current three-commissioner form to a council/mayor form that will separate executive and legislative powers.Results were complete but unofficial at press time.

"It doesn't solve all our problems, but it wasn't intended to," said Jim Leigh, a member of a citizens committee that drafted the plan. "It's a first step. At least this way we get rid of the `I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.' "

A frequent criticism of the commission form of government was that commissioners swapped favors in order to pass their own projects. Proponents of the change believe a nine-member council and independently elected mayor will reduce that tendency.

Six of the council members will be elected by district, with three elected at large.

The Salt Lake County Commission - Brent Overson, Mary Callaghan, and Commissioner-elect Mark Shurtleff, who will replace Randy Horiuchi in two months - will have two years to prepare for the change-over.

The proposal's passage has a personal impact on Callaghan and Shurtleff - their terms of office will be cut in half.

"It means I'm out of a job in two years, but I look forward to working to make the transition and keep the cost down," Shurtleff said. "There's so much to do."

Cost had been a major issue in the campaign waged for and against the proposal. County Auditor Craig Sorensen has estimated it would cost up to $1.2 million to make the switch and an annual additional cost of up to $3.1 million.

"I'm surprised that, as many people that object to our increased taxes all the time, they would continue to vote for (costly government changes)," said opponent Lynn Price, also a member of the drafting committee. "I'm amazed that we keep taxing ourselves down the road to socialism."

In relative terms, however, the cost is small compared to the county's $500 million annual budget.

Price attributed the proposal's success to how it appealed to residents' "idea from seventh-grade civics" of how governments should have institutional checks and balances. Also, "I think there is a backlash still to the fighting that has gone on in county government."

While the commission's well-publicized bickering with County Attorney Doug Short was not technically involved in the proposed change, many people believed changing the form would help avoid such problems.