Salt Lake County planning director resigns

The director of Salt Lake County's planning and development services division, Simon Ginn, has tendered his resignation following the investigation of a complaint of sexual harassment filed against him by an employee.

The investigation also revealed other issues of decorum in the division that employs 65 county workers, said Doug Willmore, Mayor Peter Corroon's chief administrative officer.

The resignation comes a year after a hiring committee gave Ginn the job after a national search.

Willmore would not comment on whether Ginn's decision to resign was linked to the claims of misconduct.

Ginn came to the post highly recommended and had worked as a planner in Calgary, Alberta, before taking the county position, Willmore said Thursday. Ginn, a married father of three, had relocated to the Canadian city in 2006 after working for the government of Queensland, Australia.

Willmore declined to detail what further actions might be taken within the division, but said that information obtained in the investigation is "representative of an organizational culture that is dysfunctional."

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