Salt Lake County on right track, Corroon says

By Leigh Dethman
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006 9:43 a.m. MST
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Mission accomplished.

He didn't strut in wearing a flight suit, but Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon says he has won the war against corruption in county government.

During his State of the County speech Tuesday, Corroon acknowledge the scandal-ridden county has finally earned back the trust of the people.

"This past year has shown that we can work well together as one county government," Corroon said in his first state of the county speech since his inauguration in January 2005. "We have put aside politics to plan together for our future."

Since his first day on the job, Corroon has been immersed in scandals and taking heat for problems that began long before he even considered running for office. Yet despite setback after setback, Corroon continues to stand firm to his campaign promise of creating an open, scandal-free county government.

In the process of cleaning the county up, he found more problems, like allegations of improper hiring practices, falsified time cards and abuse of the county's tuition reimbursement program.

Fixing the county and earning the trust of the people drives the Democratic mayor to regularly work 12-hour days, four nights a week and most Saturdays.

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Corroon attempted to avoid further problems by closing loopholes that may have caused some on the county's more infamous scandals, such as personal use of gas cards and vehicles. Now those departments, as well as a few other problem-prone county offices, are under the new Administrative Services Department. The new branch has its own administrator to keep a closer watch on how money is spent and also monitor to see that policy is followed in areas such as fleet, personnel and facilities management.

Now with a year under his political belt, Corroon is ready to make his own mark.

Corroon spelled out four priorities he will focus on in the coming year: protection of Salt Lake County's environmental resources, improving public safety programs, continuing quality government services and more support for small businesses.

The mayor wants to focus on helping the county's 30,000 small businesses thrive by creating a new program designed to boost employment figures. The goal of the Plus One Initiative is to help Salt Lake County's small businesses add one new net employee per year. Corroon announced the program during his speech Tuesday and is scheduled to officially launch next month.

"If we can help even half of all small businesses add one new employee, that is 15,000 new jobs — the equivalent of 10 Kraftmaid facilities, 50 new IKEAs or 75 Costco Distribution Centers, and it is a sure sign that businesses are thriving in Salt Lake County," Corroon said.

"It's an aggressive campaign. As a county government, we know we can't change the economy as a whole, but we can bring everyone together. If we can do that, we can make things happen."

The program will help local businesses understand the resources the county offers, like the Business-Government Coalition Workshops. Small businesses are the county's "real economic growth engine" and provide more than 75 percent of the county's economic development.

E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com

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