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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers are considering whether they should step in to create legislation that would only affect Salt Lake County, to prohibit someone from serving as both county sheriff and CEO at the Unified Police Department.
"There seems to be an inherent conflict of interest" when an elected official leads more than one agency with taxpayer funding involved, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said Wednesday during a Political Subdivisions Interim Committee meeting at the Capitol.
When Unified Police Department was created in 2010 to consolidate police services throughout the county, then-Sheriff Jim Winder automatically became CEO of the department, Teuscher noted.
Several years later, the county passed an ordinance that gives Unified's board of directors the ability to select the agency's CEO. Since then, the board has continued to select current Sheriff Rosie Rivera, who has worked "admirably" in her positions, Teuscher said.
But some cities that aren't part of Unified feel left out when it comes to funding, Teuscher said.
County funds are paying for services provided by Unified police that don't benefit the county as a whole, creating a double-taxation problem, the representative contended. For example, Unified has a cold case unit, but South Jordan does as well. That means South Jordan residents are paying for the cold case unit in their city and for Unified police department's unit, according to Teuscher.
He said the county also deserves a "full-time sheriff" who doesn't split time between two police agencies. Teuscher said he believes the issue requires a change to state code rather than action by the county council.
When given time to comment near the end of the discussion, Rivera said she believes any problems can be resolved by elected officials in the county.
She also took issue with the suggestion that her dual role as sheriff and CEO of Unified police plays a part in double taxation, saying funding is up to the county council and not the sheriff.
"I am the one who has to provide public service to our communities, and that's something people aren't talking about. What about our people, the people that elected me to provide public safety to them? … That's what we need to be talking about," Rivera said.
She also noted that she does not serve as chief over the Unified police, though, she does oversee the department, along with the board of directors.
Cities served by Unified Police Department now include Holladay, Millcreek, Copperton, Kearns, Midvale, Magna and White City. A few other cities were once part of the department but have exited over the years to form their own police departments.
City leaders joined the legislative meeting on Wednesday to either call for state action on the issue, or to advocate for the county to be allowed to solve it on its own.
Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini said Rivera asked him to form a working committee to look into the issue. He said he has since held discussions with numerous city and police leaders from across the county.
Many value the services provided by Unified police such as drug enforcement, which although focused in certain communities, help the county as a whole, Silvestrini said.
Likewise, Rivera noted during her comments that while some residents say they don't value services like search and rescue, those services benefit everyone in the community. "We don't get to pick and choose who gets stuck in the mountains," she said.
While the county funds Unified officers in the drug enforcement task force, cities such as Millcreek contribute officers at their own expense, who benefit from the training they receive in the task force, Silvestrini said.
One potential solution to help counter the double taxation issue would be a subscription basis for some police services, with cities able to opt in as they choose. Silvestrini said he's hopeful that by next month or by next year's session, his working group will come up with potential reform to solve some of the problems "and give confidence to the Legislature that local government can handle this, and maybe you don't need to step in."
Salt Lake Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton said leaders from some of the cities she represents have approached her with concerns over fairness in taxpayer funding.
She said she believes it's problematic having the sheriff serve as the head of Unified police and that it creates at least the appearance of a benefit to Unified police.
"An elected official wearing multiple hats cannot provide adequate checks and balances when issuing government contracts or (interlocal agreements) with both agencies that they oversee," Winder Newton said.
But she said she hopes the county will be able to retain control over police funding.
The interim committee did not take action on the issue during Wednesday's meeting, but its chairman Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, said the group will likely continue the discussion again soon.
Correction: A previous version misstated the name of the former Salt Lake County sheriff as Mike Winder. It was Jim Winder.
