Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams are pleased to announce a proposal to launch a new pilot effort aimed at combining City and County prosecution services.
Under the proposed agreement, the district attorney will oversee and manage city prosecutors in a new, highly efficient approach that garners cost savings for both entities, creates new opportunities of scale and lays the groundwork for a potential long-term regional solution.
“Our City Prosecutor Padma Veeru-Collings and her team have a history of excellence in providing prosecution services for our community,” said Mayor Becker. “This new structure is designed to continue that high level of effectiveness, while also saving taxpayer dollars and creating new efficiencies in a unique, regional approach.”
“We’re committed to the effective administration of justice for citizens of Salt Lake County,” said Mayor McAdams. "This pilot program will help us find ways to effectively and collaboratively manage the criminal caseload while providing high-quality regional services."
Under the proposal, Salt Lake City prosecutors would be managed by the County District Attorney Sim Gill, but remain City employees. Cost savings would be shared equally by the County and City during the one-year pilot, with options for review and extension by both parties at the end of that term.
“The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office is excited to join Mayor Ben McAdams and Mayor Ralph Becker in consolidating functions between the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s office and the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office through this inter-local agreement for management services,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. "This project will consolidate functions, bring economies of scale and streamline access to services in a win-win outcome for both the citizen taxpayers of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. This is an example of mutual problem solving that will yield efficiencies for both offices."
The proposal requires approval by both the Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City councils before implementation, with a potential effective date of Sept. 1, 2015.
