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Mayors Becker, McAdams Want to Combine County and City Prosecution Services

Brian Grimmett

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker are pushing a proposal to combine county and city prosecution services.

While their jurisdictions overlap, Salt Lake City prosecutors normally handle lower level misdemeanor offenses while the Salt Lake County prosecutors handle felony charges. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams says this practice is often inefficient.

“We felt that a better coordination could actually yield in a more streamlined criminal justice system that is higher quality and also more efficient for the taxpayers,” he says.

The new proposal from McAdams and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker would combine the two departments. Salt Lake City prosecutors would remain city employees, but would be managed by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.

“There’s a great degree of trust in Sim Gill, both from myself and from mayor Becker, and so we think we’re going to pilot this and see how it goes," he says. "But we’re very confident that this can be a great thing for the taxpayer and a great thing for the services that both Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County deliver.”

The proposal will need the approval of both the city and county councils. Any cost savings would be shared between the two. 

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