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A performance audit of the Salt Lake County recorder's office will be conducted in the aftermath of rising concerns about the mental health of recorder Gary Ott.
The County Council unanimously asked the county auditor on Tuesday to scrutinize the way the office is operating in light of a bizarre incident this winter involving the independently elected official, an incident that exacerbated worries abundant around the County Government Center that the 64-year-old Ott's cognitive skills are slipping.
"The intent is to assure that the office is running well, as we've been told, and that the outcomes are what our constituents would expect," said Democratic Councilwoman Jenny Wilson.
"My hope is that it comes back saying it's operating fine," said Council Chairman Max Burdick, a Republican.
Ott, also a Republican, was not available for comment after the County Council requested the performance audit.
Ott's deputy, Julie Dole, said she was not worried about the audit.
"We're looking forward to the operations audit. We're hoping it shows we're understaffed, that we've been running our staff ragged over time," she said. "It's of no concern. We feel like we'll successfully pass any audit."
Concerns about Ott's condition that had festered for months broke into the open a month ago when police reports surfaced that described how, on the frigid night of Jan. 29, law enforcement officers rescued an underdressed Ott walking along a deserted highway west of Tooele after his car broke down.
"Gary said he was with his people and vegetables," a Grantsville police officer reported before he and a Tooele County deputy released Ott to the care of his girlfriend and work aide, Karmen Sanone.
With that disclosure, Mayor Ben McAdams acknowledged his office had brought in an outside firm earlier to investigate a former employee's complaint that "Mr. Ott's capacity is diminishing" and that Dole and Sanone are actually running the office, an accusation all three deny.
The mayor's probe found no violations of county policies or state law in Ott's office and no outside complaints. In addition, an unrelated employee survey found job satisfaction in the recorder's office higher than for county employees in general.
At about that time, the council asked the district attorney's office for an opinion on its options for dealing with the recorder. Not many, the D.A.'s office replied. Because he is independently elected, Ott is answerable to the voters and not the mayor or the council.
One option for the council is a performance audit of the recorder's office, which Wilson said could take a systemic look at "its functionality [and] its business practices."
Auditor Scott Tingley said he could do as broad or a narrow of an audit as the council desired, focusing on the structure of the office and not its personnel.
"We'd look at the organizational structure and if the [proper] personnel and resources were provided and used in an appropriate manner," he said. "We would never look at the competency of an individual in a management role. That's not our call to make. "