On Tuesday, Councilman Scott Cowdell asked his council colleagues and Sandy's administration to back an outside study that would examine the city's compensation packages in comparison with other Utah municipalities. In an interview, Councilman Stephen Smith also said he wants such a report.

Cowdell said the results would likely be the same as an internal review, but "the problem with in-house is appearance." An independent study could be used to "defend our position," he noted.

But he also suggested maybe the bonus program ought to be eliminated entirely to achieve "fair and equitable wages" for all employees.

Sandy resident Gary Forbush - who lost a tight race to Mayor Tom Dolan in 2005 - sent an e-mail this week to Smith and council members Dennis Tenney and Linda Martinez Saville demanding an independent inquiry after revelations that the city's top administrators routinely rack up thousands of dollars a year in bonuses while lower-ranking employees pocket infrequent payouts of a few hundred dollars or much less.

Recent letters to the editor and online message boards also have expressed outrage over Sandy's bonus program.

City leaders fought a four-year legal battle to keep that information secret but were forced by court order to disclose the bonuses.

Chief Administrative Officer Byron Jorgenson, who argued disclosing the bonuses would damage employee morale, earned $50,500 in after-tax bonuses the past five years, including a $12,500 payout this year. Dolan collects a smaller, "automatic" 1 percent bonus of about $1,000 per year on top of his $109,000 salary.

"It's not about the money; it is the principle of what has been done," Forbush wrote. "It is shameful and outrageous that taxpayer dollars were wasted to fight transparency in government."

He also said Sandy officials responsible for "initiating and maintaining the secrecy of this flawed bonus program" should be held accountable.

On Tuesday, Jorgenson told the council that his staff is reviewing the bonus policy. In an interview, Tenney said he has asked the administration to narrow the gap in the bonus amounts offered, possibly by using a uniform percentage for all employees who earn a reward.

"I am concerned about the disparity," he said, noting he supports performance pay, in general. "Because the city is a public entity the citizens absolutely have a right to know what every employee makes and what their bonuses are . . .transparency is very important."

Smith said he wants the city to look at the "whole picture" of administrators' compensation, "not just one slice." The top-heavy nature of the bonus program could be an indication that incentives are being misused to expand pay for long-serving staffers who have hit salary ceilings.

A study, he said, could determine whether that means those ceilings need to be lifted to keep Sandy pay competitive. But if administrators' pre-bonus pay is reasonable, there should be a "reduction if not an outright elimination" of incentives to managers, he said.

rwinters@sltrib.com