This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake County Council signed off Tuesday on bringing Salt Lake City prosecutors into the county district attorney's office.
"This will help us more effectively prosecute crimes and move people through the criminal-justice system and, hopefully, rehabilitate them and return them to society," said county Mayor Ben McAdams, who negotiated the merger with Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.
The County Council unanimously agreed in approving an interlocal agreement that triggers a pilot program. Its goal is to save common administrative expenses.
City prosecutors, who generally handle misdemeanor cases, will remain on Salt Lake City's payroll but will be managed by District Attorney Sim Gill, a former chief prosecutor for the city whose office handles felonies and more serious misdemeanors.
"This is something we've been interested in for three years, slowly working toward this," Gill said. "This is an incredible opportunity to execute the [criminal justice] master plan the mayor has been working on."
— Mike Gorrell