The question of who controls Salt Lake County's budget preparation appears headed to court.

After the County Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to make the mayor the budget officer and to transfer eight budget preparation positions to that office from the auditor's office, County Auditor Greg Hawkins reaffirmed an earlier vow to sue to block the change.

"Absolutely. We believe it's unlawful what they did," Hawkins said, indicating he would wait until after Thanksgiving to file a lawsuit.

Mayor Peter Corroon said he was disappointed to hear that Hawkins, a first-term Republican, intended to pursue his earlier threat of litigation if budget preparations, revenue estimates and accounting were moved from his elected office to the mayor's.

"I'm obviously supportive of the council's decision," said Corroon, a Democrat who has announced he will not seek a third term next fall, a point he emphasized to show that the change was not a power grab by his administration.

"This is a good government initiative that will make the budgeting process more efficient," he added. "And it will make the auditor stronger at what it does — being a watchdog for the taxpayer."

Corroon also said this was not a political issue between Democrats and Republicans, noting that four of the council's five GOP members voted to put the mayor over the budgeting process. The council's fiscal analyst, David Delquadro,also was an advocate for the move.

The change was recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association in a $15,000 report commissioned by the County Council to review the organizational structure of the county's financial-management system. The report said consolidation of the budget process in the Mayor's Office would result in a more efficient, effective and collaborative process.

Hawkins and deputy auditor Lonn Litchfield made a lengthy argument in defense of the county's current system, which they said had created checks and balances instrumental to the county achieving and maintaining a AAA bond rating.

Councilman Arlyn Bradshaw, a Democrat, said he appreciated the importance of checks and balances, but maintained it was the council's responsibility to keep the county's chief executive in check, not the auditor.

The council accepted his motion that a board should be created, including representatives of the mayor, council, auditor and treasurer, to track revenue projections.