Which explains why he is drafting an ethics ordinance.

"I don't want to be after-the-fact adopting rules because we have a mess," Grover said. "I want to have policies in place. Of course, people sometimes violate policies, but at least we would have something that says upfront what is acceptable or not."

Grover is particularly interested in tightening campaign-finance rules. The current law requires candidates to disclose campaign contributions. Grover wants it to bar donors from contracting with the county after elections for an as-yet undetermined length of time.

As for lobbyists, Utah County already has an ordinance prohibiting ex parte talks - communications outside public meetings - with lobbyists and others seeking to curry favor with the county.

While Salt Lake County did not rein in employee abuse of its tuition-assistance program until this year, Utah County tweaked its program in 1997 and then scrapped it altogether.

Grover says the same holds true of the county's motor pool. Rules were tweaked long ago to curb potential misuse of county vehicles and gas purchases.

"All the stuff that happened in Salt Lake County, quite frankly, we've already gone through [our ordinances and dealt with]. I'm not saying we are perfect, but we have been very proactive."

Still, if Grover wants to raise the county's ethical bar, he will need to convince his two colleagues the action is necessary. Commissioner Steve White could not be reached for comment.

But Commissioner Larry Ellertson, while not averse to upgrading standards, is unsure the action is necessary.

"I'd like to think we act in a way that is ethical without being dictated to as to what is and what isn't ethical," he said. "So I'm not opposed to it, but it's not something I have particularly been thinking about."

Grover hopes to have his ethics proposal ready for the commission's consideration before county elections in 2006.

meddington@sltrib.com