New SLC Planning Director from Davis County

Aug 11, 2008 by Jeff Robinson

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker announced today who will take control of the city's planning division, which was called "dysfunctional" in a recent audit. Wilford Sommerkorn has been the Director of Community and Economic Development for Davis County since 1994. He says customer service will be his top priority when he takes control in two weeks.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know the staff; I understand we have a great staff in that division, learning their strengths, and then moving forward, making the changes that will be effective, and try to get things in the direction that they need to be as quickly as we can," he said.

The planning division has been without a permanent director since March, when Mayor Becker dismissed George Shaw.

Recently, Avenues residents have complained that the planning division does a poor job of keeping them in the loop about decisions that affect them. Sommerkorn says increasing transparency in the planning process is one of his priorities.

"I've understood that with some folks, there is an issue of transparency," said Sommerkorn. "There's no question that the process needs to be transparent, something that all actors in the community can be aware of, know what's going on, and have, where appropriate, some influence in that process. I'm committed to that and we need to make sure that happens."

Sommerkorn says he'll meet with community councils when he takes on the new position and welcomes their input to the process.

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