County Will Cut Ten Positions at Sorenson Center

11.25.2009 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) The staff of the Sorenson Multi-Cultural Center have been criticized by Salt Lake City Council members for intentionally undercharging some patrons to use the facilities. Now these employees must compete for a reduced number of jobs that will be offered under new management by Salt Lake County. Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation spokesman Martin Jensen says the county must do what’s best for the community in selecting new employees, whether they’re chosen from the current staff or not.

“It’s a tough situation to be honest with you. The employees there bring a lot of value to the center and they have some great experiences and great relationships with the patrons that currently use that and we don’t want to discount that,” he told KCPW.  “You know, what’s most important to us is making sure that we run the facility as we have been entrusted to do so.”

Jensen says the county will train all the incoming employees on the proper policies for charging admission to the facility. But he adds that low-income residents will still be eligible for reduced rates under county management.

The city owned and operated Sorenson Multi-Cultural Center will change to county management as of January first, resulting in nearly a half a million dollars in savings to city and county taxpayers each year. But this savings will come largely from reduced staffing levels and pay. Jensen acknowledges it’s a tough time to be laying off workers.

“You hate to see anybody negatively impacted by business decisions. That’s really hard. And I’d be the first one to admit that. But we’re doing what we’ve been asked by Salt Lake City to do and to help save taxpayer dollars,” said Jensen.

Currently, the city operates the facility with 18 full and part-time employees.  The county plans to staff eight full-time positions, with salaries ranging from $18,000 to $75,000 per year.