Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby said that the Sheriff’s Office is making improvements to better communication between his office and the Wasatch County Council.  He suggested a quarterly meetup between the Sheriff’s Office and the County Council where questions about operations can be an swered. Rigby suggested that the strategy to meet up each quarter would better improve communication. “We’d like to answer questions. We’d like to talk about any projects that we’re working on and those kinds of things,” Rigby said. The effort, he said, is not meant to replace the Deputy Sheriff’s Merit Commission. Rigby created the Merit Commission himself in January 2019 to promote fairer and more transparent hiring, promotion and disciplinary procedures.  “Please know that you’re invited. I’d love the opportunity to sit down with you and open up the books and talk and have open discussion,” Rigby said.  The invitation and update comes nearly three months after the release of an independent investigation into the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office by retired Judge Richard McKelvie. The investigation was prompted by public safety complaints made to the County Council at the start of the year.  The report released at the end of September found “shortcomings” and alleged misconduct in the Sheriff’s Office. McKelvie categorized the Merit Commission as “dysfunctional” in his findings. Rigby specifically was accused of retaliatory actions against employees, favoritism, misuse of county property and absenteeism.  In October, the County Council began acting on recommendations made by McKelvie to right the misdoings and pitfalls found in the report. The County Council then voted to amend Merit Commission guidelines to strengthen the Merit Commission’s role “in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the state law.” The Merit Commission is now required to make regular reports to the County Council, and a quorum of two is now permissible to pass a motion.  Rigby, who denied any wrongdoing by himself or the Sheriff’s Office after the report was released in September, has since been working to improve the Sheriff’s Office. Former Merit Commissioner Leo Lucey was hired in September as the director of administrative services to help guide the Sheriff’s Office.  Wednesday, Rigby introduced another newcomer. Retired Washington City Police Chief Jim Keith has been hired to provide additional insight on the Sheriff’s Office with a fresh set of eyes.  “I’ve asked Jim to help us in our office when it comes to making enhancements and work that really needs to be done inside the office and outside the office,” Rigby said. “Really, organizations over time can develop groupthink or they could use someone from the outside to come in and give them suggestions.” Rigby also suggested the County Council attend occasional lunches or dinners to engage with employees.  “Giving them lots of opportunity to feel like they’re heard and that they can bring up whatever they would like to bring up and that it’s going to be handled,” Rigby said. “It’s an open discussion. It’s just driven off what questions they have.” The County Council on Wednesday passed a $129 million Wasatch County budget for 2026, which includes a $2 million increase from last year for the Sheriff’s Office. Part of that includes the hiring of a new professional standards director, though some councilors said they thought that the individual should be hired outside the Sheriff’s Office. The post Wasatch County Sheriff promises improved communication, collaboration with council appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less