An economic development consultant for Tooele City says there’s nothing unethical about his hiring of Tooele Mayor Patrick Dunlavy’s son to work for him at Sandy City. But at least one ethics expert said the arrangement should raise a red flag.

Randy Sant, the economic development director for Sandy City, has also been a paid consultant to Tooele since 1986. He works closely with Dunlavy on economic development issues on a two-year, $115-per-hour renewable contract. In July 2008, Sant hired Kasey Dunlavy, the mayor’s 28-year-old son, as an economic development assistant. Sant is currently the younger Dunlavy’s direct supervisor.

Sant said hiring the mayor’s son was logical and aboveboard. Kasey did a nine-month internship starting in May 2007 in the Sandy City mayor’s office under the direction of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics, where Kasey was studying political science. After getting his bachelor’s degree, Kasey applied for a full-time economic development assistant position with Sandy and was hired following a competitive selection process that involved a final decision by the city manager and Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan, according to Sant.“I have never been asked by anybody to hire a friend, relative, acquaintance or anybody,” Sant said. “Kasey’s hiring should not be an issue. The city went through the process and hired the best applicant.” Mayor Dunlavy seconded that opinion.

“I did not contact anybody in Sandy City or Randy Sant about hiring Kasey,” Mayor Dunlavy said. “Kasey was hired on his own merit. His employment by Sandy City has nothing to do with Randy Sant’s employment by Tooele City, and any implication that Kasey’s employment will affect any future contracts with Randy Sant and Tooele City are totally unfounded.”

But one ethics expert said the hiring is problematic.

“One of the paramount goals in the ethics of business and politics is to avoid conflicts of interest — even the perception of a conflict of interest,” said David Keller, director of the Center for the Study of Ethics at Utah Valley University. “The circularity between the Tooele mayor’s son working for the economic development director of Sandy, whose contract as an economic development consultant for Tooele must also be approved by the political leaders of Tooele, should cause any citizen of Tooele to look at the circularity of these inter-relationships with healthy skepticism and possibly suspicion.”

Keller is also concerned with Sant’s ability to ethically represent both Tooele and Sandy on economic development matters at the same time. That arrangement has only existed since 2005, when Sant became a Sandy City employee.

“Speaking from the perspective of ethical theory of business and politics, I do not think it is a good idea for the director of economic development for Sandy to also serve as an economic development consultant for Tooele, especially since that same person is the boss of the mayor of Tooele’s son,” Keller said.

Sant has worked as a consultant for Tooele City since 1986 when he helped then Mayor George Diehl to bring Wal-Mart and Smiths Food and Drug to Tooele. His contract is approved every two years by the Tooele City Council. The last agreement was signed in December 2007.

Kasey said he deserves his position with Sandy.

“I found the interview process to be very competitive,” Kasey said. “I also have been accepted into the master’s in public administration program at the University of Utah, with an emphasis in city management. It is frustrating after working hard to get where I am today to have somebody suggest that my job was handed to me.”

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com