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The Salt Lake Country District Attorney's Office on Tuesday assumed the management duties of the Salt Lake City Prosecutor's Office.

The new duties of the district attorney's office follow an agreement approved last week by the Salt Lake City Council and approved last month by the Salt Lake County Council.

City prosecutors, who generally handle misdemeanor cases, will remain on Salt Lake City's payroll but will be managed by District Attorney Sim Gill, a former chief prosecutor for the city whose office handles felonies and more serious misdemeanors.

Gill said Tuesday, "I'm excited about this significant opportunity to capitalize on the best aspects of both the district attorney's office and the city prosecutor's office. Our collective duty to ensure the administration of justice is enhanced by this agreement."

Gill said the city prosecutor will still handle criminal cases filed in the city justice court, while the district attorney's office will continue to prosecute juvenile and felony cases filed in the district courts.

"By combining management resources of the two offices, the community will benefit from economies of scale as well as the professional opportunities presented by combining two similar but unique office environments," Gill said. "This also provides a unique opportunity to explore the application of therapeutic justice, community prosecution, and other treatment options with a critical, sister jurisdiction dealing with unique challenges in a highly urban environment ...

"This will be a win-win from a fiscal perspective as well as a criminal justice and therapeutic justice perspective for the citizens of Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City."