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Facer: We need a mayor-council for Utah County

By Rex L. Facer Ii - | Sep 28, 2020

In 2040, Utah County will be the home to more than 1,000,000 people, according to the Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.

This kind of growth is not new to Utah County. Since the 1990s, Utah County has seen explosive growth. In 1990, Utah County had a population of over 260,000; that population has more than doubled over the last 20 years and will nearly double again in the next 20 years.

This growth significantly impacts our county, leading us to the question: is Utah County’s government currently structured in a way that allows the county to play an increasingly important role governing our county? I would argue no.

We can solve this problem by changing our form of government by voting “yes” on Proposition 9, the Utah County Optional Plan that will be on the ballot this November.

Last year, I had the honor of serving on the Utah County Good Governance Advisory Board. The 15-member advisory board studied the current form of government and found, based on the feedback of elected officials and citizens alike, a strong sense that the current form of government is not able to provide the leadership that Utah County will need moving forward. The advisory board recommended that the county should change to a mayor-council form of government.

I would like to highlight three reasons why I believe a mayor-council form of government will be better for Utah County moving forward. These include: clear leadership, separation of powers and increased representation across the county.

One of the problems the advisory board frequently heard was that the leadership structure of the current commission form of government makes it difficult to know who is the face of the county. With a mayor as the chief executive of the county, there is a clear line of leadership for representing the county.

Although county government is different from city, there is still a need for a clear head for Utah County. An elected mayor would best fill this role.

A second issue the advisory board frequently heard was the need to separate the legislative actions from the executive functions of the county. The legislative body has the responsibility to establish the laws, essentially creating the framework for delivering services and meeting the needs of the residents of the county.

The executive then has the responsibility to carry out the council’s mandate. However, in our current form of government, both of those roles are played by the same three people. Under the proposed form of government, we will have a mayor to oversee the executive function and a five-member council to conduct the legislative function of the county.

We will know who to hold accountable for legislative issues and who to hold accountable for executive issues — under the current system it is unclear how to disentangle accountability when legislative or executive conflicts arise. The new mayor-council form of government clearly separates the executive and the legislative functions of local government and will better serve Utah County.

The third issue is representation. Under the commission form of government, all three of the commissioners are elected county-wide. Theoretically they have a responsibility to all of the voters in the county; however, with a county as large and diverse as Utah County, we need more representation.

Under the proposed plan, the five county council members would be elected from geographic districts, ensuring that all parts of the county have the opportunity to have a specific representative on the council. Today, each commissioner represents about 680,000 people, since the current commissioners are elected county-wide.

Under the proposed plan, each of the five council members would represent about 135,000 residents of the county. Further, because those 135,000 are represented in specific geographic boundaries, the citizens will know who has the responsibility to look out for their specific interests while at the same time working with the rest of the council to balance the interests of the entire county.

In conclusion, I encourage every voter in Utah County to approve Proposition 9 and support changing the form of government to a mayor-council to govern Utah County. I believe a mayor-council form will provide clear leadership, clear separation of powers between the executive and legislative function, and increased representation across the county.

Please join me and vote for a mayor-council to lead Utah County into the future.

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