As Utah County grows, the responsibilities of the county government grow larger. Every new person and new home means a wider scope for every official and employee in the government. The County Commission, meanwhile, has stayed at three members for decades.

While each member of the commission has a senior policy advisor on staff — to help with administrative functions and evaluating upcoming issues/items of discussion — the body is now looking to hire an advisor to help manage Utah’s second-most populous county.

According to the online posting, the hire would perform “professional administrative duties related to planning, directing, and organizing processes necessary for efficient and economic operation of the County. Provides county-wide administrative continuity consistent with federal, state, and local law to provide innovative, effective, and fiscally responsible services to the citizens of Utah County.”

This new hire will handle administrative tasks currently handled by commissioners including approving the warrant register and processing mileage/expense reports, among other tasks.

“This will free up the commissioners to focus on executive and legislative duties, strategic vision, leadership and preparation for population growth. This will be very important in light of the fact that we are the fastest growing county in the state and also fast approaching a first class county,” Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner said.

Utah County is the second-most populated in the state, behind only Salt Lake County. According to estimates by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, Utah County’s population surpassed 700,000 people in 2022. In a 2017 brief by the Gardner Institute — when Utah County had about 607,000 residents — researches expected Utah County to reach 1.6 million people by 2065.

Powers Gardner told the Daily Herald she was introduced to the concept in 2019 by former Commissioner Tanner Ainge and the group decided to move forward with the hiring now as Brandon Gordon, in his first term on the commission, supported the hire.

County commissioners will continue to employ their individual policy advisors in the future. The advisors will “work closely with the commissioners on strategic vision,  leadership, and executing the executive and legislative duties of the commission,” according to Powers Gardner.

Almost every county in the state has some form of appointed executive or supervisor helping advise elected officials, though the official names vary between chief administrative officer (San Juan County), commission administrator (Grand County) and county manager (Summit County), among others.

The administrator role is an appointed position, rather than a merit-based hire. A county selection committee is evaluating candidates to present to the commission. A hire can be made with the support of a majority on the three-person commission.

“My hope is that we will have unanimous support by the commissioners,” Powers Gardner said.

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