County Commissioners put study question on the ballot

At the September 12, 2018 Weber County Commission meeting our commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to put the "whether to study" question on the November, 2019 ballot.

In December 2017 the commissioners committed to put the study question on the ballot if the Weber County Forward citizens petition failed to get enough signatures and yesterday they followed through. Here is a link to the SE article covering the historic event.

What happens next?

This means Weber County voters will vote next year on "Shall a study committee be appointed to consider and possibly recommend a change in Weber County's form of government?" This question failed with 52% of the vote against in 1998, the last time it was on the ballot.

If voters approve going ahead with a study of county government, an all-important "Study Committee" will be chosen to conduct the study. Here is how they are selected.

First, an "Appointment Council" is designated; this appointment council will select and recruit Study Committee members:

• a group of five individuals consisting of:
• a resident designated by a majority of all of our state senators and representatives
• a resident designated by the county commissioners
• three other residents designated by:
• a unanimous vote of the two designated appointment council members, or
• a majority of vote our legislators (state senators and legislators) will appoint the council member(s) if the two designated appointment council members can't reach agreement.
• Here is a link to relevant Utah Code.

Then the Appointment Council selects/recruits the seven-member Study Committee to study county government and either recommend status quo, or a change to specific Plan for an alternative form of county government. Here is how the Study Committee is selected:

• once appointed, the Nominating Committee has 30 days to appoint the Study Committee
• ...appointment council shall work to achieve a broadly representative membership
• members must be registered Weber County voters
• members cannot hold any public office, but could be on the Appointment Council
• Here is a link to the relevant Utah Code.

The Study Committee has one year (after their first meeting) to conduct the stdy and create their report and recommendations. The process must include public hearings and all meetings of the Committee are open to the public. The report goes through several layers of government and legal reviews.

• Here is a link to the relevant Utah Code about Study Committee duties and procedures.