Incorporation won’t be the only decision Stansbury Park and Lake Point voters face when they cast their ballot in this fall’s general election.
Along with a vote on incorporation, voters in both communities will be asked to decide which form of government their new town or city will use if incorporation is approved.
Stansbury and Lake Point voters will also be asked to decide if they want their new council members to be elected by district or at-large.
The outcome of the incorporation vote will also decide the fate of a small, unused piece of land at Mills Junction both prospective new cities have claimed.
Stansbury Park and Lake Point incorporation petition sponsors included the land east of SR-36 on both the north and south side of Center Road where Center Road meets SR-36.
If both communities vote to incorporate, the land in question will become part of Lake Point because Lake Point incorporation proponents were first to submit their petition to Tooele County.
If only one community votes to incorporate, the land will become part of the municipality, according to Tooele County Clerk/Auditor Marilyn Gillette.
According to state code that outlines the process and sequence of steps for incorporation, voters who vote for incorporation will also vote for one of four forms of municipal government that have been approved by the state Legislature.
Those forms of government are: a five-member council, a six-member council, a five-member council and mayor, and a seven-member council and mayor.
The five-member council form of government is led by a five-member council, with the mayor being one of the council members.
The mayor, along with being the chief executive officer, is a regular voting member of the city council. He also is the chairman of the city council and presides at all council meetings.
As the chief executive officer of the city, the mayor oversees the departments of the city, or with the approval of the city council, the mayor may assign members of the city council to administer some city departments.
The city council, with the approval of the mayor or by unanimous vote of the city council, can take the administrative duties away from the mayor and give them to either the city council or a hired administrator.
The six-member council form of government is similar to the five-member form, except that the mayor, with a few rare exceptions, only votes to break a tie during council meetings.
The mayor chairs city council meetings. And like the five-member council form, the city council, with the approval of the mayor or by unanimous vote of the city council, can take the administrative duties away from the mayor and give them to either the city council or a hired administrator.
In the five- and seven-member councils and mayor forms of government, the city council and mayor are each separate, independent and equal branches of government.
The council elects one of their members to chair the council. The mayor may veto ordinances, tax levies or appropriations. Any vetoes are subject to an override vote by the city council.
The city council may not interfere in any way with an executive officer’s performance of their duties. Neither can the council give orders to a subordinate of the mayor.
The only difference between the five- and seven-member council and mayor forms of government is the number of council members.
In all four forms of government the city council, as the legislative body, determines appropriations, including the salary for elected officials.
Along with determining the form of government, voters in Lake Point and Stansbury will decide if their council members will be elected by a geographical district or elected at-large by all voters in their city.
If voters decide to have their council members elected by district, the incorporation sponsors will draw up boundaries for the districts, according to state code.
The county clerk acts as the election officer for the initial election for the new municipality.
State law directs that the initial election should be held during the earliest possible regular general or municipal election.