Three Stansbury Park residents will be the initial members of a council that will next select a committee of Tooele County residents who will study the county’s current form of government.
Referred to in state code as the “appointment council,” the first three members of the council that appoints the study committee consists of one designee of the county commission, one designee of all of the state legislators whose district includes any part of Tooele County, and one designee of the sponsors of the petition that placed the government study on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot.
Called Proposition #14, local voters passed the government study by 65 percent.
On Nov. 29 petition sponsors announced their selection of Charlie Roberts to be their designee for the appointment council, according to Erik Gumbrecht.
Roberts, a former Tooele City mayor, now lives in Stansbury Park. Roberts is the public information officer for the Utah State Tax Commission.
On Dec. 2, Tooele County state legislators announced Kim Halladay to be their designee to the appointment council.
Halladay, who lives in Stansbury Park, is a podiatrist at the Tooele Foot and Ankle Clinic. In the past he served as chief of staff at Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center.
Halladay was designated by Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville; Rep. Doug Sagers, R-Tooele; Sen. Pete Knudson, R-Brigham City; and Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City.
Tooele County commissioners designated Scott Rybarik, also of Stansbury Park, as their designee to the appointment council during Tuesday’s business meeting.
Rybarik is the president of the Utah Sports Bike Association, a patron of the Utah Motorsports Campus. He works in Salt Lake City for IBM.
The county commission was supposed to convene a meeting of the first three members of the appointment council within 10-days after the canvass of the Nov. 8 general election, according to state code.
The canvass was completed on Nov. 21. Ten days later was Dec. 2, not including the Thanksgiving holiday.
As of Thursday, that first meeting of the appointment council has not happened.
All of the government study meetings are supposed to be open public meetings, according to Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead.
The first meeting of the appointment council will need a proper public notice, which requires at least a 24-hour advance notice on the Utah Public Notice website, www.pmn.utah.gov, according to the state’s open and public meeting act.
Within 10 days of the first appointment council meeting, the three members are to select two additional council members, according to state law.
The five-member council then has 30 days to select between seven and 11 members of the committee that will conduct the government study.
Each member of the study committee must be a registered voter in the county, but not a public office holder or a public employee. The committee, according to state code, should “broadly represent the county.”
The first meeting of the study committee is to be held within 10 days of its appointment.
State law charges the study committee with the responsibility to examine the current form of county government and compare it to available options.
The study committee will determine if a change in county government can strengthen the government, make it more accountable or responsive, or improve its economy or efficiency.
To help the appointment council make their selection of study committee members, the Tooele County Clerk/Auditor’s office has been collecting applications from people interested in serving on the study committee.
Applications can be found on the county clerk/auditor’s website at www.co.tooele.ut.us/clerk/forms.htm. Type “Study Committee” where the screen asks for a board name.
If the study committee recommends changing the form of government, the committee prepares a detailed plan for an optional government that complies with state code. The committee has one year from its first meeting to complete a written report.
State law gives the county attorney 45 days to review the study committee’s optional government plan and determine if it is consistent with statutory and constitutional requirements.
The study committee may revise its plan after the legal review to comply with statutory and constitutional requirements.
With the completed study and proposed optional government in hand, the county commission may, by resolution, put the optional form of government on the ballot for a vote, or a petition of the county’s registered voters may be used to place the optional form of government on the ballot at the next general election.