(A) Governing body. The governing body of the county shall be a five-member County Commission (the “Commission”), which shall exercise all legislative powers of the county authorized by law. The Commission shall have all powers and duties, and shall be subject to all limitations and restrictions, provided by general law for Boards of County Commissioners.
(B) Election, qualifications, terms and nominations of Commission members; term limits.
(1) Two Commission members shall be elected from the county at large and the other three are divided into three districts. For the purpose of electing the other three Commission members, the county shall be divided into three districts (the “Commission districts”) as provided in division (C) below, and the voters of each Commission district shall elect one member to the Commission.
(2) All Commission members shall be registered voters and residents of the county and shall have been registered voters of the county for at least one year immediately preceding their election to the Commission as required by UCA § 17-53-202. Commission members elected from Commission districts shall be residents of their respective Commission districts at the time their certificate of nomination is initially filed pursuant to division (B)(4) below and UCA Title 20A, Chapter 9, Part 5.
(3) The initial election of Commission members shall be scheduled in accordance with § 30.01(C) of this code, and the terms of office of the new Commission members shall commence at 12:00 p.m. on the second Monday after their election. The seat of the at large Commission member receiving the highest number of votes at the initial election. The regular term of office for all Commission members shall be four years. After each such election, newly elected or reelected Commission members shall take office on the first Monday in January pursuant to UCA § 17-16-6.
(4) (a) All candidates for the Commission shall be nominated as independent candidates in substantially the manner provided by UCA Title 20A, Chapter 9, Part 5, as amended from time to time, except as follows:
1. For candidates for Commission district seats at any election, nomination petitions must be signed by at least 25 registered voters who are residents of the district, rather than 100 registered voters of the county as required for countywide offices; and
2. For candidates for at large Commission seats at only the initial election of Commission members hereunder, nomination petitions must be signed by at least 50 registered voters of the county; but thereafter nomination petitions for at large Commission seats must be signed by at least 100 registered voters of the county as generally required for countywide offices.
(b) If more than two timely and sufficient nomination petitions are received for any one Commission seat, the County Clerk shall give notice of and conduct a primary election with respect to such Commission seat or seats, in substantially the manner provided by law for primary elections. Only the two candidates for each such Commission seat receiving the two highest vote totals at such primary election shall be listed on the ballot at the general election. No political party designation shall be used on the ballot for Commission members at any election. Pursuant to and invoking the full extent of the authority granted by Utah Constitution Article XI, § 4, and the optional plan statute, it is hereby determined and declared that utilization of independent candidacies as the manner of electing Commission members is necessary and desirable to achieve the best and most effective operation of this plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this plan as to independent candidacies, like all other provisions of this plan, are subject to § 30.02 of this code. Nothing in this division (B)(4)(b) shall preclude write-in candidacies as provided by applicable law.
(5) There shall be a limit of two consecutive four-year terms, and any person who has served two consecutive four-year terms shall be ineligible to be a candidate for any other consecutive Commission term; but nothing in this division (B)(5) shall preclude such person from becoming a Commission candidate at any time thereafter. Initial Commission terms for those seats to be up for election at the 2000 general election shall not be considered four-year terms for purposes of this division (B)(5), but initial Commission terms for those seats to be up for election at the 2002 general election shall be considered four-year terms hereunder. Terms served on the predecessor County Commission prior to adoption of this plan shall not be counted for purposes of this division (B)(5), nor shall any partial Commission terms due to vacancies.
(C) Commission districts.
(1) Commission districts are determined by the County Clerk’s Office.
(2) The Commission districts shall be modified on the basis of federal census data to the extent necessary or appropriate to conform to applicable law. The Commission districts may also be modified to conform to the county’s voting precincts or to changes to county voting districts. Such modifications to conform to census data, school district precincts or changed voting districts, shall not be considered amendments to this plan within the meaning§ 30.02(C) of this code, and may be made by the Commission or by such other authority as directed by applicable law.
(D) Removal and recall of Commission members; vacancies.
(1) If any Commission member shall die, resign, cease to be a resident of the county or of the Commission district from which elected, become incapacitated for a period in excess of six months, fail to attend Commission meetings or otherwise fail to perform his or her official duties for an unexcused period of two months, be recalled as provided in division (D)(2) below, or otherwise be removed from office pursuant to general law, his or her Commission membership shall be deemed vacant.
(2) Persons wishing to circulate a recall petition shall file an application with the County Clerk. The application shall contain:
(a) The name and residence address of at least three sponsors of the recall petition;
(b) A statement indicating that each of the sponsors is a registered voter and a resident of the district; and
(c) A copy of the proposed recall petition with specific reasons. The petition and signature sheets shall be prepared in a similar manner to initiative petitions as provided in UCA § 20A-7-503, as amended, and as approved by the County Clerk. Upon petition of registered voters equal in number to 20% of the last gubernatorial vote within the county for at large Commission members, or 25% of the last gubernatorial vote within the Commission district for Commission members elected from Commission districts, the County Clerk shall provide for the question of recalling said Commission member to be submitted to a vote within the county or Commission district, as the case may be. If a sufficient petition is filed between 180 and 45 days prior to a general election, the recall question shall be submitted to the voters at such general election; otherwise, the County Clerk shall, as soon as practicable, schedule, give notice of and conduct a special election on such recall question, substantially in the manner provided by law for other county special elections. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of recall, that Commission membership shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled as provided in division (D)(3) below. No recall petition may be filed within the first six months or the last six months of a Commission member’s term of office.
(3) Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled in the manner provided by UCA § 20A-1-508, as amended from time to time; provided, that references to political parties shall be inapplicable, and persons shall become candidates for election or appointment, as the case may be, by filing petitions substantially as provided in division (B)(4) above within the applicable time limitations.
(E) Commission meetings and procedures; records.
(1) The Commission shall hold regular meetings at least twice a month. Notice of all regular and special Commission meetings shall be given to the Commission and to the public as required by law, and all regular and special Commission meetings shall be open to the public except to the extent otherwise provided by law.
(2) Subject to applicable law, the Commission may establish rules of procedure for Commission meetings. Ordinances and resolutions shall be enacted in the manner provided by law.
(3) A majority of the members of the Commission in office at any time constitutes a quorum of the Commission. Except as otherwise provided by law, no Commission action shall be valid and binding unless it is approved by the affirmative vote of at least four Commission members.
(4) As soon as practicable after the new Commission members take office after the first Commission election under this plan and in January after each regular election, the Commission shall elect from members a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson. The Chairperson, or in his or her absence, the Vice Chairperson, shall preside at Commission meetings and shall sign ordinances, resolutions and other documents as appropriate on behalf of the county. The Commission may designate one of its members as Chairperson pro tem if neither the Chairperson nor the Vice Chairperson is available. The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or Chairperson pro tem shall have the same rights to debate and vote in the Commission as any other Commission member and shall have no veto power and no other special substantive authority.
(5) Records of all Commission proceedings shall be kept and the votes of all Commission members shall be clearly indicated therein. The Commission shall provide for the county financial information to be compiled and summarized on a quarterly or more frequent basis, including the amounts and purposes of each disbursement of funds by the county, and such financial information shall be promptly posted at the county courthouse. All records of the county shall be open to the public except to the extent otherwise provided by law. The county will comply with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act and the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act. The records officer for the Sheriff’s office is the Sheriff’s office records clerk. The County Clerk is the records officer for the rest of the county.
(F) Commission compensation. Initially, each member of the Commission shall be paid $300 per month, except that the Chairperson shall be paid $500 per month, and the Vice Chairperson shall be paid $400 per month, and the county shall not pay for major benefits (such as health insurance) for Commission members. The Commission compensation may be changed by ordinance, which changes shall not be considered amendments to this plan within the meaning of § 30.02(C) of this code; provided, that no increase in compensation shall become effective for any Commission member until subsequent election for that member’s Commission seat has occurred. Commission members shall be reimbursed for actual expenses they incur in the course of their official duties; such reimbursements shall be identified in the summary financial information required by division (E)(5) above. See division (I) below for current compensation.
(G) Role of Commission. Consistent with this plan’s provisions increasing the size and reducing the compensation of the Commission, it is the intent of this plan to establish the Commission as a citizen body whose members serve on a part-time basis primarily in a legislative, policy-making role, and membership on the Commission is not intended to be a full-time position involving extensive day-to-day administrative oversight of county operations and functions. Accordingly, it is expected that the Commission will implement this plan by using its power under UCA Title 17, and other applicable general laws, to maintain and fully utilize an adequate, competent professional county staff to perform, administer and have day-to-day oversight over the county’s operations and functions, pursuant to general policies and directives promulgated by the Commission. Pursuant to and invoking the full authority granted by Utah Constitution Article XI, § 4, and the optional plan statute, it is hereby determined and declared that the foregoing provisions of this section as to the role of the Commission are necessary and desirable to achieve the best and most effective operation of this plan; but, like all other provisions of this plan, the foregoing provisions are subject to § 30.02 of this code. The Commission is encouraged to cooperate with and fully utilize the county’s appointed Boards and Commissions, and to give full consideration to information and recommendations communicated by such Boards and Commissions, in order to maximize citizen participation in county government. The Commission is also encouraged to fully cooperate with the City of Morgan and other government entities and to fully utilize all mechanisms legally and practically available to consolidate and share governmental services, functions and facilities, in order to maximize governmental efficiency and economy.
(H) Prohibitions.
(1) Except for the compensation provided for in division (F) above and/or division (I) below, no member of the Commission shall be compensated by the county for any work in connection with the administration or management of county government.
(2) The Commission members are subject to all limitations applicable under general law to the members of a Board of County Commissioners relating to prohibited interests and relationships.
(Prior Code, § 1-5-2)
(I) Compensation. As authorized by division (F) above, the optional plan for the county government, and in respect for the considerable time, service and efforts of part-time Commission members on behalf of the county, effective January 1, 2017, Commission member compensation shall be $2,000 per month, except that the Chair shall be paid $2,500 per month and the Vice Chair shall be paid $2,300 per month.
(Prior Code, § 1-6-1)
(J) Benefits. Members of the County Commission shall be allowed to enroll in the employee health, dental and vision insurance plans offered to other employees of the county.
(Prior Code, § 1-6-2)
(Ord. 04-08, passed 5-18-2004; Ord. 16-15, passed 12-20-2016; Ord. 17-33, passed 10-7-2017)
Editor’s note:
Per document dated 7-14-1997