Uinta County adopts ordinance to pay planning commissioners for meetings and training

Uinta County commissioners on July 22 approved an ordinance to compensate members of the county Planning Commission for meetings attended and required training. The ordinance sets payments of $75 for regular and alternate members and $100 for the planning commission chair and requires at least one training annually and 60% meeting attendance over a 12-month period.

County officials said the proposal was unanimously approved earlier by the Planning Commission and has been discussed in recent work sessions. The board’s vote followed staff explanations of how other jurisdictions treat nonemployee payments and a clarification that alternates who attend a meeting will be paid for that meeting.

Deanna Nyberg, who presented the ordinance, said the county reviewed Vernal City’s approach to nonemployee compensation and that the county would classify the payments on a 1099 basis. Nyberg explained that members will be paid only for meetings they attend.

Supporters at the meeting said the change will modernize the commission’s practices and help ensure members receive training. The ordinance language presented to the board included the compensation levels, the chair differential, the annual training requirement and the 60% attendance threshold.

The board approved the ordinance on a voice vote. The ordinance was identified at the meeting as ordinance number 625-2025-2 (as read aloud). The county clerk will publish the final ordinance text and implement the new payment process through the county payroll/accounts payable office.

The measure formalizes compensation for a volunteer advisory board and ties continued pay to training and attendance benchmarks. Implementation details, including exact pay scheduling and tax reporting, will be handled by county staff.