Utah County adopts advisory board to study change in form of government

Utah County commissioners voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance establishing an independent advisory board charged with researching whether the county should change its form of government and recommending a single plan for voters to consider.

Commissioner Inge, who introduced the measure, said Utah County's rapid growth prompted the review and that the board would provide a public, academic process to identify tradeoffs and options. "Let's enact this advisory board that will create an independent, public, and thorough process to ultimately make a recommendation," he said during the meeting.

The ordinance requires the advisory board to hold public meetings, conduct surveys and collect data, and deliver findings to the commission on or before May 31, with language amended at the meeting to allow an earlier submission if the board completes work sooner. Commissioner Ivy said she supported the change in deadline wording to give the board flexibility to report earlier.

Commissioners also discussed budget authority for the board. The ordinance authorizes the commission chair to approve necessary expenditures, with the commission retaining final approval of individual expenses. Commissioners said funding would likely come from discretionary accounts or small reallocations and that they would cap spending through the chair's approval authority.

The measure passed by voice vote, recorded as 3—6. The ordinance is advisory: only voters can change the county's form of government and the board's work would produce one plan the community could accept or reject on the ballot.

The commission said the process is designed to be independent and transparent and to allow broad public input before any recommendation goes to voters.