Weber County staff urge more public alternates for appeals board as filings surge

Weber County commissioners heard a request on Feb. 9 to expand the number of public alternates for the county’s appeals/appellate board after staff and an appeals board member said hearings have been disrupted by last-minute absences.

Ernie Gonzales, who spoke to the commission during the work session, said recent hearings were canceled when board members could not attend and a single public alternate could not be reached. "I was wondering if maybe it made possible instead of having 1 public alternate ... maybe have 1 or 2 people," Gonzales said, arguing additional alternates would give staff more people to call and reduce cancellations.

County staff told commissioners that appeals have increased sharply, from 34 filings in 2024 to more than 90 in 2025. One staff member said, "I think a lot of it has to do with AI. Anyone who gets a denial, they'll just plug that in and say come up with an appeal," suggesting the county should expect more frequent hearings.

Legal staff advised the commission that the current ordinance specifies appointment numbers, and that changing the ordinance to increase the number of alternates would be straightforward. According to staff, the ordinance "currently says the commission shall appoint ... 2 alternate members ... and 1 member of the public," and could be revised to appoint additional public alternates and a county employee backup.

Commissioners expressed general support for adding a second public alternate and directed staff to prepare ordinance language and candidate names for the commission to consider. Staff noted the ordinance uses "appoint," not a mandatory application process, and indicated certain candidates are already being considered.

Next steps: staff will draft amended ordinance language and present candidate names to the commission for appointment in a future meeting.