County Attorney seeks permanent seat on Davis County Budget Committee; colleagues debate scope

At the March 10 work session, Chair John Crofts proposed making County Attorney Troy Rawlings—or a designee—a standing participant in the Davis County Budget Committee, saying recent legal complexity and a recent $5 million litigation loss justify earlier legal involvement in budget discussions.

County Attorney Troy Rawlings supported the request and described occasions when his office became involved in budget‑related matters only after contracts and departmental issues reached the back end. Rawlings said that because the Attorney’s Office was not part of earlier Budget Committee discussions he sometimes felt unprepared to answer citizens’ questions at public open houses, telling the Board he felt "naked" in that situation.

Controller Scott Parke described the Budget Committee as a technical advisory body that should pre‑analyze requests and include departments with countywide responsibilities. Information Systems Director Jeff Hassett suggested renaming the group the "Budget Advisory Committee" to emphasize its non‑binding role and argued against making IS a permanent member, instead recommending departments attend when their technical expertise is needed.

Commissioner Bob Stevenson cautioned that formally adding the County Attorney might prompt other departments—such as Health, the Treasurer or Clerk—to ask for permanent seats and said he opposed committing to an expanded permanent membership. The Board did not take a formal vote; Controller Parke agreed to draft and return a formal policy defining committee membership and authority for Commissioners to review.

Next steps: Controller Parke will draft a formal policy on Budget Committee structure for consideration by the Board at a future meeting.