PASSPORT TO YOUR COUNTY

1
Welcome to Passport to Your County!
A basic overview of county government in Utah
2
What are Counties?

• Counties are geographical areas within each state
  that surround one or more cities/towns and
  provide services to all citizens within their
  boundaries.
• Some states call them something different. For
  example, Louisiana identifies them as Parishes,
  while Alaska and New York refer to them as
  Boroughs.

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What are Counties?

• Counties come in all shapes and sizes.
• Utahs counties have populations between just
  under 1 thousand (Daggett) and just under 1
  million (Salt Lake).
• Loving County, Texas is smallest at about 65
  people, while Los Angeles County, California is
  largest at just under 10 million.

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What are Counties?

• Each state has a different number of counties.
• Utah has 29 counties.
• Hawaii and Delaware have only three (the least).
• Texas has 254 (the most).

5
Why are Counties Important?

• Counties provide many different and important
  services.
• Citizens who vote and local county leaders decide
  what services their county needs most.
• Also, the state and federal government require
  counties to provide some services.

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Services Provided in Utah

• These are just some of the main services counties
  in Utah provide

• Public Safety
• Jails
• Road Construction/Repair
• Animal Services
• Health Human Services
• Sanitation Services

• Parks Recreation
• Libraries
• Tourism
• Economic Development
• Planning Zoning
• Many Others

7
How are Counties Structured?

• Each county decides.
• Two main structures to county government in Utah
• Commission Form
• Council Form
• Counties also decide on whether to have an
  elected or appointed administrator, or to not
  have one at all.

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The County Commission

• Commission form is most common in Utah.
  Twenty-four of Utahs 29 counties use this.
• Commissions are made up of three elected
  commissioners.
• Depending on needs and size of the county, some
  commissioners are full-time, while others are
  only part-time.
• Some counties have appointed administrators who
  take care of day-to-day issues of running a
  county, while the commission provides overall
  direction.

9
The County Council

• Only five of Utahs 29 counties use the council
  form of government.
• Councils vary in size, four counties have seven
  council members, while Salt Lake has nine.
• All councils are elected part-time positions.
• One of the council counties have an appointed
  administrator (Wasatch), two have elected
  administrators (Cache Salt Lake), and two
  counties has neither (Grand Morgan).

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Commissions and Councils

• Commissioners and council members oversee all
  county services and functions.
• Each member of the commission or council oversees
  several specific areas so that everything is
  monitored.
• Members of the commission or council collectively
  oversee the county budget.
• Each week (usually on Tuesdays), commissions and
  councils meet to discuss the important issues
  facing their county. The public is encouraged to
  attend.

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Other County Offices

• Besides commissioners and council members, each
  county also elects other key people to oversee
  specific areas of county service.
• Depending on the population of the county, some
  of these offices are combined or filled with a
  non-elected official.
• Assessor
• Attorney
• Auditor
• Clerk
• Mayor/Executive

• Recorder
• Sheriff
• Surveyor
• Treasurer

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County Assessor

• County Assessors office determines the value of
  business and residential property (homes and
  vehicles).
• Based on the fair value of property, a tax is
  assessed.
• Property tax money pays for not only county
  services such as parks and roads, but also for
  schools and other things each community feels it
  needs.

Property Tax Services
13
County Attorney

• Attorneys protect citizens of the county in two
  areasCriminal and Civil.
• Criminal duties include prosecuting individuals
  accused of breaking state or local criminal laws.
• Civil duties include representing county
  government in law suits, drafting contracts and
  ordinances, giving counties legal opinions and
  advice, and representing the county before other
  governmental entities (such as the Legislature).

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County Auditor

• Because counties oversee large sums of tax
  dollars and the services that they pay for, each
  county has an auditor who ensures that the money
  and assets are handled correctly.
• Most counties in Utah combine this office with
  the Clerk, calling it the office of the
  Clerk/Auditor.

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County Clerk

• County Clerks oversee all federal, state, and
  local electionswhether county officials are up
  for election or not.
• Their office also issues marriage licenses,
  receives and transmits passport applications, and
  prepares and retains all minutes, agendas and
  correspondence for the commission or council and
  other meetings.

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County Mayor/Executive

• Only two Utah counties have an elected mayor or
  executive.
• Cache County has an elected executive office that
  oversees all the countys day-to-day operations.
• Salt Lake County has an elected mayor office that
  does much of the same thing.
• It should be noted that many counties have an
  appointed or non-elected official that oversees
  day-to-day county operations.

Cache County Executive Lynn Lemon
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon
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County Recorder

• The Recorder's Office records and keeps a large
  library of documents. Some of these are quite
  olddating back to the 1800s. These include
• Records of property that is bought, sold, or
  transferred. 
• Maps called plats that show all the land in the
  county and who owns it.
• A variety of other records and documents such as
  military discharges, federal tax liens, and court
  judgments.

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County Sheriff

• The County Sheriff is probably the most
  recognized county official.
• The Sheriffs office oversees law enforcement for
  the entire county, including outside city or town
  limits.
• Sheriffs oversee a wide variety of programs
  designed to protect the public. These include
• Drug enforcement
• Search and rescue
• Prevention
• Dispatch
• Many, many more

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County Surveyor

• The County Surveyor makes sure that all property
  within the county is correctly located, measured,
  and recorded.
• Surveyors use this information to produce maps
  showing where everything is.
• These maps help identify roads, boundaries, and
  other landmarks for citizens, emergency response
  people, postal workers, and many others who need
  to have accurate information about where things
  are.

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County Treasurer

• The main function of the county treasurer is to
  bill and collect property taxes.
• However, they also are responsible for
  distributing the tax revenues to the many
  different entities that assess taxes, including
  school districts and cities.

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What County Do You Live in?

• Utah County

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Utah County Interesting Facts

• Economy consists of education, high tech, steel
  industry, light manufacturing, agriculture.
• In Utah, Utah is the 16th largest county in land
  area and 2nd largest in population.
• The average age in Utah County is 23making it
  the youngest county in Utah.
• Utah Lake is state's largest fresh-water lake.
• Cabelas, an enormous outdoor retail store, is the
  second biggest attraction in Utah (only Temple
  Square in Salt Lake City gets more visitors).

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Utah County Cities Towns

• Alpine
• American Fork
• Cedar Fort
• Cedar Hills
• Draper
• Eagle Mountain
• Elk Ridge
• Fairfield
• Genola
• Goshen
• Highland
• Lehi
• Lindon

• Mapleton
• Orem
• Payson
• Pleasant Grove
• Provo
• Salem
• Saratoga Springs
• Santaquin
• Spanish Fork
• Springville
• Vineyard
• Woodland Hills

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Utah County Landmarks

• Fairfield Stagecoach Inn
• Historic Downtown Provo
• Brigham Young University (Monte L. Bean Life
  Sciences Museum, Museum of People and Culture,
  Harris Fine Arts Center)
• Utah Lake
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Springville Museum of Art
• Hutchings Museum of Natural History in Lehi
• McCurdy Historical Doll Museum in Provo
• Bridal Veil Falls
• Sundance ski resort

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Utah County History

• Established in 1850 as a county.
• Named after the Ute Indians.
• 1849 33 families, of 150 people, settled Utah
  Valleymostly Provo.
• Fruit growing and processing of sugar beets were
  especially important early on.
• Late 1800s to early 1900s many successful mines
  in American Fork Canyon and in Tintic mining
  district.
• BYU, established 1875, was small high-school
  level "academy," but has grown to be a major
  university of 27,000 students.
• Many hi-tech companies also now call Utah County
  home (ie Novell).

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Utah County Government

• Three Elected Commissioners
• Other Elected Offices
• Assessor
• Attorney
• Clerk/Auditor
• Recorder
• Sheriff
• Surveyor
• Treasurer
• Department heads, administrative officers and
  chief deputies are all appointed, not elected.

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Utah County Services

• Justice Court
• Law Enforcement
• Library
• Mosquito Control
• Parks Recreation
• Planning/Zoning
• Public Works
• Roads Department
• Senior Services
• USU Extension Service

• Animal Shelter
• Building Inspection
• Childrens Justice Center
• County Fair
• Elections
• Emergency Services
• Economic Development
• Fire Marshall
• Health Department
• Housing Authority
• Jail

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County Government Summary

• Counties are geographical areas within a state
  that surround one or more cities/towns and
  provide services to all citizens within their
  boundaries.
• Each county decides how their community or group
  of communities will be governed.
• Each county has several elected officials who
  oversee various aspects of county government.
• County governments offer a wide variety of
  important services to the community.
• Utah has 29 counties.

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More Information About County Government

• Utah Association of Counties www.UACnet.org
• National Association of Counties
• www.NACo.org