PROVO — It appears Utah County voters will eventually get the chance to vote on whether their county should change its form of government to a mayor-county council form — but the question is when.
An advisory board created to study and recommend a possible form of government change presented its final report to the Utah County Commission on Thursday, officially recommending the county change from its current three-member commission to a county executive council (or a mayor-council) form.
That would mean Utah's second-most populous county would be the first county in the state to follow Salt Lake County's lead in electing a mayor-council government, with a full-time elected at-large mayor, and an elected seven-member, part-time county council with five seats elected by districts and two seats elected at large.
So far, two out of three Utah County commissioners have already publicly thrown their support behind such a change.
But the question at the heart of Thursday's discussion was whether voters would weigh in on the form of government change as soon as this year and hold elections for the new offices in 2020, or whether county leaders should take more time before putting it on the ballot.
Yet a 2019 ballot question may be on the horizon regardless of what commissioners decide. A petition that has been circulating since February could force it on the November ballot if petition organizers submit enough signatures by the July deadline.
Utah County Clerk/Auditor Amelia Powers told commissioners a 2019 ballot question would be possible but would put her office under a tight deadline and add an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 to the 2019 election costs. Nevertheless, she would implement whatever commissioners decide.
"We’ll make whatever work," Powers told the commission. "But we wanted to outline for you the logistics that we are up against, especially considering the monumental task that we have to fix the epicenter of dysfunction."
Powers referred to Gov. Gary Herbert's criticism of his own home county after last year's election, which resulted in more than four-hour waits in some areas.
Utah County commissioners are under pressure to move sooner rather than later. Cameron Martin, chairman of the Utah County Good Governance Advisory Board, said it's "very evident" from the board's work "there is a sense of urgency to act and to change the form of government," which is why board members recommended a 2019 ballot question.
Proponents of a mayor-council Utah County government structure, including Commissioner Nathan Ivie, have said a three-member commission invites "too much consolidated power" and does not accurately reflect the voice of Utah County residents now, and especially won't as the county continues to grow rapidly.
In the next 25 to 30 years, projections predict Utah County's population will skyrocket to an estimated 1.6 million
"I think this (discussion is) urgent because we recognize the dynamic shift that’s occurring here and to act now and to be ahead is always better than to be fighting from behind," Ivie said.
Commissioner Tanner Ainge has also thrown his support behind the advisory board's recommendations.
"Whatever timeline the committee decides on in their final report, I stand ready to send their recommended mayor-council plan to the voters," Ainge wrote recently in a post on his website.
"There is a lot of work to do between now and then, and we still await the final details, but it is clear to me that Utah County residents will have the opportunity to vote to initiate this change for our county’s long-term future," Ainge wrote.
The Utah County Commission did not take any action Thursday but is expected to debate and perhaps vote on a ballot question in coming weeks, though it's not yet clear when.
Commissioner Bill Lee told the Deseret News after Thursday's meeting he wasn't ready yet to decide on his position, expressing concerns that the advisory board's report still hadn't answered questions he had about cost, logistics, how state law requires Utah County to proceed, and how or when the new county council district boundaries would be drawn.
"It just throws a lot of red flags for me," Lee said.
And "timing is a big issue for me," Lee added. He questioned why county leaders needed to "rush" a change form of government.
"What's the big hurry?" he said. "When we look at 2019, it would be like trying to hit a home run every single inning and trying to win the game. Can it be done? Of course, it can be done. But does that give us good governance?"