By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
As the county fire district is organized, some guidelines
need to be set from the beginning and one of those is how
many people should sit on the governing board.
In addition, those wishing to sit on the board must
volunteer for a position by entering their names with the
county commission. Those who nominate themselves are then
considered for the positions before a final selection is
made.
David Leavitt, Juab County attorney, told commissioners the board should
have three to seven members appointed by the commission to be part of
the fire district governing body. The county commission would make those
appointments and set up a time, by lottery, for each board member to
serve.
"Each incorporated community within the county may
appoint one member to serve on the board in addition to
those members who have been appointed by the commission,"
said Leavitt.
Six members could be appointed by the commission and five
would be appointed by the various incorporated communities
for a total of 11 board members.
"State statute sets up a specific procedure which is codified in the
statute which must be followed," said Leavitt.
Notice of the plan to appoint a governing board must be
advertised for one month in four public places in the
county. Along with that notice, another notice must be
placed in a newspaper of general circulation within the
boundaries of the county.
The notice must be placed in the newspaper for at least
one week before the deadline for names to be submitted to
the commission, said Leavitt.
"Cities making appointments must follow the same
procedure," said Leavitt.
The county commission can design some parameters for
board qualifications, he said. For example, the commission
could determine that some board members be firefighters,
others be business owners, or that members live within
various parts of the county to give all geographic locations
equal representation.
"Can we ask for board members who have certain skills?"
asked Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chair. "For example, we
would need a board member with auditing skills, one with
legal skills, and one with writing skills."
A minimum age requirement, such as voting age, could also
be set by the commission.
After the list of those who have applied to sit on the
board has been completed, commissioners will pick from the
list those who meet the largest number of necessary
qualifications. Commissioners will fix the terms for board
members.
"You would need to have the appointees draw lots for
terms of two years or four years," said Leavitt. The first
of those appointments, the two year group, would come up for
reappointment or replacement at the end of that time,
however, the appointments would then be for four years.
"That way membership on the board is staggered so that
not all appointments come due for reappointment at the same
time," he said.
If the commission wanted to, said Leavitt, they could
legally serve as the board for the fire district.
"Politically, it is my advice that you need to appoint a
board, but, legally, you could serve as the board."
"What happens if the question of a fire district is not
passed by the voters?" asked Howarth.
The district does not need to be voted on, as such, said
Leavitt. Whether the fire district should receive tax money
was the question voters would be asked to decide. If the
question was not approved by the voters, the county could
still have a fire district. It would not have any money to
operate.
In addition, said Leavitt, the fire district did not need
a board in order to have the question placed on the ballot
but it was a good idea to appoint the board in advance so
that they could develop a sense of community and
relationships prior to the vote.
Commissioners agreed to appoint Leavitt; Mike Seely,
county administrator; and Howarth, as commission chairman;
to form a committee to design the necessary qualifications
for board members. The three will return to the commission
meeting on Jan. 3, 2000, and present the requirements they
have determined necessary.
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