INCORPORATIONS

Aspen - Independence - Hideout - Woodland - will Podunk village be next?

HB 466 has launched an open season on incorporation in Wasatch County. Thankfully, someone in the legislature is trying to change the law.

Sen. Stowell is looking for comments, Wasatch residents should have quite a few!!!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007 Becoming a Town By Dennis Stowell Utah State Senator, District 28 Clearly we need to amend last year's HB 466, in a way that empowers citizens as the gatekeepers. The proposal for a new Town Incorporation Process (for populations of 100 to 1000 people) mirrors the incorporation steps for cities with populations greater than 1000 which is currently on the books. The proposed new process: * Landowners file a petition with the County Clerk. * The County Commission decides if a feasibility study should be required. If not, the incorporation proposal would go straight to a public hearing. * If the feasibility study shows that revenues exceed expenditures by more than 10%, (5% for a city incorporation) then the County Commission could negotiate conditions to make the proposal work for the county. This should prevent cherry picking of high revenue areas. * The proposal would then go to a public hearing. * Following the public hearing an election would be held to decide if the area should be incorporated. If it does not pass, the proposal dies. * If it passes, a second election would be held to elect town officers. * The new mayor may then file articles of incorporation with the Lt. Governor's Office. Here's a flow chart (draft). I would appreciate comments on this proposal, especially from citizens who have lately been introduced to the unintended consequences of HB 466. How would this new process work for your community?