Wasatch County Planning Director Doug Smith said, when it comes to development, there can be a lot of misunderstandings with the public on what is and is not allowed to proceed.
That’s why he’s looking forward to teaching a class in the county’s first Citizens Academy, which offers an in-depth explanation of county services and departments. He will be able to explain exactly what processes developments like subdivisions go through to get approved by the county planning department.
It’s more complicated than one might think, he said.
“I think a lot of people feel like we can just deny subdivisions,” Smith said. “If they check the box of meeting the zoning requirements, acreage, all of our requirements, then it’s really not a discretionary matter.”
That’s one common misconception with county planning that Smith will be teaching during his Citizens Academy session on July 23. His goal is to provide more background and information about planning department and county-wide decisions and processes.
“I hope they’ll take away a little bit more of an understanding of what we deal with and how we deal with it,” Smith said.
Smith is not the only instructor who will be teaching in the Citizens Academy. There will be facility tours and presentations throughout six sessions that begin July 16.
Development, planning, zoning and building, tax administration, library services, senior center happenings, parks and recreation and Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office operations will all be covered in the course. Communications Director Joan Gould said it’s an excellent opportunity for Wasatch County residents to become more involved and deepen their level of county operations.
“It’s something that has been on our radar for a while, a lot of counties and cities have been doing this really around the country,” Gould said. “We thought it would be a great way to get our residents engaged and learn more about the county as well.”
Gould said everyone presenting is a department director. They will be going over main functions of the county between development services to tax services and operations at the library, senior center and Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s essentially an overview of what their departments do, how they serve the county and what their role is as they work with other departments,” Gould said.
She said there have been a smattering of people interested in participating, which is an indication that such a program would be beneficial. Opting to attend for six Thursdays, Gould said, is a strong commitment to understanding county happenings and procedures.
Clerk-Auditor Joey Granger said she hopes to answer some of the main questions she often sees presented to her office.
“Usually property tax,” Granger said. “The goal will be, from the very beginning of the year through the end of the year, what does that look like on the property tax administration side and who plays what part in that?”
Granger will be conducting her presentation alongside Treasurer Amber Gibbs. She said that the No. 1 goal is education.
“Where changes can be made, where they can’t be made and the reason why the process goes the way that it does,” Granger said. “So not only our role, but incorporating in state code and legislative decisions.”
A more detailed outline of what Granger and Gibbs will be teaching is still to come.
Gould said the first-ever Citizens Academy course will take place at the Sheriff’s Office. There will be a tour of the facility and a presentation on procedures and operations. There will be five more sessions every Thursday thereafter.
Participants are asked to commit to the entire program at sign up. For additional information, including schedule and registration, visit wasatchcounty.gov/399/Wasatch-Citizens-Academy.