LOGAN – During their regular meeting on Aug. 13, members of the Cache County Council approved two ordinances aimed at satisfying state requirements for transparency in the conduct of future council meetings.
Those revised county rules – included in Ordinances 2024-10 and 2024-12 – will streamline the preparation of council meeting agendas and the publication of the minutes of public meetings.
The county has been playing catch-up ball for more than a year since a state audit revealed significant deficiencies in internal controls and management policies. The ordinances approved at the council meeting on Aug. 13 are part of a series of improvements made in the past 12 months designed to tighten up county procedures.
Under Ordinance 24-10, all county departments will be required to submit items for addition to upcoming council meeting agendas at least seven days prior to each meeting.
That requirement will allow Cache County to publish those agendas a week in advance, providing interested parties – including county residents and council members – adequate time to prepare to discuss those issues.
In the past, Cache County Council agendas have generally been published only two business days prior to each meeting.
For example, the agenda for the council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13 was sent out from County policy analyst Micah Safsten’s E-Mail account at 5:10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9.
The audit also found that the minutes of the council’s public meetings were not always promptly published as required on the Utah Public Notice website.
Under Ordinance 24-12, the Cache County Clerk is now required to ensure the minutes of all required meetings are posted within 30 days of those meeting being held.
Having been unanimously approved by council members, both ordinances are schedule to take affect prior to the end of August.