Proposition 9 is on the Uintah County General Election Ballot and Evans Family Media has interviews shared on BasinNow.com with individuals both For and Against it. Proposition 9 asks if Uintah County should replace the 3 full-time member Commission form of government for a 5 part-time Council-Manager form of government. The Question landed on the ballot after a group of local citizens going by ‘Citizens For Change’ gathered signatures for their petition to have the question placed on the November ballot. The petition was certified and 4 public meetings were held on the topic. Brian Gorum and Anna Billings visited the KVEL studio to discuss their support For Proposition 9 to change Uintah County to a Council-Manager form of government. They were among the group who gathered signatures to have Proposition 9 placed on the ballot. Brian Gorum said the desire is to give people choices and that they believe this is a better form of government. Gorum also believes the reason Uintah County has remained the 3-Commissioner form of government is just because it has always been that way. Billings shared that if Proposition 9 passes, the Commissioners elected for 2027 will serve for 2 years and then the transition to a 5-member Council would happen in 2029 after an election for the 5-member Council in 2028. Evans Family Media separately invited former Uintah County Commissioner Mike McKee to the KVEL studio for an interview to share why he is Against a change from the 3-member Commission form of government. McKee gave credit to those behind Proposition 9, acknowledging their passion and hard work, but said he simply disagrees that the 5-member Council would serve Uintah County better than the Commission. McKee noted that it is hard to say whether a change to a 5-member Council will be more or less expensive because once organized, the Council will set their own wages and the wages for the administrator. McKee also said he does not believe the Council members carry the same weight as a Commissioner when representing their county on committees and before the Legislature. He said he hopes people look at the Proposition very carefully before making their decision. These are only a few points shared in the interviews For and Against Proposition 9. Listen to the full interviews by selecting Public Affairs under the Community tab on BasinNow.com.
Listen to Interview with Brian Gorum and Anna Billings, For Proposition 9