Many in the community are wondering ‘What’s Next for Uintah County?’ following an audit report released by the Office of the State Auditor regarding the Uintah Transportation Special Service District. Without addressing every finding in the report, the Uintah County Attorney’s Office did provide a response
on Monday afternoon
. “We have the audit and we have other documentation that members of the community have provided to us,” shares Uintah County Attorney Jonathan Stearmer. “We are actively reviewing it all and coordinating with the state on their review as well. We want the public to know we are very aware of what is going on and are working with the appropriate authorities.” On the issue of adequate independence between the Transportation District and Uintah County, Stearmer stated that the guideline provided by the U.S. Comptroller decades ago is that the County cannot have a controlling presence on the administrating control board and that having one Commissioner on each of the special service district boards “does not run counter to the federal opinion and statements on file.” That said, Stearmer explains that having a Commissioner as a non-controlling presence on the board or not having one on the board are both legally defensible. Differing opinions of which approach is best is ultimately a matter of policy, says Stearmer, and one that will have to be vetted out by County administration.
