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Show T | —3 ie mmo - August 17, 1999 © Wasatch County’s Attorney casper shanemenestninie A Message From nn 25 North Main, Heber City, Utah 84032 + (435) 654-3211 Nii BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS . LaREN PROVOST RALPH L DUKE | iceland cero MICHAEL L. KOHLER February 8, 1999 Dan Matthews, Manager Jordanelle Special Service District — 55 West Center Street Heber City, Utah 84032 Re: CUP water allocation for Jordanelle Basin. Contributed by Derek Dear Dan: Pullan, Wasatch Co. Attorney As you are aware, Wasatch County has been allocated approximately 12,000 acre feet of Central Utah Project Completion Act water. The current allocation provides 2,400 acre feet for municipal use, and the remaining amount is irrigation water. However, we have been assured by Central Utah Water Conservancy District representatives that it will not be a problem to convert irrigation water to municipal use when that need arises. I appreciate the opportunity to serve as the Wasatch County Attorney. Since being appointed on February 1, 1999, I have worked hard to prosecute crimes fairly and to provide good honest legal Recognizing the tremendous potential for growth in the Jordanelle Basin, we hereby formally allocate to the Jordanelle Special Service District a total of four thousand (4,000) acre feet of Wasatch County’s CUPCA water. This includes the 2,400 acre feet of municipal water, and 1600 acre feet of irrigation water, which we understand will be converted to municipal use by Jordanelle Special Service District. Any or all of the 4,000 acre feet may be used by the Jordanelle District within the District boundaries in the Jordanelle Basin. Jordanelle Special — Service District shall be wholly responsible for paying all assessments for this water and for any costs incurred in converting the irrigation water for municipal use. advice to county officers. The future of Wasatch County is filled with good things, and it has been an honor to do my part. cee EATON rw Dn ese, a a ee — piece. atti About.10 days ago, the Utah Supreme -~Court decided a case about the relationship between the County: Attorney and the County Commission. It is important — to me that the public understand what my duties are. The case grew out of the » _ rocky relationship between the former Salt Lake County Attorney (Douglas R. Short) and the Salt Lake We also understand that inquiries have already been made to Rou Chrictiancen: general manager = _of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, concerning an additional 4,000 acre foot. allocation of irrigation water for WasatchCounty. We request that the Jordanelle Special Service County Commission. The Commission and Mr. | Short eventually sued each other. Each _ District spearhead the effort to secure this additional allocation on behalf of Wasatch County. side hoped that the Court would shed some light on who was responsible to do isgich Couns Ze | Meg what. Here are the main questions | and answers provided in case: Who is the County Attorney’s ¥he County Attorney is ) d ' eat l- Z \4 Lak . . 4 3 client? “the legal adviser only to the County as an enti~ ty...which acts through the County Commissioners, [who are] agents of the County.” This is so, unless a statute, ordinance or other law requires a different client relationship. The County Attorney does not have an attorneyclient relationship “with the Commission or the _ individual Commissioners apart from [Wasatch County], the entity on behalf of which they act.” 7 , | CLERK/AUDITOR | BRENT R. TITCOMB - RECORDER | _ _ ELIZABETH M. PARCELL legal options, but generally does not have the right to question which option the Commission chooses. As the agent of the County, the Commission has the right to “control and direct the prosecution and defense of all actions.to which the County is a party.” Utah Code Ann. § 17-5-219. As the Utah Supreme Court wrote, the County Attorney “does not have the right to second-guess the [County Commission], so long as the _ [Commission] is acting within the scope of the [its] legal authority.” Who eee sure the CoirenictGh The County fence around Within that ~ Commission County the builds Commission a large which defines the scope of its legal authority. pasture are many acts within the fence, the Attorney has performed his _ duty. If the Commission were ever to insist on making a decision outside the fence, the County Attorney should (1) ask the Commission to reconsider, or (2) tell the Commission to get a separate legal opinion. If the Commission still insisted on acting outside the fence, and the decision would cause substantial harm to the County, the County Attorney may resign or withdraw from representing the Professional Attorney fenced policy decisions-some wise others not, but all of them legal. So long as the Commission acts legally? ATTORNEY DAN H. MATTHEWS JUSTICE COURT JUDGE BLAIN HYLTON All members of the County ered signed the above letter February 8th, 1999. In the letter the commissioners give all of Wasatch County’s share of M&I (Municipal & Breer or culinary water from our Central Utah Project allocation to Jordanelle Special Service District (JSSD). In addition 1,600-acre feet of irrigation water is also given to JSSD. The Courier was unable to locate any agenda items or minutes of commission meetings in which the commissioners voted on this agreement. Who makes the legal decisions? As the legal adviser to the County, the County Attorney has a duty to explain TREASURER KAROLYN WALL ASSESSOR GLEN C. BURGENER County in the matter. The Rules of Conduct Attorney to require. take these the steps cautiously, so that disruption of County government is minimized. BUSH continued from page 4 cific with their policy Of all the conservative candidates out there, Steve Forbes seems to be the only positions even one though you may not always agree with bucks them. Bush’s willingness to be guided by the polls makes hard very press him. to nail down; it also makes him popular with the press. Since the controls the polls, they also control That makes me nervous. Conservatives ~ Bush his political positions may feel that Governor is the only candidate who has enough popular appeal to defeat Vice President Al Gore but that is not the’ case. Even before Governor Bush was a prospective candidate, Steve Forbes had the highest approval ratings among -grass-root conservatives. His popularity was built upon his steadfastness to principles espoused in his magazine, as well — -as in his own consistent message that was delivered throughout his campaigns. . that has the to challenge principles the and the extortionist Democratic fund-raising machine. If conservatives elect another George Bush, they may once again end up with another split party election. Senator Smith has already left the Republican Party in disgust and other candidates may also choose to leave. It may be tempting for Republicans to try and beat the Democrats with a poll savvy politi- — cian of their own, but that will always backfire as long as the media is predominately liberal.’ The only way that conservatives can be assured of winning back the White House is if they stick to their conservative principles. Any other position would be, well, embarrassing. |