Cache County Council Regular Meeting – 09-16-2025

- The council opened with a constitutional reflection, prayer, and pledge, then approved the agenda and minutes with minor corrections and an item reordering/removal. The agenda was amended to move item 5 after 6A and remove one public hearing item. - The council unanimously appointed George Daines as interim Cache County Executive under Utah code and swore him in immediately. Daines thanked the council, noted office reorganization, reported Eric Anderson’s resignation effective upon his appointment, and said budget work would be a major focus. - The annual external audit was presented by Jason Slate of Jones Simpkins, who gave Cache County a clean opinion on the financial statements and reported no findings in federal award testing or state compliance testing. The council accepted the audit unanimously, while Slate noted two internal control issues tied largely to finance staff turnover and said a corrective action plan was already underway. - Budget discussions were delayed because the tentative budget was not ready, but the council received an update on the proposed property tax increase timeline. Staff said the council must announce intent, amount, purpose, and percentage at the October 14 meeting, with a Truth in Taxation hearing scheduled for November 18. - Craig McAllister asked whether the tax-increase timeline would affect his mailing deadlines, and council leadership said the public notice schedule should not disrupt current proofing plans. Staff said they would coordinate with the treasurer if any clarifications were needed. - The council approved removal of land from an Agricultural Protection Area for two parcels in the Jensen Agricultural Protection Zone. Angie Zetterquist explained the removal was voluntary, required no fee, and simply formalized the owner’s request to take the land out of the protection overlay. - Public hearing scheduling was corrected during the meeting after a date mix-up and missing notice issue for a Flower Foods rezone. The council amended the motion to set hearings for September 23 instead of September 26 and noted the rezone could not proceed that night without proper public notice. - Eric Davis presented a multi-phase cleanup of the county’s Optional Plan, explaining that phases one and two would align the plan with existing county code while phase three would address more substantive updates. Interim Executive Daines asked for a full historical record of changes before moving forward, and the council continued the item without action. - The council unanimously approved Resolution 2025-36 to retain outside counsel Thomas Peters for a Pacificorp tax appeal cross-appeal. Staff said the appeal could reduce county revenue by roughly $2.26 million, and outside counsel costs would come from the existing litigation/expert budget. - Council reports covered a wide range of topics, including America 250 planning, airport board changes, trail progress, water and well issues, fire district funding discussions, public health notices about wastewater-detected measles, recreation center planning, and the need to fill several county board assignments. Daines also said he wants to meet with department heads to work through the budget, and the chair suggested possible pre-meeting budget workshops and liaison participation.