10-2a-205.  Feasibility study — Feasibility study consultant — Qualifications for proceeding with incorporation.

(1)  Unless the lieutenant governor rescinds the certification under Subsection 10-2a-204(7)(b), the lieutenant governor shall, within 90 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor certifies a feasibility request under Subsection 10-2a-204(5)(a), in accordance with Subsection (2), engage a feasibility consultant to conduct a feasibility study.

Terms Used In Utah Code 10-2a-205

  • County legislative body: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Land: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Municipal: means of or relating to a municipality. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Municipality: means :
(a) a city of the first class, city of the second class, city of the third class, city of the fourth class, city of the fifth class;
(b) a town, as classified in Section 10-2-301; or
(c) a metro township as that term is defined in Section 10-2a-403 unless the term is used in the context of authorizing, governing, or otherwise regulating the provision of municipal services. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, organization, association, trust, governmental agency, or any other legal entity. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Unincorporated: means not within a municipality. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
    • (2)  The lieutenant governor shall:

    (a)  select a feasibility consultant in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah Procurement Code;

    (b)  ensure that the feasibility consultant:

    (i)  has expertise in the processes and economics of local government; and

    (ii)  is not affiliated with a sponsor of the feasibility request or the county in which the proposed municipality is located; and

    (c)  require the feasibility consultant to:

    (i)  submit a draft of the feasibility study to each applicable person with whom the feasibility consultant is required to consult under Subsection (3)(c) within 90 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor engages the feasibility consultant to conduct the study;

    (ii)  allow each person to whom the consultant provides a draft under Subsection (2)(c)(i) to review and provide comment on the draft;

    (iii)  submit a completed feasibility study, including a one-page summary of the results, to the following within 120 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor engages the feasibility consultant to conduct the feasibility study:

    (A)  the lieutenant governor;

    (B)  the county legislative body of the county in which the incorporation is proposed;

    (C)  the contact sponsor; and

    (D)  each person to whom the consultant provided a draft under Subsection (2)(c)(i); and

    (iv)  attend the public hearings described in Section 10-2a-207 to present the feasibility study results and respond to questions from the public.

    (3) 

    (a)  The feasibility study shall include:

    (i)  an analysis of the population and population density within the area proposed for incorporation and the surrounding area;

    (ii)  the current and projected five-year demographics and tax base within the boundaries of the proposed municipality and surrounding area, including household size and income, commercial and industrial development, and public facilities;

    (iii)  subject to Subsection (3)(b), the current and five-year projected cost of providing municipal services to the proposed municipality, including administrative costs;

    (iv)  assuming the same tax categories and tax rates as currently imposed by the county and all other current service providers, the present and five-year projected revenue for the proposed municipality;

    (v)  an analysis of the risks and opportunities that might affect the actual costs described in Subsection (3)(a)(iii) or revenues described in Subsection (3)(a)(iv) of the newly incorporated municipality;

    (vi)  an analysis of new revenue sources that may be available to the newly incorporated municipality that are not available before the area incorporates, including an analysis of the amount of revenues the municipality might obtain from those revenue sources;

    (vii)  the projected tax burden per household of any new taxes that may be levied within the proposed municipality within five years after incorporation;

    (viii)  the fiscal impact of the municipality’s incorporation on unincorporated areas, other municipalities, special districts, special service districts, and other governmental entities in the county; and

    (ix)  if the county clerk excludes property from, or includes property in, the proposed municipality under Section 10-2a-204.5, an update to the map and legal description described in Subsection 10-2a-202(2)(c).

    (b) 

    (i)  In calculating the projected costs under Subsection (3)(a)(iii), the feasibility consultant shall assume the proposed municipality will provide a level and quality of municipal services that fairly and reasonably approximate the level and quality of municipal services that are provided to the area of the proposed municipality at the time the feasibility consultant conducts the feasibility study.

    (ii)  In calculating the current cost of a municipal service under Subsection (3)(a)(iii), the feasibility consultant shall consider:

    (A)  the amount it would cost the proposed municipality to provide the municipal service for the first five years after the municipality’s incorporation; and

    (B)  the current municipal service provider’s present and five-year projected cost of providing the municipal service.

    (iii)  In calculating costs under Subsection (3)(a)(iii), the feasibility consultant shall account for inflation and anticipated growth.

    (c)  In conducting the feasibility study, the feasibility consultant shall consult with the following before submitting a draft of the feasibility study under Subsection (2)(c)(i):

    (i)  if the proposed municipality will include lands owned by the United States federal government, the entity within the United States federal government that has jurisdiction over the land;

    (ii)  if the proposed municipality will include lands owned by the state, the entity within state government that has jurisdiction over the land;

    (iii)  each entity that provides a municipal service to a portion of the proposed municipality; and

    (iv)  each other special service district that provides services to a portion of the proposed municipality.

    (4)  If the five-year projected revenues calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(iv) exceed the five-year projected costs calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(iii) by more than 5%, the feasibility consultant shall project and report the expected annual revenue surplus to the contact sponsor and the lieutenant governor.

    (5) 

    (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), if the results of the feasibility study, or a supplemental feasibility study described in Section 10-2a-206, show that the average annual amount of revenue calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(iv) does not exceed the average annual cost calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(iii) by more than 5%, the process to incorporate the area that is the subject of the feasibility study or supplemental feasibility study may not proceed.

    (b)  The process to incorporate an area described in Subsection (5)(a) may proceed if a subsequent supplemental feasibility study conducted under Section 10-2a-206 for the proposed incorporation demonstrates compliance with Subsection (5)(a).

    (6)  If the results of the feasibility study or revised feasibility study do not comply with Subsection (5), and if requested by the sponsors of the request, the feasibility consultant shall, as part of the feasibility study or revised feasibility study, make recommendations regarding how the boundaries of the proposed municipality may be altered to comply with Subsection (5).

    (7)  The lieutenant governor shall post a copy of the feasibility study, and any supplemental feasibility study described in Section 10-2a-206, on the lieutenant governor’s website and make a copy available for public review at the lieutenant governor’s office.

    Amended by Chapter 16, 2023 General Session
    Amended by Chapter 224, 2023 General Session

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