Appointment procedures for appointed members -- Notice of vacancy.
Utah Code § 17B-1-304
in effect17B-1-304. Appointment procedures for appointed members -- Notice of vacancy.
(1) The appointing authority may, by resolution, appoint persons to serve as members of a special district board by following the procedures established by this section.
(2)
(a) In any calendar year when appointment of a new special district board member is required, the appointing authority shall prepare a notice of vacancy that contains:
(i) the positions that are vacant that shall be filled by appointment;
(ii) the qualifications required to be appointed to those positions;
(iii) the procedures for appointment that the governing body will follow in making those appointments; and
(iv) the person to be contacted and any deadlines that a person shall meet who wishes to be considered for appointment to those positions.
(b) The appointing authority shall publish the notice of vacancy for the special district, as a class A notice under Section 63G-30-102, for at least one month before the deadline for accepting nominees for appointment.
(c) The appointing authority may bill the special district for the cost of preparing, printing, and publishing the notice.
(3)
(a) After the appointing authority is notified of a vacancy and has satisfied the requirements described in Subsection (2), the appointing authority shall select a person to fill the vacancy from the applicants who meet the qualifications established by law.
(b) The appointing authority shall:
(i) comply with Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act, in making the appointment;
(ii) allow any interested persons to be heard; and
(iii) adopt a resolution appointing a person to the special district board.
(c) If no candidate for appointment to fill the vacancy receives a majority vote of the appointing authority, the appointing authority shall select the appointee from the two top candidates by lot.
(4) Persons appointed to serve as members of the special district board serve four-year terms, but may be removed for cause at any time after a hearing by two-thirds vote of the appointing body.
(5)
(a) At the end of each board member's term, the position is considered vacant, and, after following the appointment procedures established in this section, the appointing authority may either reappoint the incumbent board member or appoint a new member.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (5)(a), a board member may continue to serve until a successor is elected or appointed and qualified in accordance with Subsection 17B-1-303(2)(b).
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the appointing authority appoints one of its own members and that member meets all applicable statutory board member qualifications, the appointing authority need not comply with Subsection (2) or (3).
(7)
(a) This section does not apply to the appointment of a member of a public infrastructure district board.
(b) Section 17D-4-202 governs the appointment process for a member of the board of a public infrastructure district.
Amended by Chapter 347, 2025 General Session
Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title17B/Chapter1/17B-1-S304.html?v=C17B-1-S304_2025032520250507Fetched: 10/26/2026