Overview of offices

 A brief overview of the offices that people are running for.  

Cache Water District

https://cachewaterdistrict.com/

The Cache Water District serves to coordinate the planning and facilitating the long-term conservation, development, protection, distribution, management and stabilization of water rights and water supplies for domestic, irrigation, power, manufacturing, municipal, recreation and other beneficial uses, including the natural stream environment, in a cost-effective way to meet the needs of the residents and growing population of Cache County. The Water district board consists of 11 elected  members: 

7 Districts Logan 1, 2, and 3 North Northeast South  Southeast

3 county-wide at large representatives 1 representative for Agriculture

Cache County Council 

https://www.cachecounty.gov/countycouncil/

Cache County has a county executive-council form of government. The executive - sometimes called the “county mayor” is an elected official who oversees the operations of the various offices within the county, and is responsible for making sure employees and offices operate effectively, fairly, and legally.  The Cache County Council consists of seven elected members, each elected from a district.  The county council passes laws and ordinances, develops and passes the annual county budget, and approves policies and procedures of how the county is operated.  We can think of the council as the ‘rule-makers’ of the county, and the council members are typically the first person to talk to when a citizen wants to discuss how the county operates. Cache and Salt Lake Counties use this form of government, and it creates a governing body with more representation to manage large counties. The severn members of the council represent 3 districts that encompass Logan, the North, Northeast, South, and Southeast districts.

Utah State Legislature

https://house.utleg.gov/about-the-house/

The Utah House of Representatives is composed of 75 people elected to two-year terms to represent equal population (about 44,000 people) districts in the state. Utah has a citizen-led state legislature and Senate, meaning the representative and senators are ‘part-time’ legislators, and manage their own businesses, careers, and family roles as well as acting as our representatives.  The Legislature meets annually in a General Session, which starts in mid-January and lasts 45 calendar days Special Sessions may be called at any time during the year either by the Governor or by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.  The state constitution defines the rolls and responsibilities of the legislature, which include, along with the state senate: 

Set the Budget: In 2026, the state budget is $ 31.6 billion. The legislature decides how state money is spent on things like education, roads, public safety, state parks, and licensing of professions and businesses. 

Establishes taxes, tax rates, and policies: The legislature considers and passes laws to collect or change state taxes.  

Make Laws: Propose, debate, and vote on bills that affect state policy that affect the citizens of Utah. 

Committees: In order to get information on changes to laws, or enacting new laws, legislators meet in small groups to review specific topics, and hear testimony from state officials, and citizens, regarding the possible impacts of the laws. This work takes place, before br bills are voted on by the full House, and people from around the state may testify remotely. 

Check the Governor: Vote on whether to override vetoed laws.

U. S. House of Representatives 

Often referred to as the U. S. Congress, this is the ‘lower’ legislative body established in the U. S. Constitution. Each representative or congressperson represents a district of about 761,000 people, and are elected for two-year terms. A congressperson’s roles and duties include representation, legislation, constituent service and communication. As specified in the constitution, the House of Representatives primary duties are lawmaking - to consider legislation that determines the laws of the country; to oversee the financial and commerce powers of the government, which includes budgeting, taxes, borrowing, and the control of the national currency - it creates laws to collect taxes and raise revenue (all bills that raise money must start in the House); and oversight and investigation, where they can hold meetings to question government officials about how programs are run, and use their power of checks and balances to ensure the executive branch follows the law and spends taxpayer money properly. The House of Representatives has the sole power to formally accuse and impeach a federal official of wrongdoing. The offices of congressional representatives are housed in Washington D. C. and in several local offices in their districts, and this is where people can go to ask questions or get help with issues regarding federal programs, grants, and policies.