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Every county government office in Utah is unique

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because all are run by elected officials chosen by their community.

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Each has an important job and function as they work together

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to provide citizens with a variety of useful services.

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Let's visit the county surveyor's office to see what they do.

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As one of the only licensed county officials in Utah,

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the surveyor's job is to create and manage safeguards that

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protect every citizen's right to own and quietly enjoy property.

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This has always been an important part of local government and was one of

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the first of four locally elected offices ever created in Utah,

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along with the county recorder,

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water master, and marshal, now called sheriff.

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Each job was viewed as critical to the foundation and welfare of an organized community.

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In fact, three of the four people depicted

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on Mount Rushmore were county surveyors at one time.

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Thomas Jefferson developed the idea of creating

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the public land survey system as a means to create accurate,

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organized boundaries and descriptions to enable the sale and

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settlement of western lands that prepared regional areas for statehood.

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The US Congress adopted the system for the Land Ordinance of 1785.

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This same system is utilized and protected by county surveyors to this day.

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While the land in Utah has been mapped out for some time,

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county surveyors have the important job of ensuring that those markers,

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boundaries, and descriptions are all protected and that they continue to

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provide accurate information about the location and size of every piece of land.

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Sometimes markers get moved or boundaries need to change.

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However, only a county surveyor can approve and execute

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changes within the official records of Utah's public land survey system.

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To do this, county surveyors use expert professional judgment,

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sophisticated mapping technology, and research methods that

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also include aerial photography and on-the-ground inspections.

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Many critical public and private agencies and services rely on

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the work county surveyors do as a foundation

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for the support they provide communities and citizens.

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Let's say your neighbor's house catches on fire and you call 911.

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One of the first questions the dispatcher will ask is where the fire is located.

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Your street and house numbering relate to and

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rely on the system protected by county surveyors.

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If no markers, boundaries,

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organized street and house numbering,

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or mapping were created or if they were not accurate,

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it would be difficult for emergency responders to arrive quickly,

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resulting in great losses to property and possibly lives.

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The identification and protection of

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the public land survey system is also important in countless other ways,

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such as rights a renter might have to sources of water,

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fair assessment and payment of taxes,

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where you can vote in elections,

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what community you live in,

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your right to drive on roads,

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where utility lines can be safely placed on your property,

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how much your property is worth,

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and on and on.

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It's easy to see how the work of county surveyors touches

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the lives of every citizen in many different ways.

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Surveyors are just one of many important offices at your county,

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but without their accuracy in managing Utah's public land survey system in the county,

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it would be difficult for us to receive many important local services we depend on.

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Counties are a key part of every community,

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uniting local people with solutions to meet local needs.

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We are the Utah Association of Counties,

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the unifying voice for county government.