1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,345 Every county government office in Utah is unique 2 00:00:03,345 --> 00:00:07,485 because all are run by elected officials chosen by their community. 3 00:00:07,485 --> 00:00:11,040 Each has an important job and function as they work together 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,655 to provide citizens with a variety of useful services. 5 00:00:14,655 --> 00:00:18,120 Let's visit the county surveyor's office to see what they do. 6 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,750 As one of the only licensed county officials in Utah, 7 00:00:21,750 --> 00:00:25,290 the surveyor's job is to create and manage safeguards that 8 00:00:25,290 --> 00:00:29,625 protect every citizen's right to own and quietly enjoy property. 9 00:00:29,625 --> 00:00:33,810 This has always been an important part of local government and was one of 10 00:00:33,810 --> 00:00:37,980 the first of four locally elected offices ever created in Utah, 11 00:00:37,980 --> 00:00:39,705 along with the county recorder, 12 00:00:39,705 --> 00:00:42,540 water master, and marshal, now called sheriff. 13 00:00:42,540 --> 00:00:48,065 Each job was viewed as critical to the foundation and welfare of an organized community. 14 00:00:48,065 --> 00:00:51,080 In fact, three of the four people depicted 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,110 on Mount Rushmore were county surveyors at one time. 16 00:00:54,110 --> 00:00:57,020 Thomas Jefferson developed the idea of creating 17 00:00:57,020 --> 00:01:00,650 the public land survey system as a means to create accurate, 18 00:01:00,650 --> 00:01:03,740 organized boundaries and descriptions to enable the sale and 19 00:01:03,740 --> 00:01:07,520 settlement of western lands that prepared regional areas for statehood. 20 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:12,560 The US Congress adopted the system for the Land Ordinance of 1785. 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,585 This same system is utilized and protected by county surveyors to this day. 22 00:01:17,585 --> 00:01:21,140 While the land in Utah has been mapped out for some time, 23 00:01:21,140 --> 00:01:25,370 county surveyors have the important job of ensuring that those markers, 24 00:01:25,370 --> 00:01:29,600 boundaries, and descriptions are all protected and that they continue to 25 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,535 provide accurate information about the location and size of every piece of land. 26 00:01:34,535 --> 00:01:38,285 Sometimes markers get moved or boundaries need to change. 27 00:01:38,285 --> 00:01:42,230 However, only a county surveyor can approve and execute 28 00:01:42,230 --> 00:01:46,760 changes within the official records of Utah's public land survey system. 29 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,020 To do this, county surveyors use expert professional judgment, 30 00:01:51,020 --> 00:01:54,680 sophisticated mapping technology, and research methods that 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,760 also include aerial photography and on-the-ground inspections. 32 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,200 Many critical public and private agencies and services rely on 33 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,990 the work county surveyors do as a foundation 34 00:02:05,990 --> 00:02:09,275 for the support they provide communities and citizens. 35 00:02:09,275 --> 00:02:13,430 Let's say your neighbor's house catches on fire and you call 911. 36 00:02:13,430 --> 00:02:17,885 One of the first questions the dispatcher will ask is where the fire is located. 37 00:02:17,885 --> 00:02:20,480 Your street and house numbering relate to and 38 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,795 rely on the system protected by county surveyors. 39 00:02:23,795 --> 00:02:25,760 If no markers, boundaries, 40 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,725 organized street and house numbering, 41 00:02:27,725 --> 00:02:31,295 or mapping were created or if they were not accurate, 42 00:02:31,295 --> 00:02:35,030 it would be difficult for emergency responders to arrive quickly, 43 00:02:35,030 --> 00:02:39,185 resulting in great losses to property and possibly lives. 44 00:02:39,185 --> 00:02:41,300 The identification and protection of 45 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:45,890 the public land survey system is also important in countless other ways, 46 00:02:45,890 --> 00:02:49,475 such as rights a renter might have to sources of water, 47 00:02:49,475 --> 00:02:52,295 fair assessment and payment of taxes, 48 00:02:52,295 --> 00:02:54,485 where you can vote in elections, 49 00:02:54,485 --> 00:02:56,495 what community you live in, 50 00:02:56,495 --> 00:02:58,955 your right to drive on roads, 51 00:02:58,955 --> 00:03:02,675 where utility lines can be safely placed on your property, 52 00:03:02,675 --> 00:03:04,580 how much your property is worth, 53 00:03:04,580 --> 00:03:05,885 and on and on. 54 00:03:05,885 --> 00:03:09,350 It's easy to see how the work of county surveyors touches 55 00:03:09,350 --> 00:03:12,980 the lives of every citizen in many different ways. 56 00:03:12,980 --> 00:03:17,195 Surveyors are just one of many important offices at your county, 57 00:03:17,195 --> 00:03:22,340 but without their accuracy in managing Utah's public land survey system in the county, 58 00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:27,245 it would be difficult for us to receive many important local services we depend on. 59 00:03:27,245 --> 00:03:30,605 Counties are a key part of every community, 60 00:03:30,605 --> 00:03:34,640 uniting local people with solutions to meet local needs. 61 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,520 We are the Utah Association of Counties, 62 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,950 the unifying voice for county government.