WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.345 Every county government office in Utah is unique 00:00:03.345 --> 00:00:07.485 because all are run by elected officials chosen by their community. 00:00:07.485 --> 00:00:11.040 Each has an important job and function as they work together 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:14.655 to provide citizens with a variety of useful services. 00:00:14.655 --> 00:00:18.120 Let's visit the county surveyor's office to see what they do. 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:21.750 As one of the only licensed county officials in Utah, 00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:25.290 the surveyor's job is to create and manage safeguards that 00:00:25.290 --> 00:00:29.625 protect every citizen's right to own and quietly enjoy property. 00:00:29.625 --> 00:00:33.810 This has always been an important part of local government and was one of 00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:37.980 the first of four locally elected offices ever created in Utah, 00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:39.705 along with the county recorder, 00:00:39.705 --> 00:00:42.540 water master, and marshal, now called sheriff. 00:00:42.540 --> 00:00:48.065 Each job was viewed as critical to the foundation and welfare of an organized community. 00:00:48.065 --> 00:00:51.080 In fact, three of the four people depicted 00:00:51.080 --> 00:00:54.110 on Mount Rushmore were county surveyors at one time. 00:00:54.110 --> 00:00:57.020 Thomas Jefferson developed the idea of creating 00:00:57.020 --> 00:01:00.650 the public land survey system as a means to create accurate, 00:01:00.650 --> 00:01:03.740 organized boundaries and descriptions to enable the sale and 00:01:03.740 --> 00:01:07.520 settlement of western lands that prepared regional areas for statehood. 00:01:07.520 --> 00:01:12.560 The US Congress adopted the system for the Land Ordinance of 1785. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.585 This same system is utilized and protected by county surveyors to this day. 00:01:17.585 --> 00:01:21.140 While the land in Utah has been mapped out for some time, 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:25.370 county surveyors have the important job of ensuring that those markers, 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:29.600 boundaries, and descriptions are all protected and that they continue to 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:34.535 provide accurate information about the location and size of every piece of land. 00:01:34.535 --> 00:01:38.285 Sometimes markers get moved or boundaries need to change. 00:01:38.285 --> 00:01:42.230 However, only a county surveyor can approve and execute 00:01:42.230 --> 00:01:46.760 changes within the official records of Utah's public land survey system. 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:51.020 To do this, county surveyors use expert professional judgment, 00:01:51.020 --> 00:01:54.680 sophisticated mapping technology, and research methods that 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:58.760 also include aerial photography and on-the-ground inspections. 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:03.200 Many critical public and private agencies and services rely on 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:05.990 the work county surveyors do as a foundation 00:02:05.990 --> 00:02:09.275 for the support they provide communities and citizens. 00:02:09.275 --> 00:02:13.430 Let's say your neighbor's house catches on fire and you call 911. 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:17.885 One of the first questions the dispatcher will ask is where the fire is located. 00:02:17.885 --> 00:02:20.480 Your street and house numbering relate to and 00:02:20.480 --> 00:02:23.795 rely on the system protected by county surveyors. 00:02:23.795 --> 00:02:25.760 If no markers, boundaries, 00:02:25.760 --> 00:02:27.725 organized street and house numbering, 00:02:27.725 --> 00:02:31.295 or mapping were created or if they were not accurate, 00:02:31.295 --> 00:02:35.030 it would be difficult for emergency responders to arrive quickly, 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:39.185 resulting in great losses to property and possibly lives. 00:02:39.185 --> 00:02:41.300 The identification and protection of 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:45.890 the public land survey system is also important in countless other ways, 00:02:45.890 --> 00:02:49.475 such as rights a renter might have to sources of water, 00:02:49.475 --> 00:02:52.295 fair assessment and payment of taxes, 00:02:52.295 --> 00:02:54.485 where you can vote in elections, 00:02:54.485 --> 00:02:56.495 what community you live in, 00:02:56.495 --> 00:02:58.955 your right to drive on roads, 00:02:58.955 --> 00:03:02.675 where utility lines can be safely placed on your property, 00:03:02.675 --> 00:03:04.580 how much your property is worth, 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:05.885 and on and on. 00:03:05.885 --> 00:03:09.350 It's easy to see how the work of county surveyors touches 00:03:09.350 --> 00:03:12.980 the lives of every citizen in many different ways. 00:03:12.980 --> 00:03:17.195 Surveyors are just one of many important offices at your county, 00:03:17.195 --> 00:03:22.340 but without their accuracy in managing Utah's public land survey system in the county, 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:27.245 it would be difficult for us to receive many important local services we depend on. 00:03:27.245 --> 00:03:30.605 Counties are a key part of every community, 00:03:30.605 --> 00:03:34.640 uniting local people with solutions to meet local needs. 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:37.520 We are the Utah Association of Counties, 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.950 the unifying voice for county government.