Hammer will spend the time between now and his retirement — slated for July 1 — training George.

Initially proposed as the creation of a new surveying department within the county, the majority of the council left Tuesday’s meeting leaning toward hiring one additional employee to help provide additional surveying expertise to county employees.

Concerns about creating an entirely new department were centered around cost, both for the hypothetical department head and any other positions/equipment they may need.

Wesley Bingham, Cache County’s finance administration supervisor, provided his thoughts on committing to an entire department versus providing additional funding to an already-established department to house a position to supplement the county’s needs.

“Just with the economy too, I would just encourage you to not necessarily set up a full department but take a slow step into it,” Bingham said. “You can always contract out certain things and you might have an expert — say, a surveyor — that can determine what should maybe go out and is easily done by a contractor and manage that process.”

While the creation of a hypothetical department would only result in one initial hiring, the potential growth to multiple full-time employees was a sticking-point for Bingham, who said the ups and downs of the economy could leave the department with not enough work for all of its employees.

Matt Phillips, the county’s public works director, said multiple departments — largely Public Works and Development Services — in the county would benefit from hiring an additional employee without creating a new department.

Phillips, who advocated for a similar position as recently as September, said the need for the position is primarily based on in-office work.

“The need for the county surveyor has been long-standing,” Phillips said. “If you remember, I have been asking for the council to approve a budget for a county surveyor for… probably going on three years… What we have been asking for, in an in-house surveyor, is to help with the office work.”

Phillips cited the review of annexations and subdivision plats, as well as help needed by Cache County Recorder Tennille Johnson, who spoke in favor of the position, prior to Phillips.

Cache County Clerk Bryson Behm also expressed his desire to add the position.

With the vast majority of the council and those speaking on the topic being in favor of additional support, the topic will now go back to Cache County’s Council Ordinance and Policy Review Committee April 25, to iron out the remaining details and make a recommendation to the Cache County Council.

To view the entire meeting, visit Cache County’s YouTube page and navigate to the “Live” tab.