A monitor has been appointed to oversee city operations in the towns on the Utah-Arizona border known for being home to a polygamist sect.
Roger Carter is the city manager for Washington, Utah, which is about 35 miles from the community known as Short Creek.
Carter will monitor municipal decisions in the towns, and his duties include reviewing the way the towns handle utility applications and building permits.
This appointment comes after a jury verdict found that Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, acted as arms of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and discriminated against those who were not, by denying water hookups, fair police conduct, and fair housing.
The towns have since appealed that decision.