This should come as no surprise to our gentle Weber County Forum readers. We've all watched with amazement as Ogden City government has already begged, borrowed and stolen every available dime to keep the Rec Center project alive. And we've shaken our heads in disbelief, as our city government has squandered discretionary money on big-city luxury items, like a full-time paid lobbyist, a public relations person for the city council, and of course our prodigal adopted son, Stuart Reid. And there have been many other items such as these.
If you ask the average citizen about municipal government priorities, you'll find roads at the top of the list. Police and fire services would be right on top, along with water and sewer services, too. These are the things normal citizens expect of our city government. These are the services that justify city government's very existence in the first place.
I was talking to one of the current city council candidates a couple of weeks ago about the legitimate priorities of city government; and the candidate told me something startling. This candidate had attended a city council candidate orientation, and was presented with a booklet, sort of a manual for city council operations. The candidate kindly furnished me a copy of the booklet, and I've read it cover to cover.
At page 7 of this booklet, joint Council-Administration "goals" are clearly enumerated. Here they are, gentle readers. These are the present city council priorities. Feast your eyes on this:
- Revenue Enhancement
- Downtown Development
- Natural Resources, Recreational Amenities
- Neighborhood Stability.
- Infrastructure Maintenance and Repair (Roads, Sewer and Water)
- Police and Fire Services
Road repairs and other traditional services are not a priority for our present city government. That's the official policy.
With a primary election coming up in less than a week, we citizens have an opportunity to set things right. Don't sit on the sidelines this year, gentle readers.
I don't care what challenger you vote for in the primary. There are numerous good challengers in the race. The important thing however, is that you show up to oust the council members who've gotten us into this mess, Jorgensen and Burdett, and to turn away Filiaga's heir-apparent too.
It's time to take back our government, folks, and fire the people who've turned the city's priorities on their head, and adopted the official policy of putting first things last.
Comments anyone?
5 comments:
Tonto on way to hunt deer, but have suggestion for Harmer guy: take back Stuart Reid's severance and another $47,000 can go to road repair.
Tonto have suggestion to Jorgensen: fire PR person, who was hired to help him in election (Tonto have yet to see any publicity from this PR person, now on payroll) and another $28,000 can go to road repair.
Tonto have suggestion for foolish mayor: fire lobbyist and another $45,000 can go to road repair.
Tonto add up figures: $120,000 for road repair, leaving same amount in Emergy Fund for Winter, etc.
Tonto not think that these City guys very smart. If much money not expended for foolish ideas that go bust, City might have money for road repair. Tonto feel road needs repair NOW, after 6 months wait, before citizens get angry and more damage occur.
Tonto now continue to deer hunt.
I had read on the Ogden City web page awhile back that the Council "shared the vision," and thought that was quite presumptuous, as it is obvious that some members do not.
However, that does seem to be the official word, doesn't it?
What's gone on is very simple. We've got a group in there who wants to do the fun stuff, which is usually the hard earned privilege of those in the private sector who have accumulated enough funds to develop ski resorts, recreational facilities, and high growth corporations.
In taking a look at those private sector people who actually do those things, it is important to remember that they would not, for instance, live in houses with bad plumbing. If their driveways cracked, they would fix them. If their roofs leaked, they would take care of that. They pay attention to security and spend much time and money on their staffs, because they know that without a firm base, they will not be able to achieve anything other than constant dealings with that base.
In other words, these kinds of successful people pay attention to their own personal infrastructure--of course they do.
But, having no idea of that on their own because they have not "worked their way up," so to speak, some of those in the city administration have absolutely no clue that the first step to building anything is a well-maintained infrastructure.
It is simply more fun to sit in meetings hobnobbing with extremely successful, high powered executives, as if one were one of them, than it is to deal with unromantic and unexciting things like water pipes and asphalt and trash pick up, and whether fire and police equipment is in good order, etc. These realities are very dull when compared with sitting around BSing about visions, which is obviously very gratifying to their egos.
That's what those priorities are about, really. Ego gratification. Nothing to do with the administration of a city.
Wasn't it Woodward who opined a few weeks ago that the Godfrey Administration's downtown development schemes ceased long ago to be business-driven and are now merely ego-driven? I believe that perceptive comment was immediately drowned out in the onslaught of gondola jihadists who began to infest this Forum once WSU started up. Now Dian has expounded on the same thing. Isn't it appalling that in its arrogance the Godfrey Gang doesn't care that fine minds in Ogden see them for what they are?
Mayor Matthew Godfrey has paid Stuart Reid a severance, a highly disputed severance, of some $47,000, which is nearly twice what the beginning wage of an Ogden City Firefighter earns, a man or women who daily places his or her life on the line to serve the people of Ogden.
Godfrey is now scrambling to justify this severance, saying that since a "termination" is on the books as being OK to pay such a severance, that he and Reid had a "verbal agreement" that Reid would be classified as being "terminated," thus allowing Reid to collect that severance.
Where are the priorities of this mayor of ours? It's obvious that he thinks more highly of his buddy Reid than he does of the Firefighters who protect the citizens of our good city.
I'm amazed and disheartened that a person of this immoral interpretude is our mayor. He should be ashamed of what he's doing in this event, and those who support him should have their heads rolled.
What say you?
Thought it might be amusing to look at the "goals" themselves, shelving for the moment the debate on whether or not they are worthy, and see how they're coming along. Here are goals:
Revenue Enhancement
Downtown Development
Natural Resources, Recreational Amenities
Neighborhood Stability
Revenue Enhancement. Well. Washington Boulevard is in much worse shape than it was five years or so ago. Cross and Habitations are now gone, as well as the stores in the mall, obviously. Sam's Club moved to Riverdale because the City wouldn't let them put gas pumps in. One revenue source--BDO, to whom we owe money. No mall, Union Square sitting there, no downtown condos in Shupe Williams. Zero on revenue enhancement. Negative numbers, actually, because we're worse off with these losses.
Downtown development. Mall site, Union Square. Over $10 million there at least doing nothing. 25th Street is nice, and also private enterprise. Cannot think of any city sponsored project developed and thriving downtown. I believe the city did "help" Ogden Blue in its new building. Does that count? Zero?
Natural resources, recreational amenities. On the latter, much time and money has been spent on this city gondola, which has gone back and forth between being a tourist attraction and public transportation. Read that there was a study done on its feasibility in 2004 which cost Ogden $62,000. Other facts about that here: Ogden Dreams of Gondola And there are plans to have us all water skiing on a contaminated pond on 21st Street when it gets cleaned up. More about that here: Cleaned-Up Pond Could Be Water Skiing Venue. But these are dreams and plans. Not happening yet. Natural resources? Like our mountains, and the planned access road cutting up through them? Like water, and not letting it leak out of rusting pipes? That one is currently happening. Zero.
Neighborhood Stability. Of course, those recently having a narrow escape from eminent domain come to mind. Having one's neighborhood demolished in favor of a WalMart is not conducive to neighborhood stability. Zero.
It has to be ego-driven, MM---it's certainly not profit driven. You have to have profits for that. Maybe they should try their hands at the business of city government.
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