Just as we predicted earlier in the week, this morning's Standard-Examiner reveals that former Ogden business development manager Scott Brown is back on the city payroll. Just like Godfrey lackey Stuart Reid, Mr. Brown will be again drawing an Ogden City paycheck, after a short stint in the private sector. Scott Schwebke provides the complete lowdown, from which we glean these key facts:OGDEN — The city is launching an aggressive effort to persuade the Internal Revenue Service to construct a new building downtown that could employ at least 1,000 workers.Further down the article, Mr. Schwebke launches into an eleborate narration, concerning the prospect of construction of a new IRS building on a site already pre-selected by the city, at 23rd Street and Lincoln Avenue.
That effort will be undertaken by Scott Brown, a former business development manager for Ogden who has been rehired for six months to specifically work on the IRS project, said Ogden Community and Economic Development Director Dave Harmer.
Brown, who will be paid $34,000, has been employed temporarily because of his past success in helping the IRS relocate to a pair of buildings downtown, Harmer said.
“We need the help. He does have skills that we want to make use of.”
Diligent reporter that he is, Mr. Schewbke contacted IRS officials for confimation. Strangely, the IRS seems to know nothing about any new downtown buildings:
Bill Brunson, a spokesman for the IRS, said Thursday he is not aware of any immediate plans by the agency to build an additional facility downtown. He said he would check into the issue.Go figure.
We also found this story element to be most interesting:
In addition to the IRS project, Brown will determine the feasibility and costs for the construction of a downtown velodrome, a specialized arena that would feature indoor tennis, cycling and archery.Hold onto your wallets, lumpencitizens. Now that Scott Brown's back on Boss Godfrey's "A" Team, we see a couple of rounds of new bonding in our trusty Weber County Forum crystal ball.
Godfrey has said he envisions the facility being used to train cyclists for the Olympic Games.
11 comments:
It seems to me, that with the Dean Martinez case having moved to Federal court, that re-hiring one of the principals in that case is an act of extreme hubris.
The article didn't mention Brown's new job title or what fringe benefits he'll receive. How many females will be working in the same office?
Nice catch by Mr. Schwebke... that the IRS is apparently unaware that it wants to build another building in downtown Ogden. Hope he and the SE follows up on this. It is one thing to hire a lobbyist to convince a federal agency contemplating a new building that it really wants to build it here. It's quite another to hire a lobbyist to convince the federal agency that it wants to erect a building it didn't know it wanted to erect, and then that it wants to build it here.
However, to be fair, we have had lately all too many examples of parts of the federal government allegedly being wholly unaware of what other parts of the same agencies were doing. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had no idea Monica Goodling was using political considerations in hiring for the Justice Department. President Bush announced we were sending naval vessels to Georgia, until the Navy and State Department insisted that no, we're not. The list goes on and on.
So it is possible somebody in the IRS wants to build another northern Utah building and that Mr. Brunson is unaware of that. Hope Mr. Brunson and the SE follows up on this.
Mr. Brown's personal ethical problems aside [mentioned briefly in the SE article], I do seem to recall a lot of people who were not fans of his, or of the Mayor's, commenting that he was, when the Godfrey administration gathered together, "the smartest guy in the room." [That being the title of a good book and movie describing the criminals who ran Enron into the ground, having him described that way is not a particularly reassuring statement, I guess.]
Nevertheless, if he is a particularly effective business lobbyist, if and the IRS is looking to locate a new building in N. Utah, I don't particularly see a problem in the city hiring him as a lobbyist.
Unless of course the IRS building story is just a cover to get him back on the payroll to work on the combination indoor bike track and tennis court.
Curm:
The city should not be hiring someone with Brown's record of inappropriate behavior--no matter how capable he may be in other respects.
Godfrey continues to push his dream of being the sports capital of the world.
This latest ploy comes across as a pretty pathetic subterfuge to pay $34 grand to get Brown back on the payroll in order to push Godfrey's indoor bike dream.
I wwonder what credentials Brown has for that scheme.
Boy oh boy!!!
I wish that I could work and play with scotty brown. He has a lot of pictures on his computer.
Godfrey claim:
His team is a group of skilled men who we are lucky to have working for Ogden.
Fact:
His team are a bunch of losers who Godfrey hired after almost all of them were fired from their previous jobs. When they screw up so much that even Godfrey has to let them go, they sell apples for awhile until Godfrey hires them back for peanuts. Think Reid and Brown.
Hey, that sounds pretty good.
Reid and Brown Escort Service.
Reid and Brown Bankruptcy Consulting.
Reid and Brown Lobbying.
Reid and Brown Law Firm.
Reid and Brown Subprime Mortgage Company.
Reid and Brown Realty.
Reid and Brown Contracting, specializing in government work.
Reid and Brown Discreet Adult Dating Service.
Thank goodness for Reid and Brown. We need that kind of stupidity if we are going to continue to have fun here in Ogden.
I suspect Brown was hired to negotiate deals with himself for properties he has vested interests in. While other property owners lanquish in a sagging ecconomy, Brown takes care of his with tax dollars. I wonder if he's all ready spent his portion of the Windsor Hotel tax increment give away? Didn't he also wind up with the Star Noodle Parlor building, after discouraging other interested parties over many years?
Perhaps Brown's assignment also includes finding creative ways to fund the ice tower.
Spealing of Stuart Reid - he bought land and did all those nice artist sketches of Ashton Square. Where did all that money come from and who is on the hook now that Ashton Square is defunct?
"Scott Brown" is just another way to spell sleazy & corrupt.
Sure he's very smart and fast with numbers, but he is still a creep and a sleazy operator.
He has enriched himself and his friends at the expense of the Ogden tax payers. He even evidently made up lies about having terminal cancer to get people off his back when he was caught with porn on his computer and dirt on his hands.
Typical Godfrey sycophant.
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