Noteworthy story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, concerning Boss Godfrey's yet to be completed dining car/tourist information center project, located at the downtown intermodal hub. Like all Godfrey projects, this one is ill-conceived and financially suspect. In the wake of considerable rumor and speculation that this project has seriously "blown its budget," Ace Reporter Schwebke provides this:
OGDEN -- The city council is questioning why the administration's conversion of an old railroad dining car into a tourist information center downtown is about $80,000 over budget.There are several aspects of this story which ought to raise the eyebrows of Emerald City lumpencitizens, even though Schwebke's contribution of the day is what we'll characterise as "investigative journalism lite." We have a tight calender today, so we'll be brief:
Last year the council allocated $34,501 in capital improvement funds to renovate the car, which is located adjacent to the FrontRunner commuter rail station at the intermodal hub at 23rd Street and Wall Avenue.
John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer, said site preparation work and renovations to the rail car's interior pushed the project's cost to nearly $115 Thousand.
Mr. Schwebke reports that John Patterson admits to breaking the law (on behalf of the Godfrey administration,) by dipping into "an internal services fund account within the city's Fleet and Facilities Department" to the tune of an extra $80 thousand, and spending these funds on the Dining Car/Tourist Info Center overages:
The administration paid for the rail car cost overruns from an internal services fund account within the city's Fleet and Facilities Department, said Patterson.More evidence that Boss Godfrey is juggling the books, and "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Keep in mind, people, the mayor is not entitled to distribute city revenue at his own discretion. He's required by Utah law to have ALL expenditures of city revenue approved by the City Council. Patterson intends to fix the problem however, by going to the Council, hat in hand, after lying to them and repeatedly breaking the law, to persuade the council to ratify the Godfrey administration's most recent impetuous and illegal acts. This is seriously TOO FUNNY:
It's proper to use the funds [which have so far been illegally expended], provided they are first funneled through the city council's capital improvement project process, because the rail car information center is considered a permanent facility and not equipment, said Patterson.Our old Pal "Chief" Jon Greiner says he'd like to "bite down on crime" in Ogden.
As a result, the administration will submit to the council a capital improvement amendment and budget opening request within the next few weeks to properly transfer the UTA lease funds, said Patterson.
If he's serious... several Godfreyite folks will be frogmarched out of City Hall in handcuffs and leg irons.
