Council To Consider Veto Override Tonight - Updated

A rare opportunity for the Council to clarify and redefine the nature of Administration/Council relations

Thumbnail update: Boss Godfrey's veto is overridden, 5-2

This morning's Standard-Examiner edition affords another opportunity to again remind our readers of tonight's city council meeting, wherein the council will consider overriding Mayor Godfrey's veto of the policy statements contained in the Ogden City 2010 fiscal year budget. Scott Schwebke does a good job of framing the issues in his morning writeup:

• Council to review Godfrey veto items

As Ogden City political wonks are well aware, the ultimate outcome of tonight's council confrontation is of crucial importance to the citizens of Ogden City, inasmuch as it will not only determine the mode of operations of the Marshall White Center during the 2010 fiscal year, but also define the nature of administration/council political relations for the remaining balance of Mayor Godfrey's current mayoral term... and well beyond.

Item #10 on tonight's council agenda provides the Ogden City council the opportunity to reassert itself as the policy making body of Ogden City, a legislatively designated role which the council has sadly abdicated and neglected over the years. If the council fails to assert itself as the body of municipal government which will henceforth set broad overall city policy regarding the operation of city amenities such as the MWC, Lorin Farr Park and the Mount Ogden Golf Course, for example, the council will be destined to travel a very rough and rocky road over the next 2-1/2 years indeed.

In this connection, we'll once again provide our WCF council contact link, in the expectation our readers won't be shy in politely expressing to their elected council representatives their recommendations concerning tonight's proposed veto override :

• Contact Local Officials - Ogden City

As for tonight's council session, we'll advise everyone to get themselves to the council chambers early, as we have reason to believe it'll be a packed house of steely-eyed lumpencitzens in attendance, torches and pitchforks in hand.

And if you can't attend tonight's council session, be sure to check back here after the council session starts. We do anticipate that we'll have live realtime updates available, one way or another.

In the meantime, we invite your reader comments. There's much to discuss in re this topic this morning, we believe.

Update 8/4/09 5:24 p.m. MT: Having heard nothing from any of our WCF regulars about providing our own independent blog updates from the council chambers, and having promised to provide at least something in the nature of a live realtime council meeting play-by-play, we'll adopt and incorporate the "tweets" of The Standard's Ace Reporter Schwebke here. Mr. Schwebke is already apparently situated inside the council chambers, ready to report. If all goes according to plan, our readers can follow Mr. Schwebke's live reporting, by opening and periodically "refreshing" the Twitter page linked here:

• Reporter Scott Schwebke tweets tonight from Ogden City Council meeting

Stand by, gentle readers. This is bound to be most interesting.

Update 8/4/09 6:13 p,m. MT: Wonder of wonders, it seems that WCF Regulars Jim Hutchins and Dan Schroeder are also both stationed inside the council chambers, posting their own live updates in our comments section. Dang. This is gonna be REALLY good, wethinks!

P.S.: In view of the above, and considering the proven capability of these two fellas, we have the sneaking suspicion that Mr. Schwebke will be seriously out-gunned in tonight's realtime reporting free-for-all.

Update 8/4/09 7:25 p.m. MT: The veto is overridden, 5-2. For further details, check out our lower comments section.