Thursday Morning Weber County Forum News Roundup

Once again, the Beehive State finds itself in the national spotlight, for all the wrong reasons

After extensive morning Googling, we've come up with a few interesting local news tidbits, just to whet our readers' ever insatiable red meat news appetites.  Feast your eyes on this morning's News Roundup, folks!

1) "After the review of more than 80 applications and in-depth interviews of a national base of candidates," Ogden City announces the new full-time manager of the Ogden-Hinckley Airport. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss:

• Ex-Police Chief Greiner named Ogden airport manager

Suffice it to say that nationally famous "double-dipper" Greiner remains "on an impressive roll," as he begins logging public service hours toward his fourth public service retirement plan.

2) As the 2014 Utah legislature kicks fully into gear,  the Provo Herald caries a morning story, highlighting the messed up priorities of of some of the "critters" within our Utah legislature:

• Utah bill defines gender for school bathrooms

C'mon, folks.  Do they really believe we're so confused that we don't know which bathrooms to use?

3) And here's a local story which is bound to put you off your feed, O Gentle Readers, as a  multiplicity of news sources, running from our humble home town newspaper to the mighty NBC News, "virally" report one of the most bone-headed public school system screw-ups we've witnessed in years. Seems "dozens of children at a Salt Lake City elementary school had their lunches seized" and tossed in the garbage by certain "financially tight-fisted" cafeteria "lunch ladies," earlier this week, "because they did not have enough money in their accounts."  In a heart-warming display of bureacratic generosity, however, these tender-aged "freeloaders" were mercifully provided "free" milk and fruit as a booby consolation prize, so they didn't have to go completely hungry.  Here's the Salt Lake Tribune's version of this mind-boggling story:

• Lunches seized from kids in debt at Salt Lake City elementary

Once again, the Beehive State finds itself in the national spotlight, for all the wrong reasons.

We'll be following thiss story closely, folks, to find out whether any administrative heads will ultimately roll.

So who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Full Slate of Candidates in Weber County

The Standard-Examiner is front and center in reporting on the upcoming 2012 Utah General Election this morning, with a story reporting on the "full slate" of candidates who've filed in Weber County for the various offices up for grabs this election cycle:

• Full slate of candidates in Weber County

Notably, for the first time within recent memory, no Weber County incumbent will stand unopposed this go-round, the Standard reports:

Two Utah House incumbents, Richard Greenwood, R-Roy, and Gage Froerer, R- Huntsville, looked to be unopposed for re-election until literally the last hour Thursday.

But their respective House District 12 and District 8 races drew Democratic challengers just before the close of business Thursday, said Weber County Elections Administrator Jennifer Morrell.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's highly-attended Democratic Party caucuses, it would appear that Weber County Democrats are approaching the 2012 election races with an encouraging new vigor.

Notable among those candidates who came in under the wire for yesterday's filing deadline is former Ogden City police Chief and "retired" one-term State Senator Jon Greiner, whose Commission candidacy we predicted in last week's WCF article. With three public "retirements" now already under his belt, Greiner is poised to become a "quadruple dipper," as he readies for the April 12 Weber County Republican Party Nominating Convention, where he'll attempt to battle it out for Craig Dearden's soon to be vacated Weber County Commission Seat against veteran County GOP warhorse Matt Bell, the current Weber County Republican Party Chairman.

We'll also make note of an important development in the Ogden School Board race, where Weber County Forum reader and past contributor Jim Hutchins has thrown his hat into the ring for the District 5 School Board seat.

Over the course of the next 233 days remaining until the November 6 General election, we'll be closely following the Ogden City School Board races. In recent years, the Ogden City School Board has suffered considerable mission creep, putting what should be the main object of providing robust education to Ogden's City's school children on the back burner, while recklessly sacrificing direly-needed tax increment dollars to equally reckless Ogden City economic development projects. In that connection, we'll be closely following and touting Mr. Hutchins' school board candidacy, and the candidacies of any other Ogden City School Board hopefuls who are likely to exhibit the necessary intelligence, energy and dedication toward restoring as a first priority the goal of excellence in the Ogden City School System .

Keep your eyes on our right sidebar 2012 Election Module, by the way, folks, where within the next day or two we're planning, if all goes well, to begin displaying the full array of election articles, websites, candidate profiles and all other information necessary to assist Weber County voters in making wise decisions for all contested offices in the 2012 Utah General Election races.

Two Morning News Stories Spawn Election Issues

Some good questions to ask Ogden's mayoral candidates

By Curmudgeon

Two stories up this morning, one in the Trib, one in the SE, that suggest, I think, some good questions to ask Ogden's mayoral candidates.

The Trib one is about Ogden's new police crime center monitoring the city's cameras, and plans for increase surveillance. Particularly interesting are the last paragraphs which report that several studies show such monitoring has no appreciable effect on crime rates:

• With new crime center, Odgen police are watching you

The other, in the Standard-Examiner, is on double-dipping in the Ogden PD --- i.e. people who retire and are rehired at the same jobs so they pull both pension and pay checks for the same job. The Ogden Civil Service Commission declined to assert jurisdiction in the Sgt. Blaine Clifford matter; and now the case appears destined to be headed back to the District Court:

• Double dipping unresolved at Ogden Police Department

Definitely worth a read. Drop a quarter if you have to and take a look. And youir blogmeister will be most certainly looking for statements about double-dipping from the candidates.

Sunday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Plenty of interesting tidbits in today's Standard-Examiner

For our readers' eager consumption, we'll reel off these morning items one-by-one:

Undeterred by the closing of his flagship restaurant and the imminent departure of his political benefactor from the Ogden political scene, Friend of Matt (FOM) Mel Kemp still sees a bright future for the Ogden-Hinckley Airport, with multimillion dollars in private aviation development purportedly looming on the horizon:

• Clearance for development upgrade at Ogden airport

Big changes coming up at the Dinosaur Park, as multi-gazillionaire park founder Bob Marquardt resumes management:

• Ogden cedes dinosaur park's reins

Spot-on SE editorial this morning, on the topic of OPD double dipping, wherein the SE editorial board focuses in on the key operative principle, in a manner most laser-like. Quadruple-dipping Chief Greiner should write down this paragraph (so he doesn't forget it):

If a police officer is not serious about retirement, then their benefits should be delayed until he or she retires. In short, if a lieutenant retires, there should be no double-dipping; a qualified sergeant -- and Ogden has many -- should be promoted.

Read the full editorial here:

• OUR VIEW: The OPD's 'ceiling'

Seems everyone in Emerald City recognizes the problem with this double-dipping scam... except our morally and ethically challenged OPD top brass. The question we guess is whether someone in authority, (the City Council for instance,) will ever get around to doing something about it.

The floor's open for your comments, O Gentle Ones. Time to let 'er rip.

Standard-Examiner: Issue of Repeated Double-dipping at Ogden Police Department Leads to Grievance

Isn't the current system of "recycling" "retiring" OPD top brass just plain wrong?

The Standard-Examiner follows up on its March 27, 2011 story this morning, and reports that aggrieved OPD Sgt. Blaine Clifford, "[a]n Ogden police sergeant who contends he was unfairly passed over for promotion in 2007 because of a double-dipping system is again taking his grievance to the city's Civil Service Commission":

• Issue of repeated of double-dipping at Ogden Police Department leads to grievance

The commission is scheduled to hear Sgt. Clifford's complaint on May 11.

So what about it gentle readers? Isn't this system of "recycling" "retiring" OPD top brass, at the expense of up-and-coming rank-and-file police officers just plain wrong? And shouldn't this issue be resolved once and for all by our Ogden City Council?

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢ concerning this issue?

Sunday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Plenty of interesting tidbits in this morning's S-E

By Dan Schroeder

Plenty of interesting tidbits in today's Standard-Examiner:

Trentelman tells us what a nice guy Sen. Knudson is even though he voted for HB477 twice. No sympathy for Sen. Reid, however:

• HB477 is dead; we can keep fighting or move forward

Schwebke tells us that there's an open space plan under consideration, but doesn't tell us much about it:

• Ogden may alter open space plan

Grondahl depicts our mayor running down a sports field in spiked shoes, trampling everyone in his wake:

• Grondahl Cartoon

Saal ridicules WCF (no such thing as bad publicity, right?), and speculates on the mayor's goals for his last nine months in office:

• Ogden City, we are at your disposal

And the fine-print agenda list includes a tiny item informing us that on Tuesday the council will voluntarily hand the mayor even more power to divert funds to his pet projects:

• Agendas

Update 4/3/11 8:30 a.m.: The SE editorial board slams the Ogden Police Department's "dysfunctional" "double-dipping culture":

• OUR VIEW: Double-dipping at the department

Standard-Examiner: Double Dipping at Ogden City Police Department! - UPDATED

Greiner says: "I didn't do anything wrong"... And the beat goes on...

By: Biker Babe

Anonymous complaint cries: Double Dipping at Ogden City Police Department!

• DOUBLE-DIPPING - Anonymous complaint accused Ogden Police Department of manipulating rules for retirees

City Atty Williams says: "We were very careful to comply with all laws"... when he really means: "We were very careful to find all the loopholes and maximally utilize them for our (and FOM's) benefit."

And of course Greiner says: "I didn't do anything wrong."

And the beat goes on...

js,

BB

Update 3/29/11 10:23 a.m.: For those readers who've been standing by with abated breath, awaiting the posting of the above-linked "double dipping" story to the SE Live! (free) site, we're delighted to inform you that the story is now up in all its glory:

• Anonymous complaint accuses Ogden Police Department of manipulating rules for retirees

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial: End Double Dipping

Another Northern Utah newspaper jumps aboard the anti-double dipping bandwagon

We'd like to highlight a good strong editorial in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, in which the Trib editorial board jumps aboard the bandwagon, in condemning the peculiar Utah practice of public employee double dipping:

• End double dipping

As our regular readers will of course recall, the Standard-Examiner carried its own editorial on the subject about six weeks ago.

We're delighted to find our northern Utah print media lining up to advocate the legislative abolition of this egregious and costly practice; and we'll thus be keeping our eyes peeled for a similar Deseret News editorial piece in the near future.

Meanwhile we'll reiterate a closing comment from our 11/20/09 WCF article on the subject:

Note to our "fiscally conservative" state legislature: Are you listening?

Jon Greiner: National Poster Child of Double-dippers?

Ouch! Definitely not the kind of story that Boss Godfrey likes to see splashed all over the front pages of the national media

On the heels of yesterday's reader comment revelation that Ogden Police Chief/Senator Jon Greiner had made made the pages of USA Today, in connection with a multi-state effort to ban the practice of of public employee "double dipping," the Standard-Examiner's Mark Shenenfelt chimes in with a brief article directly addressing this subject on his Why are you Crying blog:

• National poster child of double-dippers

Now that the USA Today story is in the national spotlight, Mr. Shenefelt wryly speculates that this may not be exactly the kind of story that Boss Godfrey likes to see splashed all over the front pages of the national media:

Greiner also is a state senator, and he’s unapologetic about his arrangements. Greiner and his salary-and-retirement deal also have been defended by Mayor Matthew Godfrey. But I’m guessing Greiner’s double-dipping case going national is not the type of “recreational high adventure” fame Godfrey wants Ogden to keep getting in the top press.

By Golly, we believe Mr. Shenefelt is exactly right; and we encourage WCF readers to mosey on over there to have a look. When you get there, be sure to also check out the growing list of savvy reader comments lodged beneath Mark's article.

It will be interesting to see whether this story receives further development on the national stage, no?

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Time to Stop Double Dipping

Note to our "fiscally conservative" state legislature: Are you listening?

We don't want the day to completely slip away, without shining the spotlight on a fine lead editorial appearing in this morning's Standard-Examiner. In a most craftsman-like fashion, editorial page editor Doug Gibson draws a bead on a quirky Utah political practice which we've extensively ranted about here on Weber County Forum, public employee double dipping:

• OUR VIEW: Time to stop double-dipping

We're delighted to see the Standard-Examiner jumping aboard the editorial bandwagon on this; and we applaud the SE's no-nonsense proposed legislative approach:

Look, this is a no-brainer change to make and any Utah legislator who opposes it deserves to lose re-election. Utah is the only state in the Western United States that lets retirees come back to work with a salary, pension and a 401(k). The result is Utah has lost $400 million over the past eight years and will lose $900 million over the next 10 years. We just can't afford to bleed money like that, particularly during this tough recession.
We have no objection to a public worker retiring, drawing benefits and then moving into the private sector. That is not costing the state money. But public-sector double-dipping is, and it needs to stop.

Note to our "fiscally conservative" state legislature: Are you listening?

Audit Calls For End to Rehiring Retirees

Double dippers may cost state retirement system $900 million in coming decade

"It was evident in the cases we reviewed that retiring was, with few exceptions, simply a maneuver to begin drawing both a pension and a salary," the audit said. "Returning to work soon after retiring suggests the retirees had not genuinely intended on ending their public service careers."

Utah State Auditor
Getting retirement and salary
November 12, 2009

"The retired in place system is valuable because it allows municipalities to rehire police chiefs or sheriff for the same job at a lower rate within the pay scale." [...]
"Then you have the same person that you pay less and the same amount of service and job experience," he said."It's a good incentive for citizens and cities because it allows cities to renegotiate salary and benefits packages."

Chief Jon Greiner
Getting retirement and salary
November 12, 2009

Ogden City's Chief of Police and State Senator Jon Greiner again gets his mugshot plastered onto the front page of this morning's Standard-Examiner with this AP/SE Staff story, which reports that the the State Auditor's office has recommended a ban on the practice of "double-dipping," a unique Utah quirk, whereby some well-connected government employees are legally-entitled to "retire in place," and then go on collecting a salary in addition to state retirement benefits.

Several eye-popping facts emerge from this morning's Std-Ex story:

• The state retirement system covers state and local governments, as well as public and higher education employers.
• The audit said allowing rehired employees to collect pension benefits has cost the state more than $400 million in the past eight years and will cost nearly $900 million over the next 10.
• Utah is the only western state that allows retirees to return to work with a salary, pension and 401(k) plan. The audit recommends requiring employers to make contributions to the state retirement fund instead of personal 401(k) plans.

Both the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News are also all over this topic this morning too, with stories which do not, (unlike the one in this morning's Std-Ex,) directly focus on Ogden's police chief as the poster boy for the egregious Utah practice of allowing certain good ole boys (and gals) to spend a virtual lifetime wallowing in the public trough.

Now that the state legislature has its back pressed to the wall with the severe state tax revenue shortfalls resulting from the ongoing 2008-09 Great Recession, will our legislators act swiftly and decisively to enact the State Auditor's recommendation into Utah law?

We'll volunteer to say won't be holding our breath.

Tuesday Morning Emerald City News Roundup

Legislative ethics and public employee double dipping are the hot topics of the day

There are a couple of quite interesting items available through the northern Utah print media today, both of which deal with fixing the corruption in Utah government:

First, the Standard-Examiner carries a top notch editorial, urging Utah voters to sign the petition for a "2010 ballot initiative that will do what the Utah Legislature has failed to do for so long — enact ethics reform with teeth."

Among the proponents of this pending voter initiative measure is the Fair Boundaries Coalition, which is promoting the establishment of a non-partisan committee which would oversee the redistricting process to follow the decennial census in 2010. The redistricting element is a matter which has of course been earlier discussed here at Weber County Forum.

With Kim Burningham and David Irvine leading the charge, it's immediately clear that this citizen initiative drive won't be an amateur act. We wholeheartedly agree with the Std-Ex that "it’s time voters got the chance to impose strong ethics regulations on lawmakers via the initiative process."

Keep your eyes on WCF. We'll be closely monitoring this story, and will provide information on how to sign the initiative petition as this matter progresses.

Secondly, the Salt lake Tribune carries a story on a topic that's also near and dear to out WCF hearts, public employee double dipping. Here's the gist, from this morning's Cathy McKittrick story:

The nearly $3 billion projected shortfall in the state's public employee retirement fund has city, county and state officials scrambling to find where to cut costs and shore up the pension plan that covers 156,000 current and retired workers.
Some lawmakers are eyeing double-dippers as a great place to start -- referring to those employees who have retired, are collecting a pension and have come back to work for the same or a different state agency.
"The biggest problem with double-dipping is that we're required by state law to pay them their 401k in the same amount" as had previously been contributed to the pension fund, said Sen. Daniel Liljenquist, D-Bountiful, who co-chairs the Legislature's Interim Retirement Committee.
That mandate is now costing the state somewhere between $10 million and $17 million annually, Liljenquist added.
"Where do you reach the point to cut off a rich benefit like that?" he asked. "To my knowledge, no other state does that. It's very lucrative and it makes sense to tie that down."
Placing restrictions on public employees who retire and rejoin the government work force without continuing contributions to the pension fund is one option being explored to address the retirement shortfall.

While it's probably true that the legislature can't do much about existing 401(k) plans which are already vested (the same may be true with regard to vested pension benefits) , we're hoping that the legislature will, at the very least, put new safeguards in place to prevent this problem from arising in the future.

In closing, we'll adopt the savvy remark from one SLTrib reader in the article comments section:

I strongly disagree with the concept of double or triple dipping. As far as I'm concerned the folks who do this are abusing the system and its wrong. If a person is going to retire from government employment, fine...retire. Thank you very much for your service. But as stated by other readers, its not right that a person be allowed to retire from a state position just to come back 6 months later and get rehired in the position he or she just retired from. That makes no sense. The legislature needs to fix this...now!

That's it for now, gentle readers. Who will be first to comment?

Saturday Afternoon News Roundup

Invitation to embark upon yet another Saturday open topic thread

Lacking any bonafide red-meat news this weekend, we thought it might be useful to set up an open topic thread. Before we turn the floor over to our gentle readers however, we'll lay out a few topical discussion ideas. Here are several items that either caught our eye in this morning's news, or which we bookmarked earlier in the week:

1) As the U.S. economy plunges deeper into recession, we find two Deseret News articles this morning, demonstrating that the Utah economy is by no means immune to the recessionary market forces which currently plague the national economy:

• Utah records $100 million in red ink
• Foreclosure rate in Utah jumps more than 113%

2) With respect to the ongoing political debate concerning the propriety of Utah public employee retirement "double dipping," the Utah Court of Appeals has issued a pro taxpayer ruling regarding Utah public employees who simultaneously hold down multiple state jobs:

• State employees can't double dip on retirement

3) City Weekly's Salt Blog hammers bicyclists who fail to obey the rules of the road:

• Stupid, stupid bicyclists

4) The KUTV website has a heartwarming story about how one ex-gangsta turned his life around, and became a proud and productive member of Ogden's Finest:

• Former gang member is now an Ogden cop

Feel free to chime in on any of these selected topics; or start up a conversation all your own.

Consider this our Saturday open topic thread. Last one out, don't forget to turn out the lights and lock up.