Big Fight at Last Tuesday's City Council Meeting -- Boss Godfrey Blows His Top

Councilman Stephenson, a candidate in tomorrow's 2011 Ogden mayoral election, once again demonstrates his absolute disregard for his fiduciary obligations as a sitting Ogden City Council member, and his continuing willingness to issue the Mayoral Administration another "blank check."

Following up on a tip from another sharp-eyed and alert Weber County Forum reader, we've just listened to (and watched) the full video of last Tuesday's Ogden City Council meeting.

Godfrey wanted a little over $1 million for undisclosed projects in the east central neighborhood, but he refused to reveal (at least in public--we get the sense that the council might have heard more in closed meetings) exactly what the projects are.

The Council majority gave him $550,000 for projects which had been specifically identified, but withheld the rest, and Boss Godfrey then went pretty much ballistic and accused the Council majority of being dishonest about their rationale.

Take a look at the video yourself, to follow the pertinent City Council discussion. The main appropriation item discussion begins at 1:15:25, and you can fast forward to 1:58:30 to watch the ever-petulant Boss Godfrey blow his top:


The vote was 5-2, with the encouragingly conscientious council majority voting to defer appropriating the entire one million dollars until the matter could be re-calendered for the public discussion of specific projects. Stephens and Stephenson voted, sheep-like, in favor of just trusting Boss Godfrey, of course.

Godfrey protege Councilman Brandon "Sockpuppet" Stephenson, a candidate in tomorrow's 2011 Ogden Mayoral Election, once again demonstrates his absolute disregard for his fiduciary obligations as a sitting Ogden City Council member, and his continuing willingness to issue the Mayoral Administration what would essentially amount to yet another "blank check."

If the beleaguered Emerald City Taxpayers are unfortunate enough to have Stephenson elected to fill Boss Godfrey's soon-to-be vacated mayoral seat, by the way, they can most certainly expect much more of the same.

Our Weber County Forum tipster helpfully provides this closing editorial comment, by the way: "It's pretty clear that he (Godfrey) intends to go out with a bang."

Update 11/7/11 7:15 a.m.: In our never ending quest for complete thoroughness, and for the benefit of any WCF readers who'd like to delve a little more deeply into the Godfrey Administration proposals precipitating Tuesday night's Mayor/Council kerfluffle, we accordingly link the full Council packet for last Tuesday's meeting:

• 11/01 City Council Regular Session Packet

Don't let the cat get your tongues! It's been a mite too quiet around here of late.

Standard-Examiner: Godfrey Plans Special Session to Discuss Ogden Water Rates

Boss Godfrey -- "Man Of the People"

Too funny! With a less than eight weeks remaining in lame-duck Boss Godfrey's fast-dwindling 12-year reign of terror mayoral administration, the Standard reports this morning that he's still trying to throw his weight around with the Ogden City Council:

• Godfrey plans special session to discuss Ogden water rates

Boss Godfrey -- "Man Of the People," right?

NOT!!!

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Big Brother Beckons

Although we continue to question whether Boss Godfrey's Crime fighting efforts have been even marginally commendable, wethinks the Standard otherwise gets it exactly right.

We'll cite this morning's Standard-Examiner editorial as another instance of an editorial board that's "firing on all cylinders." We've all had a grand time poking fun at Boss Godfrey's "Clouseau I" Crime Blimp, but now the SE shifts the focus to the dark and creepy side of Boss Godfrey's most recent crackpot obsession:

• OUR VIEW: Big Brother beckons

Here's the SE's insightful closing and summary paragraph:

This is overkill to the 'nth degree. And it will get worse. It's our experience that government overbearance creeps up on society bit by bit. Worse, we accept it little by little. Where is the evidence that Ogden's current efforts to fight crime, many of which have been commendable, are so unsuccessful that we need constant surveillance?

Although we continue to question whether Boss Godfrey's crime fighting efforts have been even marginally commendable, wethinks the Standard otherwise gets it exactly right.

Utah Attorney General's Office: "We're Cutting the Godfrey Machine Another "Get Outta Jail Pass."

Two breaking afternoon stories from the Northern Utah media, just when we believed the stench of Utah politics couldn't get any worse

In the wake of this morning's HB477 story, and just when we didn't believe the stench of Utah politics could get any worse, we stumble upon these two breaking afternoon stories from Salt Lake Weekly, and the Standard-Examiner, respectively:

• Envision Ogden scandal ends without prosecution
• No charges against Envision Ogden

Let's all face the facts, Gentle Readers. The Utah Attorney General's Office isn't an official prosecutorial body, but is rather an unofficial servant of the forces of political crime and corruption in our state. In spite of the overwhelming and damning evidence of Envision Ogden high crimes and misdemeanors, the Utah A.G.'s office has inexplicably (but predictably) cut the Godfrey political machine another "get outta jail pass."

The floor's now open for any WCF readers who'd like to blow off a little steam.

Another Boss Godfrey Cheap Shot: Ogden City Cites Kaffe Mercantile For a "Sign Violation"

Godfrey cheap Shot #999: Non Friends of Matt Godfrey engage in promoting their Ogden businesses at their own risk

By OgdenLover

Gadi Leshem's abandoned Ogden River Project continues to be the biggest unabated nuisance in Ogden history. Over the years, it's remained by far the single worst eyesore/firetrap in town, but has of yet never received even a single Ogden zoning code citation.

Meanwhile back at the Boss Godfrey ranch, the City has cited an enterprising and self-funding Ogden entrepreneur, Kaffe Mercanatile, for its sandwich sign on Harrison. It's a tasteful, unobtrusive sign and the only way they can let people driving on Harrison know they exist. A copy is also up on Kaffe's Facebook page.

The City cared so much that they left the sentence about weed abatement right there in the citation letter.

The owners rehabbed an old eyesore on their own dime and made it an asset to the neighborhood:


But they are not FOMs, so we can see where truly investing in Ogden has gotten them.

Editor's addendum: We've said it before; and we'll say it again: Boss Godfrey is no friend to the Ogden City small businessman.

Mayor Vetoes Searchlight Ordinance

Possible veto override this Tuesday

by Dan Schroeder

If you live in Ogden and you ever look up at night, you've noticed the searchlight beam that's been "gracing" our evening skies every Friday and Saturday night since last summer. The light is located on top of the old Kiesel Building, just south of The Junction, and it's advertising The Vault, a dance club on the ground floor of the building.

I'm sure that people have different attitudes toward these kinds of searchlights. Some folks take them in stride as just another part of urban living. Others, including myself, are deeply offended that anyone would intentionally mar the beauty of the night sky for everyone within a five-mile radius.

Usually these searchlights are associated with some kind of special event, and they soon disappear. This one, though, seems to be a permanent fixture. These people have the audacity not only to disturb Ogden's night skies, but to do so every weekend, week after week, month after month, indefinitely.

You see, Ogden currently has no ordinance to regulate this kind of intrusion. And there always seem to be people who think that as long as something's not illegal, it's ok.

Fortunately, the City Council decided that enough is enough. It drafted an ordinance to limit the operation of a searchlight to no more than 12 nights per year, per location. Many other cities have similar ordinances, for obvious reasons. Other locations, such as Ogden Valley, prohibit searchlights entirely.

The City Council passed this new ordinance unanimously (6-0, with Van Hooser absent) at its April 6 meeting. I was delighted when I heard this news, but my delight was premature.

Now Mayor Godfrey has vetoed the ordinance. His rationale is that "History demonstrates that the use of spotlights self-regulates. They are used for a time by only a very few businesses and then they go away." The mayor does not state how The Vault's searchlight squares with his definition of "for a time".

This is the same mayor who says he wants to promote enjoyment of Ogden's beautiful outdoors, and who says he wants to attract businesses and residents who love that outdoors. Surely the mayor must realize that the night sky is an integral part of the outdoor environment that many of us cherish.

The City Council will vote this Tuesday, April 27, on a possible veto override (see agenda item #8), which requires 5 votes. The last time the mayor vetoed an ordinance that passed unanimously, the council sustained his veto. The meeting begins at 6:00 pm. You can also express your views to the council at citycouncil@ci.ogden.ut.us.

Fire Department to Make 20,000 Contacts This Winter Under Guise of Replacing Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector Batteries

The true purpose: to find homes that are really rentals

By: Fines and Fees are We, Welcome to Ogden

Please be advised that the Mayor has now assigned the Fire Department to make 20,000 contacts this winter, knocking on doors of single family homes under the guise of replacing smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries.

The true purpose is to find homes that are really rentals. The information is uploaded nightly to City Hall, so that the fines and fees can begin for the violators.

All training, for the Fire Department and having engines respond as first responders to medical emergencies will cease until the goal has been met.

More revenue means more hair brained schemes by the little guy on nine.

My advice is: if the fire department comes a-knocking, stay cozied up to the fire place, hope the health department doesnt show up either, and don't answer the door.

By the way, this action is in retaliation for the Fire Fighters endorsing Council Candidates deemed to be unfriendly to the Godfrey Administration.

The Salt Lake Tribune's Chris Smart Finally Catches Up With the Standard-Examiner

Imagine having Matt Godfrey sitting in the Utah Governor's chair

If only for archival consistency, we'll point to last night's Salt Lake Tribune story, wherein reporter Chris Smart draws a bead on the Boss Godfrey budget 2010 veto story, although Mr. Smart's report may be possibly a day late and a dollar short:

• Ogden's Mayor Godfrey fires back, says City Council wants to usurp power

As we look back on happier times for the the Salt Lake Tribune, back in the heady days when warhorse Tribune reporter Kristen Moulton used to regularly attend Ogden City council meetings, and scoop the Standard-Examiner like clockwork with her hard-hitting and timely stories, we'll nevertheless remark that we're happy to see that the Trib hasn't at least dropped coverage of Ogden's tyrant mayor entirely. And in these economic lean times, we'll take whatever we can get from the economically-challenged Salt Lake Tribune, even if the coverage descends to Mr. Smart's relatively meager offerings.

The ongoing scuttlebutt has it that Godfrey will one day declare his candidacy for higher office within Utah government... or perhaps Godfrey will make a run for the federal congress. Gawd knows nobody in the private sector would ever hire this financial/managerial incompetent, so it would appear that an elected government job would be his only future option, (other than reverting to his earlier [and more successful] career as a pizza delivery boy.)

Thank goodness that people like Chris Smart are educating The Tribune's readership about Boss Godfrey's hideous foibles, however belatedly. Imagine having Matt Godfrey sitting in the Governor's chair some day. Ouch!

And don't forget to check out the reader comments under today's Trib article. It would appear to us that even SLTrib readers are finally coming to understand the twisted "Boss Godfrey drift."

Don't let the cat get yer tongues, O Gentle Ones.

Scott Schwebke Fleshes Out the Boss Godfrey 2010 Budget Veto Story

Added bonus: Supplementary supporting documents

By Dan S.

Scott Schwebke's article on the budget veto, which WCF reported yesterday, is now up on the Standard-Examiner web site.

In addition, the S-E has posted a fascinating 13-page memo, outlining the mayor's legal arguments. It'll take some time for us all to digest this, but here are a few points:

1) The mayor is trying to veto the policy language on the MWC, Lorin Farr Pool, and golf courses without vetoing their actual appropriations. Whether he can do this is legally questionable, because his line-item veto applies only to appropriations. The memo cites some case law (from other states) on this question. However, putting aside the legality question, this tactic will make it harder for the council to find the votes to override the veto.

2) The mayor is claiming that the council must take a single up-or-down vote on overriding his veto, rather than separate votes on the three separate policy items. (His reasoning on this makes no sense to me at all.)

3) The mayor gives multiple reasons why he believes the policy language is illegal in the first place, under state law. We've heard most of these before. If the council doesn't override his veto, these legal issues will probably be moot for the time being. But make no mistake: The mayor is claiming here that he has the unilateral power to dispose of city recreational facilities, and that the council can do nothing to stop him.

Editor's addendum: A coupla added points:

1) Godfrey's memo also cites and relies upon a 1978 Utah Supreme Court decision, Martindale v. Anderson, an electronic copy of which we just happened to already have available on our storage site.

2) Notably, Mr. Schwebke also reports that the matter will be set for next week's Tuesday council calendar, although a possible override vote may not actually happen before early August:

The veto is set to be officially presented to the city council at its meeting Tuesday, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director. However, a vote on the veto won't likely occur until the council's Aug. 4 meeting, he said.

Although Mr. Schwebke doesn't provide information to account for this delay, we'll assume the time lag is intended to provide time for the Council's attorney, Mr. Hall, to review Mr. Godfrey's Gary Williams neoCON rants legal arguments and to prepare his own counter-memo.

Significantly though, the projected August 4 veto override date falls well beyond the July 15, 2009 municipal election filing deadline.

So, as we see it, that's just one more reason, we think, for civic minded Ogden Ward 3 residents to seriously consider filing for the Ward 3 council seat, in which council incumbent Doug Stephens presently stands unopposed. Our view is that it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a hungry Ward 3 council challenger or two looking over councilman Stephens' shoulder, (or breathing down his neck, as the case may be.)

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