Ogden, Utah - Government and Politics

Government and Politics

Ogden is governed under the mayor-council form of government, in which the full-time mayor serves as executive while the seven-member part-time council serves as the legislative branch. All of these elected officials serve four-year terms, with elections occurring in odd-numbered years and terms beginning in January of even-numbered years.

The current mayor is Mike Caldwell, who took office in January 2012. The current city council members are Neil Garner, chair, Bart Blair, vice chair, Caitlin Gochnour, Susie Van Hooser, Amy Wicks, Doug Stephens, and Richard Hyer. Four of the council members represent the city's four municipal wards, while the other three (Blair, Van Hooser, and Wicks) are elected at-large by voters from the entire city.

The Ogden City government operates on a budget of somewhat over $100 million per year and employs nearly 600 full-time workers. In addition to providing the usual municipal services, the government is actively engaged in promoting business and economic development. The city operates a redevelopment agency (RDA), with the city council acting as the RDA governing board and the mayor as its executive director. The RDA's activity has steadily increased since its establishment in 1969, with tax increment revenues currently at about $10 million per year and an outstanding debt of over $50 million. Nearly all of Ogden's central business district is now covered by designated redevelopment districts, as are Business Depot Ogden and several other industrial areas in the western parts of the city.

Much of the recent political discourse in Ogden has focused on controversial government-sponsored development projects in the downtown area, including the Ogden Eccles Conference Center, Lindquist Field, The Junction, the Ogden River Project, and other proposals that have not moved forward. A proposed streetcar connecting downtown to Weber State University has attracted considerable attention but only limited support. A major controversy flared up in 2005–07 when the mayor and many others pushed unsuccessfully for construction of a luxury residential development on public land in Ogden's foothills and a new ski resort in the mountains above the city, to be accessed by a pair of aerial gondolas. Other local political concerns include Ogden’s relatively high tax and utility rates, efforts to fight crime, allegations of government corruption, and challenges facing the Ogden City schools.