Brown said Friday that he gave Mayor Matthew Godfrey notice a year ago, but Godfrey persuaded him to stay until the city's high-adventure recreation center is finished.

“They don't want me to quit. They've asked me to stay,” said Brown, who wants to leave in April, but said he probably will not quit until May.

The Salomon Center, named for the snow-sports brand that is moving to Ogden this year, is expected to open June 1 as part of The Junction, an open-air mall The Boyer Co. is developing downtown for Ogden City.

Godfrey said it's true that he has been “in denial” - as Brown put it -about Brown's intention to quit, but said he now believes Brown will leave.

“He's been very integrated into so many of the big projects, it's been difficult to know how we'd get things done,” said the mayor. “We'll have some major adjusting and holes to fill when he does leave.”

Godfrey said Brown likely will continue to work for the city as a consultant on certain redevelopment projects where his expertise is needed.

Brown's seven-year tenure has had some volatility.

During a City Council meeting earlier this month, he accused Chairman Jesse Garcia of attempting to bribe him by offering a top city job if Brown would help Garcia defeat Godfrey in this year's mayoral election.

Garcia denied it, and said he had decided - in January - not to run for mayor. Godfrey, who defeated Garcia in 2003, has not said whether he'll seek a third term.

Several days after lambasting Garcia, Brown filed a complaint with the Ogden Police Department alleging that former Human Resource Manager Dean Martinez stole his personnel file as part of a conspiracy with Garcia.

Martinez, who was fired in December for what his superiors described as dishonesty and theft of city property, denies it was “stealing” when he took home Brown's file.

He contends he was performing his human resource manager duties as he prepared to meet with an attorney hired by the city. That attorney was to investigate Martinez's complaint that the city treats women and minority managers unfairly.

Martinez said he also intended to tell the investigator that top city officials, including Godfrey, had for years tolerated misbehavior by Brown.

Martinez alleges that Brown had been caught with pornography on his work computer and had sexually harassed or treated with hostility several women subordinates.

After he was fired, Martinez filed a complaint with the anti-discrimination division of the Utah Labor Commission.

Four women who formerly worked for Brown have told The Salt Lake Tribune that Brown harassed them or was hostile to them and that they had complained to Brown's superiors.

Brown, who has denied viewing pornography on his computer, called one of the women quoted in an earlier Tribune story as being “full of crap.”

“The reason people can't stay here is because they can't do the work,” he said. “I have worked my butt off for the city, and to have this at the end . . .” Brown said. “When the day is done, I'll be vindicated.”

Godfrey previously said all accusations against Brown had been investigated and handled appropriately by his supervisors, former Community Development Director Stuart Reid and current Director Dave Harmer.

Brown, who was in the construction business before joining Ogden City in 1999, has often boasted over the years that he does the mayor's “dirty work,” meaning that he is the tough negotiator who doesn't have to worry about political fallout.

Godfrey said Brown's negotiating and creative deal-making skills have been invaluable to him as he has tried to revitalize downtown Ogden.

Brown, 53, began working for the city at $40,500 and now makes nearly $86,000.

“We haven't had the luxury of dealing in the typical city role with developers. We've had to do development work because no one else would,” said Godfrey.

“There are times when Scott has had to be the bad guy and that has made people mad. He's OK with that,” said Godfrey. “All he cares about is helping Ogden turn around.”

kmoulton@sltrib.com