This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden • The City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to usher in some new rules and procedures for how it functions, among them two changes that stirred controversy.
The first involved implementing a secret straw-poll procedure to select the council chair and vice-chair each year, which would then be ratified by a public vote. Salt Lake City Council currently uses that method.
The second instructs council members that legal opinions and advice they've received on city matters should not be publicly disclosed.
One resident spoke out against both of these changes, asking that the Council remove the "secrecy items" from their procedures.
"Everything the council does is political," said watchdog Dan Schroeder.
"I think the straw poll would make the council less accountable," he added, urging the council to keep their deliberations and votes public.
Schroeder also questioned the council's need to address the attorney-client privilege issue in its rules.
"If council members feel they should disclose information, they should consider it carefully," Schroeder said, adding that Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey uses that discretion when it's to his advantage.
Council members Amy Wicks and Susan Van Hooser voted against the new rules and procedures.
"We should do the people's business in public," Wicks said.
Council Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour was among the five who voted in favor of the new framework, viewing the straw poll as a way to strengthen council relationships.
"I feel we are very transparent," Gochnour said. "And I think it's a long-standing American tradition to have the right to a private ballot."
The new rules also reiterate that council members will get a pay raise in 2012. That ordinance was unanimously approved this summer, based on recommendations from a human resource study comparing Ogden to other cities with the same strong mayor form of government.
The ordinance also gave the mayor's salary a boost.
In other related action, the council, acting as the city's Redevelopment Agency board, approved an amended development agreement for the four-story hotel that former House Majority Leader Kevin Garn and Western States Lodging LLC plan to build in the city's downtown Junction project.
A $3 million underground parking garage — to be funded by the hotel owner through a special assessment levy — was scrapped based on the developer's negotiations with US Bank.
Some council members voiced concerns that the 125-room hotel would struggle if it lacked enough dedicated parking for its guests and employees.
Tom Christopoulos, Ogden's business development manager, said the Junction's master plan already contains more than sufficient parking to accommodate the hotel.
Long-term plans involve adding more parking stalls as they develop the northern half of the hotel property, said Davis Webster of Western States Lodging, LLC.
The final vote for the amended development agreement was also 5-2, with council members Wicks and Van Hooser voting against it. The were concerned about subsidizing the project and questioned whether the downtown area could support another hotel.
Ogden's elected officials to get raises in 2012
The City Council chair currently makes $10,917 per year. That will increase 27 percent to $13,884. The vice chair makes $9,860, which rises 30 percent to $12,888. Council members are now paid $8,804, which increases 34 percent to $11,880.
The mayor currently receives an annual salary of $88,000. That jumps to $108,000 in 2012, a 23-percent boost.