The petition was completed and accepted by the Lieutenant Governor’s office. This required the signatures by private landowners representing 10% of total acreage as well as 7% of total private property value in the proposed incorporation area.
The Lieutenant Governor’s office hired an independent consultant (LRB Public Finance Advisors) to complete the Feasibility Study for the proposed incorporation of Ogden Valley. The study analyzed whether the five-year projected revenues for the proposed incorporated area would be able to cover, by more than five percent excess revenue, the same level of services currently provided by the county. The Feasibility Study was completed December 7, 2023. The findings of the study indicate that incorporation will likely result in, at least, a five-percent budget surplus when comparing available revenues to expenses. This surplus allows the incorporation process to proceed.
LRB Public Finance Advisors (LRB) will present to the public, in two sessions, the Feasibility Study methodology and findings. The first of these two public meetings is tentatively set for January 30, 2024 at 6 pm at Snowcrest Junior High. The second is to be announced after the first of the 2024 new year. Please subscribe to be notified in case of changes and the second date.
In addition to the two public Feasibility Study presentations, sponsors will host a series of open house presentations further explaining the process of incorporation and items for consideration. While this is not part of the official process, sponsors feel it is important that the community be informed as we move toward a vote.
After the presentation of the results, a second petition round begins further establishing the support of the community for incorporation. The “Petition for Incorporation” is a request by the community for the Lieutenant Governor’s office to place the issue on the 2024 ballot. This petition requires signatures by private landowners representing 10% of the total private acreage and 7% of the total private property value. In addition, signature needs to include at least 10% of the registered voters in the proposed incorporation area.
If the “Petition for Incorporation” meets the required signature and timeline criteria as validated by the Lieutenant Governor’s office, the vote will occur on the November 2024 ballot. A simple majority is required for incorporation to occur, meaning one vote over 50%. The community’s desired form of government will also be on the ballot. Additional information will be made available on these options as the process moves forward.
In the year that follows a vote for incorporation, an election is held to elect the city government officials who will represent the residents of Ogden Valley.
In 1976, lifetime Valley resident Laverna Burnett Newey published her landmark book Remember My Valley, which recounts the history of this bucolic Valley from 1825 to 1976. She references in the first paragraph the “shimmering man-made lake” that forms a mirror for the surrounding mountains…
Ogden Valley residents represent roughly 2.8% of Weber County’s population and only 1.8% of its registered voters. It is time for locally elected leadership that is dedicated to supporting the Ogden Valley community and the vision and values as adopted in the 2016 Ogden Valley General Plan. In other words, it’s time that Ogden Valley has local representation where our voices are heard.
Currently, the three-member County Commission functions as the administrative, legislative, and leadership of all unincorporated areas of Weber County—including Ogden Valley (except incorporated Huntsville Town). That’s a lot of power in the hands of three individuals, especially when two, and sometimes all three, don’t even live in Ogden Valley. This occurs because the entire county votes for the commissioners, and Ogden Valley’s voting pool is relatively small compared to the rest of the county (approximately 1.8%). Thus, the commissioners often make decisions that may not represent the best interest of our community, which is very economically, geographically, and demographically distinct from the rest of the county.
No. A recent analysis outlined in the currently released Feasibility Study undertaken by an independent third-party contractor, determined that the five-year projected revenues for the proposed incorporated area of Ogden Valley would exceed costs by more than five percent for the same level of service currently provided. The feasibility study completed by LRB Public Finance Advisors for the Lieutenant Governor’s Office estimates that taxes will not increase due to incorporation. The full report can be viewed here.
The elected officials who live within the boundaries of the incorporated area. They will be elected by registered voters who are full-time residents in the newly incorporated area. Local elections will be held one year after the incorporation is voted upon by the community. As a local resident, you will elect your own local Ogden Valley representatives—not the rest of the county!
While the proposed name for the incorporated city is Ogden Valley, the familiar neighborhood names and road signs like Wolf Creek, Eden, Liberty, North Fork , South Fork, Middle Fork, Nordic Valley, Green Hills, The Preserve, etc. will remain. Individual zip codes are established and maintained by the U.S. Postal Service for their convenience in establishing mail delivery routes and customer services. They do not define political entities.
Mark Ferrin is the primary sponsor of this initiative. Mark is a long-standing resident of Ogden Valley and is interested in ensuring Valley residents have more influence over the governance of their community. He is supported by several established Valley residents. The other sponsors are Nick Dahlkamp, Shanna Francis, Brandi Hammon, Richard Webb, and Jeannie Wendell.
A great deal of effort and public input went into developing Ogden Valley’s general plan. However, many of the desires and goals outlined in the plan are not implemented through county ordinances or codes as intended. One of the aims of incorporation is to ensure that our community-adopted general plan is used as the vision and guiding element of community administration, including the adoption of planning and zoning ordinances to support the general plan.
State law holds that when a new city or town incorporates, the current zoning ordinances remain in place until such time the community chooses to change them through the public process, individually and incrementally, through the established legal means.
A simple majority of full-time registered voters living within the boundary of the incorporated area, meaning just one vote over 50%.
A full breakdown is available in the Feasibility Study but the following funds would cover the operational costs of an incorporated Ogden Valley.
Additional funds not included in the study could be sought as they become available or by project including:
All state roads, including Highways 39, 158, 166 and 167 (Trappers Loop) are owned and maintained by UDOT. The remaining roads would be the responsibility of the incorporated city and estimated expenses are included in the study. This includes snow removal.
Mayor, city council, legal, administrative, recorder, finance, elections, financing, auditor, planning, zoning, engineering, public safety, police, streets, public improvements, roads, highways, weed control, animal shelter and animal control. Some of these services will be contracted with other government entities or private companies.
The judicial system, jail, schools, libraries, elections and fire departments.
The Lieutenant Governor’s office covers the costs of the Feasibility Study. These funds, if incorporated, need to be paid back, and are included in the estimated new city’s expenses. The survey of the newly proposed city boundary is funded by supporters and sponsors. Legal support has been provided pro-bono up to this point and all other support has been donated.
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Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities, a donation link, and a swag store.
