By Shanna Francis
Sponsors of the Ogden Valley incorporation initiative are pleased to announce a series of lectures that will be held throughout the next several months that will address a variety of components that go into the creation and management of a new city. A former city manager for many years, Wayne Pyle will conduct the lectures, which are being hosted by the incorporation sponsor team.
A native of the Midwest plains, Mr. Pyle was born in Wichita, but lived in many cities, large and small, while growing up, and has travelled to many states and countries as an adult, which, he says, has given him a firsthand perspective and observer’s view of how municipalities and all levels of government are run.’’
In 1985 he began his education at Brigham Young University, where he met his wife Sue. Together they settled in Utah to raise their four children—in Salt Lake then Weber County. He graduated in 1990 and 1992 with BA degree in International Relations and a Master of Public Administration, focusing on city management.
During his career Mr. Pyle worked for two different cities: Midvale for five years and then West Valley City for 26. At West Valley, he was the assistant city manager for 5 years and city manager for 21. The city manager in West Valley acts as the CEO of the city, responsible for all aspects of city government, from fire and police to finance and legal. Pyle comments, “It was a great experience where I was blessed to gain knowledge unobtainable any other way in how communities and cities operate.”
Mr. Pyle also served 21 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, ending the last portion of his career as a Civil Affairs soldier, which is basically city management in a war zone. He notes, “I was also blessed to see that skill put in operation in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, truly, once again, gaining perspective and experience in building community, unobtainable in any other way.”
Pyle adds, “Sue and I have owned homes here in the valley since 2008, and we understand firsthand how fortunate people are who live here, and how precious a place this valley is. I hope any participation I have in this process will help the people of the valley come to a decision that will lead to a preservation of this special quality Ogden Valley has and do it in a way that results in greater unification of the community.”
All lectures presented by Mr. Pyle will be held at the Ogden Valley library in Huntsville Town from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The lecture series schedule is as follows:
- Tuesday, May 28 – Incorporation Overview Q & A. This lecture will review and examine considerations that go into the formation of a new city, including the many aspects of service provision definitions. An overview of these aspects will be briefly covered, followed by questions from attendees.
- Tuesday, June 25 – Advantages & Disadvantages of Contracting Services. A startup municipality’s initial decisions as to how to provide services will be considered and discussed. Contracting and self-providing services will always be a question for ongoing examination, but never so much so as during a new city’s start-up period.
- Tuesday, July 9 – The Land Development Process. The community’s vision for land use development is one of the most critical considerations for a city’s well-being. General plans, ordinance adoption, and other entities involved in this process will be discussed.
- Tuesday, July 16 – Taxation & Revenue Raising. Taxes and other revenues will be described in terms of sources, normal proportions inside budgets, as well as how taxes are distributed and controlled by various entities.
- Tuesday, July 30 – A New City Transition Plan. One step builds upon the other in creating a new city. The mundane details of forming city ordinances, creating a financial control system, IT systems, service provisions, legal services etc. will be discussed.
- Tuesday, August 6 – External Relations: Federal Ownership of Property & Municipal Relationships. A city exists in an environment of surrounding entities that affect and, in some ways, control its actions. County, state, federal, regional, and private entities and laws all have a voice and directly influence cities in a variety of ways. Some of these ways will be reviewed.
- Tuesday, August 20 – Contributing, as a Citizen, to the Well-being of the Community. After becoming a new city, how will you, as a citizen of a newly incorporated Ogden Valley, participate in your community? What are your responsibilities?
- Tuesday, September 10 – Options in Forms of City Government. What will the governmental organization of a new Ogden Valley city look like? How will new officials be elected, and staff appointed? The state of Utah offers a number of different options in the forms of government that can be adopted. Each of these will be reviewed and discussed.
To learn more about the proposed incorporation of Ogden Valley and its sponsors, or to view a copy of the boundary map, please visit ogdenvalleyinc.org. You may also contact OV incorporation sponsor Mark Ferrin at 801-745-0445.