We will list each question, then the responses will be listed alphabetically - First commission seat A, then seat B. Colors are used to differentiate the candidates responses.
1) Do you support the ethics reform initiative of Utahns for Ethical Government that would establish a strict code of conduct for the Utah Legislature and a genuinely independent ethics commission to advise the Utah Legislature? (The full initiative can be accessed at www.utahethics.org )
Yes ____ No _____
Drew Johnson: I fully support total ethics reform. I would even try to take the reform a little farther but it is a good first step.
Drew Johnson: I fully support total ethics reform. I would even try to take the reform a little farther but it is a good first step.
T.R. Morgan: I support ethics reform and generally agree with the reform initiative as outlined by Utahns for Ethical Government. However, I do not believe that party leadership should be the body selecting the members or candidates to be members of ethics commission. Each legislator should have the opportunity to nominate one potential member. Then with those names in a hat, the first five chosen should sit on the committee for no longer than three years.
Jan Zogmaister: NO. One of the first things that I did upon entering office was establish a Weber County Code of Ethics. I do support Ethics Reform but I have studied this initiative and I cannot support it as it is written.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: YES. I fully support the initiative and in fact helped gather signatures for it.
2) The owners of Powder Mountain, the County Commission and residents of the Proposed Powder Mountain Town were involved in a lengthy legal battle. Ultimately, Powder Mountain agreed to drop the town and free the residents within the proposed town's boundaries in exchange for zoning changes that nearly doubled the number of housing units they were entitled to build.
Would you have supported this agreement between Weber County and the Powder Mountain developers?
Yes ____ No _____
Drew Johnson: NO
T.R. Morgan: No. The County gave too much away and asked for too little in return. The County could have at least negotiated so that Powder Mountain had to fund the repair and expansion of the road leading to Powder Mountain.
Jan Zogmaister: YES. This was a compromise. Developers rights were respected but most importantly citizens right to vote was restored.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: NO. The reason for disagreeing with this is that residents in the Ogden Valley gave up potential density in 1998 with changes that they graciously accepted. I realize that all of the parties involved were in difficult situations but automatically granting increased density in the form of almost twice as many housing units is really not fair or equitable and should not automatically be given for fear of potential legal action. That said, I would have been more involved with working to fix the piece of legislation that enabled the mess to occur in the first place long before it made it to that point. Our state legislature enacted a bad piece of legislation that had intended and unintended consequences that should have been addressed.
3) As a commissioner, how would you have handled this contentious negotiation when all possible outcomes would likely be detrimental to either the residents forced into the town or Ogden Valley residents as a whole?
Drew Johnson: In this current economic climate it would have taken care of itself, but we must balance economic good versus the good of the valley as a whole. The agreement did not end up very different from what the planning commission recommended. so I think we should have taken the recommendation of planning and tried to reach a compromise from that with the powder people.
T.R. Morgan: I would have listened more intently to the concerns of the Valley residents. I would have spent much more time in mediation and negotiation with the Valley residents and developers. Generally, during good-faith negotiations both sides can come to a middle ground where every party gets a little and has to give a little. While I hate playing Monday morning quarterback, it appears that the current Commissioners did not fight hard enough at first and too readily signed the Binding Memorandum of Understanding with the Developers in order to “end” the legal battle.
3) As a commissioner, how would you have handled this contentious negotiation when all possible outcomes would likely be detrimental to either the residents forced into the town or Ogden Valley residents as a whole?
Drew Johnson: In this current economic climate it would have taken care of itself, but we must balance economic good versus the good of the valley as a whole. The agreement did not end up very different from what the planning commission recommended. so I think we should have taken the recommendation of planning and tried to reach a compromise from that with the powder people.
T.R. Morgan: I would have listened more intently to the concerns of the Valley residents. I would have spent much more time in mediation and negotiation with the Valley residents and developers. Generally, during good-faith negotiations both sides can come to a middle ground where every party gets a little and has to give a little. While I hate playing Monday morning quarterback, it appears that the current Commissioners did not fight hard enough at first and too readily signed the Binding Memorandum of Understanding with the Developers in order to “end” the legal battle.
Jan Zogmaister: How I did handle this was done in a very open, public, transparent process. My priorities and my principles have not changed.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: I think there were some very reasonable requests and suggestions from the Planning Commission and would have tried to meet a compromise with the Powder Mountain developers that was acceptable to the residents incorporated into the town against their will as well as the residents in Ogden Valley that would have been potentially impacted by the large scale development. Development of that scale is truly a regional issue and needs to be dealt with in that manner that addresses all potential long term impacts of large scale mountain top development and allows for smart, sustainable economic development.
4) A group recently proposed rezoning so their Green Valley Academy "Residential Treatment Facility could be located in what is now zoned FV-3, which does allow for a school. Residents are concerned because this is a private for profit school that would be treating boys with psychological and social problems from other parts of the country at a cost of $9,500.00 per month. This area is a beautiful, rural neighborhood with surrounding homes nearby. After much public outcry, the petitioners asked the planning commissioners to table the issue.
Would you be in favor of changing the definition of the FV-3 and other zones to allow a Residential Treatment Facility within these Zones?
Yes ____ No _____
Drew Johnson: I do not favor changing the FV-3 zoning. This would leave us open for future problems, but [with] a very diligent ordinance exception with lots of parameter verbiage to protect the valley it could work.
T.R. Morgan: Simple answer, No. The facility is clearly a commercial endeavor and as such should be located in a commercial zone such as CV-1, CV-2 which allow for clinics and hotels.
Jan Zogmaister: NO. There are areas available for this use without rezoning the FV-3. I would not support a rezone.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: NO. I don’t think that the type of facility proposed in the FV-3 zone is compatible with the area at this time. I think there are more appropriate locations for a facility of that type that would have less potential impact to the neighbors and have appropriate infrastructure to handle that type of facility.
5) In 2007, many Ogden Valley residents were surprised when their property taxes nearly doubled from the previous year. Residents also became aware of many large developers and companies within the county (and the rest of the state) who were delinquent in their taxes.
As a commissioner, how would you address the delinquent tax issue?
Drew Johnson: This is one of my main peeves. It is just wrong and should not be allowed, period. It's time to take care of us here instead of them who are not.
Drew Johnson: This is one of my main peeves. It is just wrong and should not be allowed, period. It's time to take care of us here instead of them who are not.
T.R. Morgan: One of two ways.
(1) The interest and penalties could be increased proportionally to the value of the property. Meaning, if taxes are owed on 200 acres as opposed to 20, the interest and penalties could be proportionally increased as well so that the tax evaders are hurt more by their noncompliance.
(2) Depending on the type of tax, if the taxes were not paid, then a lien could be placed
upon the property. Then within the applicable statutory time frame, the county could foreclose on the property to collect the tax monies. If the property owners may lose their property to the county for failure to pay their tax, they would have incentives to pay the taxes.
(2) Depending on the type of tax, if the taxes were not paid, then a lien could be placed
upon the property. Then within the applicable statutory time frame, the county could foreclose on the property to collect the tax monies. If the property owners may lose their property to the county for failure to pay their tax, they would have incentives to pay the taxes.
Jan Zogmaister:
Here are a few facts to put this problem in perspective. Our history shows that 94% of the property taxes in Weber County are paid on time. Of the remaining 6% that are delinquent only 2% remain past due after the 1st year and after the end of the 2nd year less than 1% are delinquent. We are under the state code as to what action we can take to collect. In 2008 we made changes in Weber County to an ordinance that requires taxes to be brought current or approval for development will be withheld.
Property tax is said to be the most hated tax. The law is made by the state administered by the county and paid by the property owners. I have reviewed alternatives and found none including our current system to be without inequity and weakness. This is an area that we need to continue to study and then require our legislators to make needed changes.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: I would pursue changing existing legislation to allow for higher fines for delinquent taxes and work with the Weber County Assessors office to initiate a two prong approach that would include simplification and better public information regarding how tax values are calculated as well as aggressively increasing collection of delinquent property taxes. It is not fair to place the burden of funding county services upon the backs of citizens who pay their taxes on time while others are essentially granted very low interest loans and not contributing at all to fund services that they also utilize.
6) In addition to the property taxes, there are potentially two other areas where the County could increase tax revenue without increasing taxes.
- Clamp down on the agricultural zone abuse by large landowners that falsely claim they have animals or crops to get the "green belt" agricultural property tax rate.
- The double dip of the primary house 45% tax exemption by some property owners that illegally exempt other property than their primary house from the full property tax rates.
Drew Johnson: My second biggest peeve, we must fix the inequality in this system, and there must be accountability, no exceptions!
TR Morgan: I believe that the Commission should be ensuring that all departments in the county are doing their jobs, including the Assessor’s Office. The Assessor’s Office has employees that can review property categorizations and visit properties to ensure that the property is appropriately zoned.
Additionally, the county can and should do all it can to stop the scofflaws trying to avoid paying taxes which hurts the remaining county residents that honestly pay their share. The Assessor’s Office should be able to verify the exemptions claimed by property owners to ensure proper classification and tax rates.
Additionally, the county can and should do all it can to stop the scofflaws trying to avoid paying taxes which hurts the remaining county residents that honestly pay their share. The Assessor’s Office should be able to verify the exemptions claimed by property owners to ensure proper classification and tax rates.
Jan Zogmaister: There have been unsuccessful attempts in the past to tighten up the primary residence exemption that created alot of work, cost money and had very little positive results. The Green Belt is 4.3% of the total parcels. Certainly there are some that do not qualify but on the otherside there are some that would qualify that have not applied. Both the green belt and the primary residence exemptions rely on the honesty of the person signing the affidavit.
Kerry Gibson: Did not respond to questionnaire
Amy Wicks: I believe infractions of the two tax issues mentioned could be addressed by devoting some resources to verification and follow up with property owners falling in those categories. I believe it would take some staff time to investigate the individual occurrences but believe that working with county staff we can address these issues in a way that is fair to property owners that legitimately fall into the above mentioned categories.
Comments/Clarifications?
TR Morgan: As Commissioner, I will not rubber stamp everything placed in front of me and I will not delegate all responsibility and authority to county departments. The County Commission needs to also perform its executive function, not just legislative. Currently, the “county multi-million dollar corporation” is being run by its middle managers and not its board of directors.
Amy Wicks: Thank you for providing the opportunity to address a few of the issues facing residents in Ogden Valley. I believe good government is reliant upon citizen involvement and transparency. If you require clarification on any of the issues addressed or have further questions please contact me at amywicks@yahoo.com.
