Local Business

While new businesses coming to town are exciting for a minute, considering the grand scheme of things and the big picture in the long run – I will focus more on long-time local businesses by way of taking care of them in many areas. These would include infrastructure (utilities, easements, sidewalks), business-friendly practices and ordinances (zoning, signage, parking), local business promotion with events and representation at city sponsored activities (local food concessions and distributors, local sporting goods suppliers, local banking, local realtors, local developers, local builders and general contractors, local transport, local manufacturing), and so much more.  

 Recently Ogden has had long time local businesses relocate or shut down due to a shifted focus on bringing national and other favored companies to build, do business for a while, then leave. We cannot have local business leaving or shutting down to make room for chains and big-box. Our local businesses are our backbone, our character; they define who we are as a city:  Friendly, strong, caring, personal, keep ‘em coming back, service, neighborly, good to have around, reliable; hey: I Know this Guy!  Local businesses pull together for the City because the City will be pulling for them; I will be pulling for them.

TLJ

Ethics in Government: a Lesson from George Washington ...

I posit this in regards to ethics in government.  There should be a degree of honesty, integrity, openness, frugality, diligence, dedication, humility, confidence, competence inherent in each and every public servant elected to office.  The general populace should know where each public servant stands, should be represented and given a voice by the elected servants.  The citizens should not have to worry about complicity in back-door deals, closed door politics, favoritism or cronyism. There should not be a widespread view of “good old boy” politicking going on where good and faithful service should be the norm.

George Washington said in reply to an address by the House of Representatives in 1789,

“I feel that my past endeavors in [your] service … are far overpaid by [your] goodness, and I fear much that my future ones may not fulfill your kind anticipation. All that I can promise is that they will be invariably directed by an honest and an ardent zeal.”

Such humility and desire to do well by the people he served is something I aspire to.

TLJ

Focus as Council Woman beginning in 2012

If elected, my number one focus would be that I Am a Servant for All the Citizens of Ogden.

Other areas of focus would be on the aspects of my stewardship over the well-being of Ogden City. This would include encouraging the administration and council to work more as equal partners in this stewardship, not the “strong mayor” administration as presented in these past years under the recent administration.

One main focus would be to begin and maintain an open door policy with all citizens, having an ear to lend to anyone with a question or concern, and the ability, staff and technology to be able to answer them.  Important to the aforementioned communications would be to continue to publish the council meeting agenda packets online for anyone to view, so they can be informed on what we are doing or facing as a City government or as a City.

I will work at creating a communication bridge between the Administration/Council that will focus not only on getting input and giving information, but also providing explanations and good foundational arguments for doing things a certain way and providing options that should be made available for public input; moving away from the old “this is what we’re going to do, trust us to get it done” only to have the general public find out later it was done at the expense of something just as or more important to the City as a whole.

I will also focus on getting away from debt financing / tax increment funding / tax incentives to encourage developers to come and build and/or lease --- I think that has been the focus too much of late, and in these hard economic times more creative ways need to be brought out of the developers themselves. For one, it would really give them more stake in the business and more incentive to work harder to keep it running – rather than making it easier for them to let go and say “no great loss, the City paid for it.”

Taking away tax increment funding incentives would challenge developers and businesses to come with a more permanent plan and a higher sense of pride of ownership in what they bring to the table in Ogden, and would give back to our schools what is rightfully theirs and allow them to improve on performance and teacher/parent/student satisfaction and success in Ogden City School District.

Local Education is another issue I will strongly focus on – I will give it microscopic treatment, looking for anything that even remotely looks like it would take away from our children’s education. I will question anything that appears to want to take anything away from the education in our city. I will demand other options be looked at; the other council members and administration as a governing body should be able to come up with something other than taking education away to bring in recreational development.

I will focus on the long term, big picture: what will be here or begin here while I’m in office that will stand the test of time and remain when my 12 year old is out of college and a productive member of our community. When I am in my golden years and have grandchildren I want to be able to tell them about this or that marvelous thing that was built or improved or preserved while I served the citizens of Ogden …

City Council Agenda Packets

I don’t know how many of you in Ogden City are aware of it, but the City has been posting complete packages of the weekly City Council Meeting/Work Session agendas, including proposed ordinances in their entirety, lengthy though they may be.

One thing that worries me since this began is a lot of said proposed ordinances come through in seemingly rough draft form, with much vagueness and unclear wording included in a proposed ordinance that is supposed to be ready for Council approval or disapproval … and in the end it seems quite a few of these rough draft ordinance proposals get voted on based on somebody verbally explaining what is intended, without the actual verbiage being in place to specify the true meaning of the document. 

This leaves room for later speculation and argument based on the lack of clarity of the document or specificities needed to address a certain aspect of the issue affected by the ordinance.  

 If elected I would propose a thorough reading of all proposed ordinances with the intent of discovering these inconsistencies that need to be rectified, clarifications that need to be made and contingencies that need to be covered … and send the document back for revision.

The Short List

I am concerned about:

• Ogden City Schools
  
• Over-use of debt financing for city development projects
• Overall state of Education in the State
• High rate of property taxes in Weber County, including Ogden City
• High rate of property taxes from Weber County not getting to appointed entities through mismanagement of development and financing deals
• Ethics (or lack thereof) in local government
• Openness and transparency (or lack thereof) in local government 
  

I care about:

• Our children and their education
• Our community and ALL the people in it
• Having recreation and activities that meet the needs of the entire population of Ogden, not just those who can afford it or those from out of town
• A successful River Project that is amenable for multi use and accessible to all of Ogden’s citizens
• A thriving downtown with fewer empty or failing businesses
• Honest and sincere investment of both time and capital in the future of Ogden, for the long haul and for the right reasons
• Leaving a legacy of a smooth transition for end of terms and a more enthusiastic community involvement in the running of our city, by voting and/or running for office
• Very open communication between the administration & Council and the citizenry & all elected officials

To Begin:

In the words of our very first President of these United States (ca. April 1789) one very respected George Washington, I echo his sentiment:
" ...  indeed, all I can promise is only to accomplish that which can be done by an honest zeal."
and I would hope to " ... have the honor to be, with sentiments of esteem, sir, your most obedient servant," ... if elected.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Neil 

In the Moment

And there comes a time in your life when you make a decision in the moment. Though you had actually given it some thought – when you finally decided, it was in the moment. A surprising moment, like jumping in the pool at the deep end instead of climbing down the ladder and walking toward the deep end. The decision feels good .. it feels right .. it feels selfish .. it feels final. Final as closing the door for the last time on your childhood home with the last box of things for your new apartment. Final as walking up in line to shake all the hands and accept the empty diploma portfolio from the Department Head. Final is final, no looking back. Only look forward.
 
Once the decision is made you feel a lightness in your soul a brightness in your day that had been missing. Once the reality of it sets in you go to work on things neglected; things mundane seem important and you enjoy the act of doing them. You have new plans for everything .. plans that have been spinning around your mind looking for an escape. Your decision in the moment gave them escape and now the waiting is easier. The time is there to do all those things – maintain the strength to do them. Pray for the strength to do them. Pray for assurance the decision is going to work out in the end. The end. It's not the end though.
 
The end is the end. This is the beginning, a beginning, a new beginning, an opening on a future because the decision is in the past; the decision is already done – the future must be worked on. You can let it come, you can plan a little, and you can see how the day goes. A day starts with the sun rising – make it worthwhile, make it matter. Anything accomplished is progress.
 
Spend time in the open. Watch the dog chase rats & squirrels; count the ears of corn and the green pumpkins. Pick up the dead apples and pears, pick the pears so they can ripen and get sweet for eating. Pick an apple and test the taste of it, wait for the late apples to sweeten on the tree. Be grateful for what you have, savor it and don't complain. Don't complain about the raccoons, catch them in the trap and call the man to pick them up. Don't complain about the rats, teach your dog to kill them when he finds them. Watch the cat watch the dog chase the rats. Take pictures of everything because you can put them all on your computer and everyone can see them.
 
Change your routine and check your calendar often. Make sure you can get a Christmas gift for everyone – smile at a stranger, call a friend. Take the dog for a walk, wait for the call. The calls will come and the work will come and you will take the calls for work. Don't worry needlessly about the decision made in the moment. Don't worry needlessly about the future, just look to it and embrace it. Live right and life is right. 


TLJ