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Ogden Council previews 2026 budget message, moves materials to ClearGov
Summary
Council members reviewed a draft budget message and a plan to publish interactive budget materials through ClearGov, discussed pay and benefit adjustments, and asked staff for follow-ups on public-safety perception and performance metrics.
On June 10, 2025, the Ogden City Council reviewed a draft budget message and a plan to publish the city's budget materials using the ClearGov platform, a move staff said will make budget detail more interactive and accessible to residents.
Council members said the draft message will highlight cost-of-living adjustments and merit increases, the city's five-year strategic directives, capital projects and a property-tax disbursement summary that shows how residents' taxes are shared among local entities.
The ClearGov rollout, explained by Justin Sorensen, Staff member, is intended to replace the static PDF budget message with an online interface that allows users to inspect revenues and spending by department. "We are working with admin to incorporate [the budget message] into ClearGov, which is a really user friendly interface," Sorensen said. He told the council the platform will let staff export selected sections to PDF or share the full ClearGov link with residents.
Council members pressed for clearer performance measures and public-safety context. "I think it would help to show that Part 1 crimes are going down," one council member said, urging inclusion of safety metrics and key performance indicators in the published material.
Council members also recommended following up on the 2024 citizen survey to understand why some residents report not feeling safe despite falling crime metrics. Sorensen said he had contacted Ogden Police Department staff to request follow-up information and would report back to the council.
Council members asked staff to incorporate several editorial and policy updates into the draft budget message and deliver a final packet by Thursday at noon ahead of the next public meeting.
The revisions requested include clarifying that the five-year strategic plan is effectively expired but still used for guidance, adding priorities such as maintenance of competitive public-safety and general-employee salaries, and calling out recreation and transportation projects including the Marshall White Center and planning tied to the 2034 Winter Olympics.
The council's review Wednesday was a staff briefing and not a formal vote. Staff will finalize text and return the adopted materials through the regular budget adoption process.
