Records Manager for the City
The Recorder’s Office maintains the historical records for the City and provides records research for Ogden City departments and divisions and for the public. Records are stored in a variety of formats including an optical imaging system, microfilm, and hard copy form in the records storage center. To put in a request to view or receive copies of records, contact the main office or click here for the form: Records Request Form.
Maintain the Municipal Code, ordinances, and resolutions adopted by the City Council
The Recorder’s Office is responsible for maintaining the ordinances or laws that govern the City. Those laws are contained in a book called the Ogden City Municipal Code, which is available online for public viewing. Please click here for a direct link to the Municipal Code.
Coordinate and Conduct City Elections
The optional form of government, known as the Council-Mayor form, was adopted by Ogden City in November 1990 and implemented on January 6, 1992. This form of government vests the power in two separate, independent, and equal branches of municipal government: the executive branch consisting of a full-time Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer, and administrative departments; and the legislative branch consisting of a seven-member Council and staff.
The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the City and is its official ceremonial head. The Mayor is paid an annual wage plus cost of living increases when approved by the Council. In addition, the Mayor is provided with a monthly vehicle allowance and those employee benefits generally provided to other employees of the City. The Mayor is also reimbursed for actual travel expenditures related to offical duties conducted outside of the City. The Mayor is elected at-large by the voters of Ogden City for a term of four years.
The City Council is the legislative body of the City. Council members also receive an annual salary that is intended to cover expenditures Councilmembers may make related to official duties performed for the City. Councilmembers are also reimbursed for actual travel expenditures related to oficial duties conducted outside of the City.
Of the seven-member City Council, one is elected from each of the four Municipal Wards of the City, and three are elected from the City at-large. Councilmembers serve for a term of four years. Council terms are staggared so only four members are up for election at one time, and the other three run at the same time as the mayoral election. Ogden at-large candidates run for three distinctive seats on the Countil: Seat A, Seat B, and Seat C. Unlike some other cities which take the top vote getters for the at-large seats, Ogden City takes the top vote getter for each seat.
City municipal elections are held in the odd-numbered years. City Election information is available starting in May of each election year. Information regarding the 2009 Municipal Election can be found clicking here.
Maintain Agendas and/or Minutes
The Recorder’s Office takes minutes for and maintains records for various entities, including:
Agendas and action minutes are available for various meetings via this website and the search form can be accessed via this link: Search for Agendas and Action Minutes. You may also listen to City Council meetings via the web by clicking here: Listen to Public Meetings
Public Notices
The Recorder’s Office is responsible to provide public notice of open and public meetings, as well as notices for public hearings and comment periods for the City. Public notices are posted in the Recorder’s Office, in the second floor lobby of the Municipal Building, and the Weber County Library, as required by law. Notices are also posted to the City website.
Claims/Lawsuits
The Recorder’s Office receives and files claims and lawsuits against the City, except subpoenas. Claims or lawsuits filed against Ogden City must be served on the City Recorder.
Petitions
Individuals wanting to petition the City for changes to its laws may petition the City through the Recorder’s Office. Petition forms may be obtained from the Recorder’s Office (for general petitions) or the Planning Division (for specific requests such as rezoning, etc.). Once the petition has been filled out correctly and the proper documents accompany that petition, the petition should be submitted to the Recorder’s Office for processing.
Annexations
Individuals wishing to annex property into the City boundaries must submit an annexation petition and all proper documentation to the Recorder’s Office for processing.
Public Nuisance Appeals
Individuals who have received warnings or citiations for public nuisance abatement may file an appeal with the Recorder's Office for a $25.00 administrative filing fee. Forms may obtained directly from the main office or you can click here for a form to send in with payment: Disagreement of Civil Penalty Appeal Form
Official Documents
The City Recorder is tasked with the responsibility to attest all official City documents, including ordinances, resolutions, proclamations, and all documents that bind or obligate the City. Official bonds are filed in this office and legal documents of the City are recorded here as well. Copies of those documents are available upon request.
Maintain City Cemetery Records
The Recorder’s office maintains the cemetery records for the City. Quit claim deeds for cemetery property are recorded in this office once sites are purchased from the Cemetery Office. To view a map of the City cemetery and to access the burial site locator, click here: City Cemetery Map and Burial Site Locator
Oaths
The Recorder’s Office administers oaths to all appointed positions in the City, as well as sworn police officers and firefighters.
Public Meetings Law
Ogden City strictly adheres to the Utah State Open and Public Meetings Law (Utah Code Title 52, Chapter 4) that “declares the state, its agencies and political subdivisions, exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and their deliberations be conducted openly.” Public meetings are noticed lawfully according to Utah Code Annotated 52-4-202. and anyone is invited to attend.
History of the Municipal Clerk
The Municipal Clerk is the oldest of public servants in local government, along with the tax collector. The profession traces back before Biblical times. For example, the modern Hebrew translation of Town Clerk is “Mazkir Ha’ir” which literal translated, means city or town “Reminder.” The early keepers of archives were often called “Remembrancers,” and before writing came into use, their memory served as the public record. Ancient Greece had a city secretary who read official documents publicly. At the opening of a meeting, one of his first duties was to decree a curse upon anyone who should seek to deceive the people.
The title “Clerk” as we know it developed from the Latin clericus. During the Middle Ages, when scholarship and writing were limited to the clergy, clerk came to mean a scholar, especially one who could read, write, and thus serve as notary, secretary, accountant, and recorder.
When the early colonists came to America they set up forms of local government to which they had been accustomed, and the office of clerk was one of the first to be established. When the colonists first settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they quickly appointed a person to act as recorder. That person kept all the vital records for birth, marriages and deaths for the church, as well as various other records of appointments, deeds, meetings, and election of officers at the annual town meeting. The settlers were well aware of the importance of keeping accurate written records of their agreements and actions including grants of land, regulations governing animals, the collection of taxes and the expenditure of town funds.
Over the years municipal clerks have become the hub of government, the direct link between the inhabitants of their community and their government. The clerk is the historian of the community, for the entire recorded history of the town (city) and its people is in his or her care.
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