Ogden's priority list

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Governing a city could in some situations be compared to raising a family -- when it comes to providing for the needs of your children, a lot of the decision-making depends on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child.

Ogden's elected leaders, to apply that analogy, are now deciding which of the city's children need attention. And when it comes to government, attention means money.

After drawing up a list of necessary capital improvements, Junction City leaders have decided there are 134 projects on which to spend $43.2 million over the next five years.

The list includes a little bit of everything, from landscaping roadways to connecting Ogden's and Riverdale's portions of the Centennial Trail system.

But the thing we were most pleased to see on the list is the city's longtime problem child: its water system.

According to John Patterson, Ogden's chief administrative officer, the city's long-deteriorating water lines will get about $7.2 million worth of rehabilitation between now and 2012. And while that's good news, it is -- if you'll pardon the inevitable pun -- just a drop in the bucket compared to what's really needed.

Overall, Ogden's water and sewer lines need about $138 million worth of work to bring them up to the standards of quality that residents should be able to expect. But that's such a staggering figure, the only way it can reasonably be done is a little at a time.

That means that, like doing a family budget, Ogden's leaders will have to make sure they spend taxpayer money wisely in order to make sure there's enough to do what's needed.

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