James Ebert is looking to make a return to the Weber County Commission and is hoping to address some of the county’s biggest ongoing issues while doing so.

Ebert, who previously served on the Weber County Commission from 2014-2018, is one of four primary candidates vying for Seat A on the Weber County Commission. The seat is currently occupied by Gage Froerer, who opted not to run for reelection in 2026. Ebert is facing Katrina Gibson, Duane Kearsley and Richard Hyer in June’s primary election.

Recently, Ebert sat down with the Standard-Examiner editorial board to discuss his campaign, why he’s running for Weber County Commission and his goals if elected.

Changes

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Ebert said some of the changes he’s seen in recent years have convinced him to try and return to the County Commission.

“Over the last four or five years, there’s been a big change, especially out in western Weber and then in the Upper Valley with the new city,” he said. “There’s lots of growth opportunities.”

He said that he’s found it exciting to help in the planning process in the past.

“One of the things I’ve done in the past for Morgan County was economic development where we helped set a plan for what the west end of their county was going to look like,” he said. “We did small area plans and really kind of lined out over the course of the next 20 or 30 years what that community will look like from that plan. It kind of gives the landowners some ideas and the community some ideas of what they’re trying to grow into. That that was a lot of fun to do. And those opportunities are here in western Weber also.”

Experiences

While previously being on the Weber County Commission has certainly shaped his preparation for the position, Ebert said he also benefited greatly from his 23 years in law enforcement.

“You learn a lot of communication skills, a lot of listening skills,” he said. “You start to help people identify issues or concerns they have. I’ve been working with them through their issues and their problems to try to help to rectify that.  So, there’s communication and listening was a big part of what I learned in law enforcement. And then, at the end of the day, probably the biggest part in leadership is actually at some point you’ve got to make a decision. We get paralysis sometimes by analysis, so the idea is at some point someone’s got to make a decision to kind of move the county forward.”

He added that working with Morgan County has also helped bring perspective to what Weber County is facing.

“A lot of the challenges that Morgan County has are the same challenges currently the Upper Valley and western Weber have,” he said. How can I bring some of that experience to help the transition as growth comes? Because inevitably, growth will come. There’s already about 1,000 acres out in West Weber that are currently under a development agreement. So, how do we make sure that development agreement fits the needs of the community but also can help move that development forward?”

Challenges

Ebert said that one of the biggest ongoing challenges in the county is being faced by its newest city.

“We have a new city in the Upper Valley — Ogden Valley — and they are facing some very specific challenges,” he said. “New cities aren’t created very often. Anytime a new city is created, there’s a whole process, but if you don’t know the process, it’s very convoluted.  As an example, unincorporated (areas) have what they call the municipal services, so if you live in unincorporated Weber County, you don’t have a city, but you have a municipal service fee you pay the same as a city tax. That specific tax goes to the county to help run all the services and incorporate. But if a city isn’t set up before the first of the year, then their tax rate defaults to the municipal service rate they paid last year.”

However, he said that timing is everything in this situation.

“Unfortunately, Ogden Valley was set up after the first of the year,” he said. “So, they can set the city up, but they have to operate under the old tax rate for municipal services. Well, when they’re looking at setting the city up, they’re finding that the cost of service is a little more than they expected, but they can’t do a tax increase because they’re not eligible. They have a challenge this whole next year on getting all the city services up, but under that old tax rate. So, that’s a huge challenge that they have and that’s a big challenge in helping the Upper Valley city — Ogden Valley City  — get set up and how can we help them to provide the services when they can’t adjust their tax rate.”

Ebert said the development of Western Weber County also remains a challenge.

“What is Western Weber going to look like into the future?” he said. “Do we have a plan for Western Weber and Warren? Have we started working with those community members and those landowners to better understand what their wants and needs are?”

Positives

Ebert said one of the best things the county has done in recent years is teaming up with its neighbors to help compete in the region.

“Right when I was leaving, took the approach that we had talked about for years of creating regional economic development working with Davis County and surrounding counties to bring projects that would be job creators — good job creators — that would bring retail sales,” he said. “We are at competitive disadvantage with Salt Lake and Utah County just by population. The MSA is much larger for GDP in both Utah and Salt Lake. But if we bring Davis and Weber County together, we become more competitive. Our net population is big enough now to become competitive.That’s a piece I think is super important to continue. Do we need to refine a little bit? Probably.”

He added that tourism and the county’s overall reputation have seen a boost in recent years and that it’s worth exploring how to maintain this.

“Our environment here is just amazing,” he said. “How can we continue to foster positive recreation, positive tourism, and just bring others in, spend money, and then leave? I think our tourism piece is a strong piece that we should continue working on. And then I think that the county as a whole, Weber County is growing. Its reputation is becoming more positive. Ogden’s reputation as this fun little city is starting to kind of take hold a little bit. How can we help Ogden and tourism to continue building on that?”

From the voters

As he’s been campaigning, Ebert said he’s heard a lot of concern around the tax burden from voters.

“Taxes are a burden for sure, especially with inflation right now,” he said. “It really makes taxes just even that more impactful.”

He said that voters have heard plenty about tax relief over the years but nobody is really doing anything to bring it about.

“Unfortunately, what we hear a lot of times is the same old slogans,” he said. “People will say, ‘I want to reduce your taxes,’ But there really isn’t a plan to reduce taxes. And I feel like if we can take a proactive approach to how we mitigate property tax as the crutch we use many times to create more funding for the county. We do that by finding other revenue sources within the county that will reduce the requirement or the need to continually go back to primary dwellings.”

Better communication

Ebert said that the county has been lacking in how it keeps citizens informed and that he’d like ot turn this around.

“I think the way we’ve communicated in the past — many times from a commission standpoint because we’re in the weeds a lot — the way we present information to the general public becomes very convoluted. And so I want to kind of clear that up. I want to find better ways to communicate why we’re doing things, things that are coming around the corner and find ways to push it out to citizens so they can see it.”

He said that he is onboard with moving at least some meetings to a later time of day on a regular basis.

For more information on James Ebert and his campaign, visit https://www.jamesebertforweber.com.