For years, Ogden has operated under a tax-and-spend model that burdens homeowners, discourages business growth and makes it harder for residents to improve their own property. Instead of asking, “How can government get out of the way?”, city leaders keep asking, “What’s the next project we should spend taxpayer money on?”

Meanwhile, Ogden City Council candidate Pieder Beeli, a local voice of reason for constitutional government, offers a badly needed alternative:

“Grow the free market. Shrink the government.”

This isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s a roadmap for prosperity — and a long-overdue correction to decades of top-heavy decision-making at City Hall.

The problems: Red tape, overreach and misplaced priorities

Let’s start with property rights. If you want to add a second story to your home, build a deck or create a small mother-in-law apartment to help with housing costs, you’ll quickly find yourself mired in engineering studies, fees, delays and layers of regulations.

While homeowners are squeezed, Ogden City itself competes with the private sector. 742 E. 30th St. is just one example: the city bought this property back in 2016 — on the taxpayers’ dime. Nearly a decade later, there’s been no improvement, no return on investment and no accountability. This isn’t just bad economics — it’s bad ethics.

Tax policy: Time for sanity

Ogden’s property tax system punishes residents for improving their own property. Fix up your home? You’re rewarded with a higher tax bill. Ogden should lead the way in pushing for a land-value-based property tax system — where homeowners are taxed on the land, not their improvements. This would encourage private investment and neighborhood revitalization without punishing people who want to build and improve. And let’s not forget basic economics: The Laffer Curve teaches us that lowering tax rates can actually increase total revenue by stimulating growth and investment.

HUD projects and public safety

Ogden’s embrace of federally driven HUD housing projects comes with real costs — both economic and social. While these projects may sound compassionate on paper, the reality is higher crime, strained police resources, increased retail theft and declining business investment.

HUD housing has ripple effects. More crime means higher policing costs (which leads to higher taxes). Shoplifting rises, driving up prices for everyone. Retail businesses struggle to survive. Residents who worked hard to leave poverty behind find “the hood” following them into new neighborhoods. We need to stop inviting these problems into our community.

Solutions: A smarter, smaller government

If Ogden really wants more revenue, there’s a better way. Free up the economy. Let people build. Let businesses grow. Let the market work. Here’s where Ogden should start:

1. Cut local regulations that stifle property improvement and business development.
2. Oppose harmful state and federal mandates (including DEI quotas and HUD projects) through legal and political advocacy.
3. Cut taxes to encourage private investment.
4. Survey businesses: What’s keeping them from expanding or locating in Ogden?
5. Audit city-owned property and entitlements: What’s the cost? What’s the return?
6. Stop city government from competing with private citizens in real estate and other ventures.
7. Fix the roads, basic infrastructure — not speculative projects — should be the priority

The bottom line

I’m not interested in increasing Ogden’s revenue just to grow government. I want to cut tax rates, shrink the city bureaucracy and let Ogden residents keep more of what they earn. This will bring lower taxes, higher property values, more local jobs and businesses and a better quality of life for all Ogden residents.

For too long, Ogden has chased big-government solutions. It’s time for a change.

William Olson is a resident of North Ogden and a community advocate focused on government accountability, lower taxes and free market solutions.