Emails released by the city today under an open-records request filed by the Independent shed more light on the tension between Mayor Steve Bach and members of the City Council.
Here are some examples:
When the mayor’s office accidentally — or purposely? — released emails indicating that the mayor wasn’t going to implement the council’s budget changes, council liaison Aimee Cox was floored.
“This is an interesting chain of email about legal opinion the Mayor’s Office has received about the budget,” Cox wrote in an email to council President Scott Hente on Jan. 13.
“I can’t believe the Mayor’s Office really wanted us to see this,” she wrote.
Hente forwarded the emails to his colleagues the following Monday.
“I saw this chain of emails late Friday afternoon and basically stewed over this over the weekend,” Hente wrote. “I am forwarding it to you all without editorializing on my part but would welcome your comments.”
Councilman Bernie Herpin didn’t hold back.
“Basically, council has become irrelevant to the administration of the city,” Herpin wrote. “The mayor can, in effect, veto our decisions on the running of MHS and CSU by refusing to sign documents. He has also, in effect, taken away our ability to appropriate funds and to make decisions as to how those funds should be spent. He has a city attorney that will provide legal advice that supports his position and it appears we have no recourse. This is very disturbing and should be the focal point of our 18th meeting.”
At that meeting, council members were ready for battle, but the mayor started out by saying he had every intention of implementing council’s budget changes.
Click here to see video of that meeting. The body language says it all.
(To see more video of that meeting or other videos about City Hall and Colorado Springs, click here to check out my new YouTube channel, which is called SpringsNews.)
The emails released by the city today also show that council members have had trouble obtaining information from the Bach administration.
On Nov. 10, Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko sent the mayor and her colleagues an email stating that “we have to work together as a team” for the city to succeed.
“I’m sick of Council not knowing what is going on,” she wrote.
“I know we have understandable growing pains but I don’t see us working towards improving them. Please let’s commit to working together,” Czelatdko added.
It’s unclear if the mayor or anyone else responded because large portions of the emails have been redacted or altogether blacked out.
On Dec. 23, Czelatdko asked Budget Manager Lisa Bigelow via email to provide information about how much money the Bach administration spent on “office redecorating, security system, total of annual mileage account, trip expenditure acct, and total annual salaries of newly created positions please.”
In another email, Czelatdko said she wanted to know how much money the mayor had spent on his new Spirit of the Springs initiative, among other costs, as well as “how money is moved around budget and transferred to various areas.”
On Dec. 29, Czelatdko sent another email saying she hadn’t received “any response or acknowledgment of expenditure requests.”
Bigelow apparently forwarded Czelatdko’s requests for information to the mayor, who told Steve Cox, who was then his chief of staff, to handle the situation.
“Steve, pls advise Aimee Cox that we’ll need 5 or more Councilors to individually request by email before taking up staff time on this,” the mayor wrote.
“Also, pls ask her to remind Councilors of the executive branch action request protocol Council discussed at its retreat,” he added.
I love this: “council has become irrelevant to the administration of the city”…”The mayor can, in effect, veto our decisions”.
Of course he can.
That’s what this insidious version of “strong mayor” means.
There is no representative governance.
These clowns on the council are just upset that they have no power after supporting this coup paid for by the developers.
I really have to question Councilwoman Czeladtko’s mental stability at this point.
City council may learn the hard way that emails are about as confidential as whispering at the White House.
Honestly, if the council wants to point fingers about lack of communication, then they should point them at Mr. Hente, the council president. He should be their spokesperson to the mayor and ensure they have the information they need to do their jobs.
Ms. Czelatdko is clearly in need of psychiatric treatment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoKXMd3Guys&feature=related
City Council knew their place in the city governament when Colorado Springs voted in the Strong Mayor form of governemnt. Just figureheads so get over it and get used to it. I certainly do agree that the major’s staff cannot nor should not spend time on individual city council members requests for “nice to have” data. If city council wants info, let it be a majority of the members request.
And just think, we could have had Richard Skorman (a loyal Colorado Springs businessman) instead of the yahoo we ended up with who can’t even work with the city council despite the fact that everyone has pretty much the same political persuasion. It’s time we started voting for the best person for the job in this town.
not sure why Council woman Czeldako is being insulted. I see her trying to request information, being concerned with how tax payers money is being spent, and asking other members to work together. What am I missing cause it sounds like shes doing what shes supposed to.
constant coughing at night…
[...]Councilwoman to Bach: “I’m sick of Council not knowing what is going on” – City Desk : Colorado Springs Gazette, CO[...]…
toddler cough…
[...]Councilwoman to Bach: “I’m sick of Council not knowing what is going on” – City Desk : Colorado Springs Gazette, CO[...]…