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Mayoral aide contradicts Bach on LART proposal

January 14th, 2013, 10:59 am by

Donna Nelson

Does Mayor Steve Bach want to appoint the LART committee or not?

The mayor’s office appears to be putting out contradictory information.

Here’s the background:

Members of the mayor’s team have been meeting with City Council President Pro Tem Jan Martin and council Administrator Aimee Cox on how to streamline the work of the Lodging and Automobile Rental Tax advisory committee.

Why?

Under the existing structure, the city could end up with three different recommendations on how revenues collected from hotel room and rental car taxes are spent. The convention and visitors bureau typically gets about 2/3 of the money, and the rest goes to special events, such as the annual balloon festival and the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.

The council-appointed committee makes a recommendation. City staff also makes a recommendation. Both recommendations go to the mayor, who could propose something completely different.

On Thursday, Donna Nelson, the mayor’s economic vitality specialist, said the “whole purpose” of the discussions with council “was to have a new committee that would be appointed by the mayor.”

Nelson and the city’s events coordinator have been representing Bach in meetings with Martin and Cox.

On Saturday, Bach spokeswoman Cindy Aubrey contacted The Gazette, saying the administration wanted to make a “point of clarification” regarding the LART committee.

The mayor’s office sought to clarify the mayor’s position after a “Question of the Day” about the LART funds appeared in the editorial pages of Saturday’s Gazette.

The question followed a Friday story about Bach’s proposal, which explicitly states that a resolution outlining the makeup of the LART committee would be amended “to provide the Mayor with appointment authority over a reorganized LART committee.”

But Aubrey offered a different stance Saturday.

“To be clear, Mayor Bach does not want to take over appointing the members of the LART Advisory Committee. The Mayor’s Office and City Council are committed to finding a solution which will expedite the process for approving funding for community events,” she said in an email.
“Both the City Council and the Mayor’s Office understand it was never the intent of the Executive Branch to usurp the authority of Council. Work continues and the item will be scheduled for a future agenda.”
Nelson chalked it up as a “simple misunderstanding.”

“I have been meeting with Councilwoman Jan Martin about LART for several months.  I have proposed solutions to try and simplify the process and things seemed to be moving forward.  My understanding from Jan was that she approved of our direction – but that she needed to confer with the rest of Council.  I think this was a simple misunderstanding.   Mayor Bach recognizes this is in Council’s purview and will defer to them,” Nelson said in an email.

 

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Administration • City Council • City employees • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Herpin reprimands colleagues over leaked emails

September 5th, 2012, 2:51 pm by

Bernie HerpinCity Councilman Bernie Herpin reprimanded his City Council colleagues and three staffers today after The Gazette received a leaked email in which Herpin criticized Mayor Steve Bach.

“Lately, someone has been forwarding council emails to people in the media,” Herpin wrote in an email to City Council members, council Administrator Aimee Cox, council communications specialist Vicki Gomes and two council staffers.

“While I understand there is no expectation of privacy (even given the confidentiality statement at the bottom of my emails) when we send an email, professionalism would dictate that the person forwarding these emails would at least have the courtesy of letting us know so we are not “blindsided” when Chacon calls up and asks for a comment about what was said in an email or it appears in print the next day,” he wrote.

The subject line in the email was: “Really?”

And Herpin forwarded the email to The Gazette.

“PS:  I’ll save you the trouble of forwarding this email to Chacon,” Herpin wrote.

The leaked email that sparked Herpin’s lecture involved the monthly Mayor’s Counsel meetings and discussions among council members about holding them on a quarterly basis. Read more about that story here.

“Recently, (the meetings) have mostly been a chance for the executive to try to get the legislative to do something in front of the media and civic leaders without having to come to council meeting,” Herpin in the leaked email.

 

 

 

Posted in: City Council • City employees • Colorado Open Records Act • Meetings • People • Politics • Transparency • • • • • • | 12 Comments »

City Council wants bigger budget in 2013

July 23rd, 2012, 9:15 am by

The City Council wants more money in 2013.

The proposed council budget for next year is nearly $1 million, which is nearly $200,000 more than 2012.

Councilwoman Angela Dougan said she is opposed to increasing the council’s budget.

“We should be leaders and model reducing government and its cost to taxpayers,” she said. “If there are new budget items that the council would like to pay for, council members need to cut from the existing budget.”

The city’s overall budget is more than $200 million.

The proposed increases in council’s budget include an additional$48,222 to make a half-time principal analyst a full-time employee with an annual salary of $96,444.

The council also is proposing to add $23,500 to its budget to make a newly hired communications specialist a full-time employee. That employee, Vicki Gomes, who was hired to work 30 hours a week, would be paid $66,500 under the proposed budget.

Council Administrator Aimee Cox would get a $4,845 raise, bringing her annual salary to $101,736.

The council also is budgeting $4,150 for a “council transition” following the April municipal election, where six council seats are up for grabs. Budgeted expenses include $1,200 for “outgoing gifts” for six council members and $600 for a swearing-in ceremony and reception.

The council is proposing to transfer the cost of the city lobbyist — $35,000 — from the general costs budget to the council budget. The lobbyist’s salary wouldn’t change.

The budget for snacks and drinks won’t change either. The council plans to spend $2,900 for drinks and snacks next year, too. Council members, who are paid $6,250 a year, often spend long hours in meetings at City Hall and don’t have time to go eat lunch or dinner.

Posted in: Budget • City Council • City employees • Elections • • • | 16 Comments »

Quote of the Day

April 3rd, 2012, 1:40 pm by

Don’t call Aimee Cox the City Council liaison anymore.

Cox has a new title.

As of about a month ago, Cox’s title is City Council administrator.

Cox said liaison was confusing to people in the community. She said people didn’t know if she worked for the council or the mayor or if she spent her time running back and forth between the two.

Cox said the council felt that her position needed to be “more clearly defined” as council administrator.

“I won’t be able to sashay up to the podium anymore. I’ll have to walk with better posture and more deliberateness.”

Posted in: City Council • City employees • • • | 3 Comments »

City Council flak is a new position — sort of

April 3rd, 2012, 1:20 pm by

Photo by Daniel J. Chacon

No supplemental budget appropriation will be necessary to hire a new communications specialist for the City Council.

Council Administrator Aimee Cox said the council had approved funding in the 2012 budget to increase a part-time intergovernmental affairs position held by Tim Burke to a full-time position so he could help with communications.

But the plan didn’t work out, Cox said.

“During the legislative session, Tim works full-time on state bill review and basically he couldn’t provide the necessary level of communications assistance between January and May,” she said.

Cox said the council will continue to work with the mayor’s Communications Department but “needed someone internally” to help work on council speaking points for events, public engagement strategy and organizing town hall meetings.

“We needed additional assistance here to do the work of City Council, and (Chief Communications Officer) Cindy Aubrey’s office could not provide all of that assistance. But we still will work with her on press releases, budget hearings, those kinds of things,” Cox said.

Cox said she hopes to have the position filled by June 1.

 

 

 

 

Posted in: City Council • City employees • • • | 4 Comments »

Council postpones action on surveillance cameras

March 6th, 2012, 12:42 pm by

The City Council will hold a public hearing March 13 to get input on a proposal to install surveillance cameras in downtown Colorado Springs.

The decision to postpone action on the surveillance cameras offers what could be the council’s new strategy to use the “political process” to work to its advantage as advised by City Attorney Chris Melcher.

Council members had not been informed of the Police Department’s plan to install 10 video surveillance cameras downtown until days before Chief Pete Carey made a presentation at the Feb. 27 informal council meeting.

“Council has postponed action on the requested appropriation ordinance to allow the community adequate time …to comment on the proposal,” according to a press release issued Wednesday by council Liaison Aimee Cox.

“The first opportunity to schedule the ordinance for action is March 27, 2012. A second reading could be scheduled as early as April 10, 2012. Council will give direction on the ordinance following the hearing,” the press release states.

In an interview, Cox said the council is holding a public hearing as a “tool for civic engagement.”

“This is an opportunity for the council to listen to the community,” she said. “As opposed to having folks speak on behalf of the community, the community can step up and speak on its own behalf.”

The public hearing will begin at 3 p.m. in council chambers during the March 13 formal meeting at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave.

In a statement, council President Scott Hente said creating a vibrant downtown is important to the city’s long-term success.

“Council wants to have a thoughtful dialogue with City staff and the community about issues downtown and effective ways to address those issues,” he said in the statement.

“We know that community support is critical to the success of any program,” he added. “Based on our own experience and the best practices recommended by the Urban Institute in a study of the use of surveillance cameras in other communities, getting public input is the right thing to do.”

Cox said the proposal calls for spending $188,025 to install 10 surveillance cameras along Tejon Street from Rio Grande to Boulder streets.

On Feb. 29, Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko, who represents downtown, asked Hente to shelve the proposal and pull the item from the next council agenda.

At the time, Czelatdko said she was unaware of the proposal even though it affected her district.

 

 

Posted in: Budget • City Council • Civic Participation • Meetings • Politics • • • • • | 20 Comments »

Quote(s) of the Day

March 1st, 2012, 5:24 pm by

Exactly who organized the Monday night dinner between the city councils of Colorado Springs and Pueblo?

It depends on who you ask.

Colorado Springs City Council Liaison Aimee Cox said Margaret Radford “coordinated that event.”

Radford is a former Colorado Springs councilwoman who landed a job paying more than $80,000 a year with a company that received a $10 million contract from Colorado Springs Utilities to work on the Southern Delivery System water pipeline.

Radford, who championed SDS as a council member, would neither confirm nor deny that she coordinated the dinner.

Radford referred inquiries to Janet Rummel, a Utilities spokeswoman who works primarily on SDS.

When pressed for an answer, Radford quickly ended the call.

“Let’s not do this, really,” Radford said. “If you want to talk about that, you need to talk to Janet. You know that. But I’m going to let you go now. Take care.”

Rummel said Pueblo initiated the dinner.

“They suggested that we get together and so they’re hosting a dinner with us, and it’s here in Colorado Springs,” Rummel said.

So what was Radford doing calling City Hall?

“She was just helping work on. (pause) I think that she was just calling to see. (pause) I don’t remember what all we had her doing on this event. I think she may have just called over there and checked on something for me. I can’t remember exactly what it was,” Rummel said.

Jenny Eickelman, interim deputy city manager for the city of Pueblo, said she thinks Pueblo initiated the dinner.

“We may have called them,” Eickelman said. “I’m not exactly sure who called who this time.”

 

 

Posted in: Budget • City Council • • • • • • | 5 Comments »

Councilwoman to Bach: “I’m sick of Council not knowing what is going on”

February 9th, 2012, 10:49 am by

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.

Posted in: Budget • City Administration • City Council • City employees • Colorado Open Records Act • Politics • • • • • • • | 10 Comments »

Council, commission meeting agenda leaves out crucial details

October 14th, 2011, 11:00 am by
Photo by Debbie Kelley

Photo by Debbie Kelley

The Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners are holding a joint meeting Monday.

Perhaps they’re meeting alongside the protesters in Acacia Park because, just by looking at the agenda, it’s anybody’s guess where they’re meeting.

Or even what time the meeting starts.

Maybe council members and county commissioners need to jointly collaborate on getting the word out about what is supposed to be a public meeting.

Earlier this week, The Gazette asked Aimee Cox, council liaison, to provide an agenda of the meeting.

Today, the newspaper received what the city is calling an agenda.

Here’s the full text of the city’s email:

Daniel –

Here are the topics that are scheduled for Monday’s joint meeting between Councilmembers and Commissioners.

Tim Burke

Sub-committee reports (perhaps animal control, perhaps the two bodies’ shared vision, perhaps economic development)

Planning for Oil & Gas Collaboration

Discussion of what barriers there may be to mutual success of collaboration

Posted in: City Council • Meetings • • • • | 5 Comments »

Council president shelves charter changes that caught Bach by surprise

August 23rd, 2011, 11:42 am by

A handful of proposed charter amendments that Mayor Steve Bach said he didn’t know about until the last minute won’t even be considered by the City Council today.

However, the council is still scheduled to consider a November ballot proposal involving the future of Memorial Health System.

Council President Scott Hente decided not to place the proposed charter changes on the agenda because of the controversy that ensued, council liaison Aimee Cox said.

“With all the concern, it was just decided,” she said. “The president of council controls the agenda and decided not to put those forward on the agenda.”

Cox said the four proposals were “just some ideas” that had been floated around based on a few months of experience under the new strong-mayor form of government.

The proposals, drafted by City Attorney Patricia Kelly, were outlined in a memo leaked to The Gazette.

They included a proposed charter amendment to take away the mayor’s authority to appoint the city attorney and give it to the council.

Another proposal calls for the mayor to execute contracts only for the city government but not for Memorial Health System or Colorado Springs Utilities.

Bach said Kelly had not briefed him on the proposals beforehand.
“These charter amendments were a surprise to me,” Bach said last week.

“There was no discussion with me before they were distributed to the council, which is disappointing in the sense that I think there ought to be a dialogue between the City Attorney’s Office and the mayor,” he said. “I hope this is strictly attributable to everybody being really busy.”

Bach said the city should form a charter review committee to study and recommend possible charter changes after several more months of working under the strong-mayor form of government.

“I think we need to have a more comprehensive look at the charter. We’ve only been doing this for two months,” said Bach, who took the oath of office in June.

Posted in: City Administration • City Council • Elections • Politics • • • • | 2 Comments »

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