City Desk ~ An insider’s view of the policies and politics of Colorado Springs city government

Archive for the 'Jason Lippert' Tag

Cop facing felony charges received $22,000 severance

November 9th, 2012, 11:52 am by

Sydney Huffman

Nineteen Colorado Springs city employees have received a combined $605,000 in severance payouts under the Bach administration.

They include:

Sydney Huffman, a former Colorado Springs police officer accused of fabricating claims that led to jail time and back-to-back trials against a former Manitou Springs policeman who used to date Huffman.

The city gave Huffman a severance payout of $21,956.

“As is often the case, you need to make decisions in the best interest of the organization as a whole and agree to mutually part company,” Laura Neumann, the mayor’s chief of staff, said in a recent interview.

“It was decided by both parties that it was the best solution to a situation,” she said.

Neumann and HR Director Mike Sullivan said they couldn’t provide any other information.

“We’re not able to under the terms of that agreement. We’re just not able to,” Sullivan said.

Huffman and another police officer cost the city $480,000 to settle a claim filed by Huffman’s ex-boyfriend.

In the suit, Jarrott Martinez accused Huffman of coercing Colorado Springs investigators into pursuing four warrants for his arrest — including one issued after Martinez was acquitted in two trials and a district attorney dropped charges in another case. The warrants alleged Martinez committed burglary, domestic violence and sexual assault, among other allegations.

When asked why the city would pay Huffman when she was part of a $480,000 settlement, Sullivan said there was more to the story.

“We are not able to get into those discussions nor should you. We will jeopardize the terms of that agreement that we’ve got here with that employee,” Sullivan said.

Police Chief Pete Carey declined to comment.

“I spoke with Chief Carey, and he advised that a legal, contractual agreement prohibits the city from commenting on this matter,” police spokeswoman Barbara Miller said in an email.

The Gazette obtained the severance payouts under a Colorado Open Records Request. The severance payouts do not include the amount of money that employees received in vacation or sick leave payouts.

Another former city employee who got a severance payout was Jason Lippert, an hourly employee who worked in the mayor’s office.

Lippert, who was paid $25 an hour, or $2,000 every two weeks, is a former fellow at El Pomar Foundation. He who was jokingly referred to as “the assistant to the assistant.”

“He would fit into the category of, we mutually decided to part ways,” Neumann said.

“Some hourly employees … particularly those who were privy to very sensitive information, confidential information, you reach agreements with some of those individuals,” she said.

The city included former Fire Chief Steve Cox in the list of employees who received severance payouts. But Neumann said Cox’s pay wasn’t a severance but more of a retainer to provide consulting services.

Here is the entire list of employees who have received severance payouts under the Bach administration:

CORA request separation packages since June 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: Budget • City Administration • City employees • Colorado Open Records Act • • • • • • • | 13 Comments »

Tongues wag over mayor’s two new hires

March 26th, 2012, 10:13 am by

Mayor Steve Bach may have eliminated 38 positions and trimmed $2 million in salaries from the 2012 budget, but two new hires in his office are all the talk at City Hall.

Last month, Chief of Staff Laura Neumann hired an executive assistant at $70,000 a year.

Neumann didn’t advertise the position, which she said is “unusual.”

But Neumann said she needed someone with the right skill set to give her a hand, especially since she was recruiting for seven manager positions that report directly to her. The seven positions were either vacant or filled by someone on an interim basis, she said.

Neumann’s new assistant, Samantha “Dani” Ewen, used to be the human resources director at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, which is where Neumann worked as vice president and general manager before she went to work for Bach in January.

“That’s not why she’s here,” Neumann said.

Ewen was one of four finalists for the city’s human resources director job and had been vetted through the selection process, she said. Even though Ewen didn’t get that job, Neumann said, she was a good fit in the mayor’s office.

Another new worker, Jason Lippert, is a former fellow at El Pomar Foundation.

Lippert, who joined the mayor’s office four weeks ago, was hired by the city from a temp agency. He gets paid $25 an hour, or $2,000 every two weeks.

Insiders jokingly refer to Lippert as the “assistant to the assistant.”

The city did not respond to a request for Lippert’s job description but said he helps with scheduling.

Bach has an extremely busy schedule, sometimes working from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Cindy Aubrey, the mayor’s chief communications officer.

“I know because I go to the events,” she said. “One person is not able to do all of that.”

Neumann and Steve Cox, the mayor’s chief of economic vitality and innovation, defended the hiring decisions, saying the two new employees are filling a critical need.

“We need to be able to be flexible as an organization,” Cox said.

Cox emphasized that the city is spending less on payroll this year than last year.

“The bottom line is we’re spending less money today,” Cox said.

As the city transitions to a new system of government that makes the mayor the city’s chief executive, Cox said the administration is making staffing adjustments as necessary.

 

Posted in: Budget • City Administration • City employees • • • • • • • • | 16 Comments »