Aimee Cox has been selected as the first City Council liaison, a new position created to provide a link of communication between council members and city staff.
Under the old council-manager form of government, council members had a direct line to city staff. But under the new strong-mayor form of government, all municipal government employees work for the mayor.
“In the old days – a couple of months ago – council members would call or send an email to the appropriate staff person to get an answer to a constituent’s question. That line is broken now,” council President Scott Hente said today.
As a result, Mayor Steve Bach and Hente came up with the idea to create a council liaison to keep those lines of communication through one point of contact.
Cox, a Manitou Springs city councilwoman who works for the city of Colorado Springs, will also be responsible for facilitating communication among council members and preparing council agendas, among other duties, Hente said.
“She’s been with the city for some time and so she obviously knows the city staff. She knows the way around. She knows who to deal with,” Hente said. “She is well thought of and well respected within the city staff. I think she’s the right person.”
Hente noted that Cox serves on the Manitou Springs City Council as mayor pro tem, which gives her a unique insight.
“She understands the sensitivities and the politics of municipal governments,” he said. “If I could write a description of the perfect candidate, she would probably fit it.”
Cox is a former parks and recreation employee who most recently worked in the city housing office, Hente said.
“It was a complete lateral change, so this is no cost to the taxpayers,” he said. “There’s no salary change and there is no addition to the city work force.”
Cox’s current annual base salary is $74,000, according to city spokeswoman Mary Scott.
Cox is not related to Steve Cox, who is the mayor’s chief of staff.
