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Seventeen candidates for 5 county offices and 3 fire board seats gathered in front of a standing-room-only crowd on Tuesday night, April 20, 2010, in the fire department's Crow Hill building used for this event. Several people in the crowd turned out to be fire personnel apparently on hand to attack the newcomers running for the seats up for election on the Platte Canyon Fire District Board of Directors. Most seats have been held by the same people for many years, but some new locals have thrown their hats in the ring to bring their qualifications and abilities to the old board to “represent the taxpayers” as they expressed in their answers to challenges and questions. Chief Davis and Deputy Chief Burgett were not there to supervise their aggressive fire personnel that night. Many of the more antagonistic challengers were in fire uniform and speaking, apparently, for the district. One fire officer yelled and heckled constantly through one man's attempt to speak and then angrily accosted one fire board candidate after the meeting. No one attempted to restrain the boisterous, aggressive fire officer.
Two hours of questions, unanswered speeches from the audience, and one-minute answers from the candidates resulted in some mixed reaction, including confusion and frustration at the format of the event. Candidates were not always allowed to answer the challenges from the audience, given sometimes in long speeches from printed documents by those attacking the candidates. The speeches from the audience were often longer than the answers allowed to the candidates. Attempts at time cutoffs for one incumbent candidate were ignored.
However, some news was made Tuesday night when the candidates were allowed to speak to the more informative questions.
Commissioner Candidates:
-What would be your single top priority for the new term?
Dowaliby: Could not decide between addressing the issue of new buildings or credit card abuse. Settled on credit card abuse and transparency as a top issue and said he would start immediately to address the problem of accountability.
Mrs. Wissel: Getting the Sheriff and Jail budgets and deficits under control was Wissel's choice for a top priority. She said that budget needs to be restructured.
Jones: Not only the Sheriff and Jail budgets and deficits, but deficit spending county-wide were her immediate concerns. Other departments were also showing deficits in recent budgets and spending beyond their means.
Bertin: Agreed with Wissel and Jones that spending must be addressed and added that public input must be further sought to help determine priorities.
-What would you do to deal with the deficits and why is the lack of transparency on credit card use suddenly an issue after years of problems?
Dowaliby said he didn't agree that these were deficits because they had enough money in savings (reserves) to cover the overspending. He complained that officials often used the credit cards for questionable spending such as the assessor buying flowers for his wife.
Bertin said that she supported transparency and would not vote to approve budgets that included deficit spending.
Mrs. Wissel stated that the county needed to have the credit cards to use because county officials would have to spend money out of pocket and then apply for reimbursement. She said the flowers her husband bought for her were because she was a temporary commissioner leaving office, so it was a county expense.
Jones clarified that the credit card use is not the issue – transparency from the government is the issue. She said that, out of 5 open records requests she has submitted, 4 were either provided wrong, late, or missing information. She said that getting taxpayer public information should not be made so difficult by county officials.
-If the situation on the new building is not settled, why did the paper report that there would be a groundbreaking for the new building in May?
Dowaliby: He said he is not excited about building a new building and thinks that more time needs to be taken to study the most efficient way to proceed. He would like to pursue more grants to solve the problem. He told the audience that the equipment currently housed in the old McNamara building has been protected and secured and they have time to further study the problem before committing to millions in spending on a new building. He further stated that there was only one commissioner who was insistent that the county spend the millions on a new building and that was John Tighe. Dowaliby said he is opposed to the project as promoted by Tighe. Per Dowaliby, the new building is not breaking ground in May as Tighe told the paper, but it is on hold for further study at present. He also added that nobody really wanted to work in the jail building so he didn't know about using the empty part of the jail for offices. Dowaliby said that the $ .50 a month added on to phone bills would help offset the costs of a new communications center and did not put a large burden on the taxpayer. The additional tax would bring in $700,000 over the next 10 years but would not be rolled back after they had collected enough for the new building. He added that only people who had phones and could dial 911 would be charged the additional tax on the 911 service. It wasn't put on property tax bills, so the taxpayers didn't have to be asked. And, since it's not on property tax bills, people without phones would not have to pay the extra 911 tax to help build a new communications center.
Jones: She objects to Dowaliby saying that the jail building is not a suitable work space. Jones previously worked as a jail Sergeant in that building and said that the back pods, fitted to be separate from the inmate sections and redecorated with a private entrance added, would be a perfectly suitable and comfortable work space for county employees, including commssioners. Jones is concerned that the county is going forward with plans to build new buildings without having the money to pay for the construction or the lease-purchase agreements that they were planning to use to cover shortfalls and avoid asking the taxpayers to approve debt. She said that the commissioners currently do not have access to the funds needed to cover the $2.1 million to $2.6 million projected to build the new building.
Bertin: Favorite quote is “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” She believes that the empty jail space should definitely be put to use and not allowed to sit empty and cost the taxpayers unnecessary money to support. She wants to see the cost comparisons and also seek input from the public before committing to large projects.
Lillian Wissel suggests that a plan be in place to reduce or eliminate the additional tax once the building is built.
-How much input does the Sheriff have in his own budget, and how much should he have?
Dowaliby said that he did not create the Sheriff's Office budget problem but that he inherited it along with other problems left by former commissioners.
-How do you propose to encourage employees to stay in their jobs instead of moving on to higher-paying jobs in other places?
Lillian Wissel wants to increase pay for all county employees to bring them closer in line with the higher paid officials and department heads. “The budget is balanced on the backs of our employees,” she added.
Bertin would like to encourage cross-training so that current employees could move into job openings left by people quitting or retiring. She believes that the chance for advancement and the additional job security will help motivate people to stay with the county.
Jones would like to have the county do a staff survey study to find the best employment practices and most efficient operation of the county government. She believes that the county employees are great people. If the staff studies are done and shown to the public, Jones believes that the taxpayers will support the employees and improved management.
Dowaliby said that there are many great employees in the county government and some that are not so great. He suggests that the county keep the great ones. He also said that giving county employees raises at this point would mean that there would not be enough money to plow the roads.
-How do you feel about using competitive bidding and how will you cut costs for the county?
Jones is in favor of using competitive bidding for all major costs. She mentioned the propane bidding process last year that was “fixed” or not handled appropriately. (See story on higher price contracted for propane to get personal discounts for county officials.) She said there is little chance of getting the best price without looking at all of the options. Jones added that it was probably time to change auditors to get a fresh perspective and that the county should not necessarily always take the lowest bid on everything.
Lillian Wissel agrees that competitive bidding is important and that deficit spending has to be curtailed. She mentioned the jail budget again. She said that if the Sheriff would cut back on constantly buying new vehicles, they could pay for more training.
Dowaliby insists that the county is not in “deficit spending” because they had reserves they are now using to cover overspending. He does not agree with the common definition of “deficit.”
Tammy Davis, as the only coroner candidate at the event, said she would help save the county money with her training and experience. She said that fewer outside resources would be needed if she were in the Coroner's office and she also knew of a facility for autopsy that would cost half what the county is paying for the service under the current coroner. She added that her five years experience as a deputy coroner would mean that the county would not have to fund basic education for a new, inexperienced coroner.
Sheriff Candidates:
Graves started his night out by emphasizing the importance of transparency. He said that leadership needed input from both inside and outside the department. He wants to put a Citizens Review Committee in place to help advise the Sheriff's Department. He said that such a committee would help steer the department and act as a liaison between the department and the community. Graves said that these committees had been a valuable resource in several departments. He said that corrections, which he worked before becoming a police officer, is always expensive. He added that he had advised the department not to expand the jail when they were first considering the project. Graves said that the public was not consulted about the expansion of the existing jail as would have been done in other departments. Now, he said the empty pods should be converted to other uses and they needed to cut as much spending as possible. Graves said that he didn't think the current government wanted the public to be involved or informed. He thought the public needs to be more active in demanding answers and information about their own government.
Wegener said that they do have losses of $1 million but that they are never over budget. He added that the law requires that they have a jail. He said the whole problem is that there is not the amount of revenue coming in that they projected. He said they try to make it less burdensome to the taxpayer. He also added that the reason they couldn't fill the jail was “politics.” Wegener also worried that, if the jail was converted to other uses, it could never be used as a jail again. He said that his employees had not had raises in 3 years but that the department needed all of the new vehicles in order to respond to calls and make a living.
-To the Sheriff: How much do you spend on training per officer?
Sheriff Wegener said that they don't budget for officer training because they do most of their training in-house. He said that they spend what they can on training. The questioner repeated the request, asking for a dollar amount. Wegener only said, “We spend as much money as we can to train our folks.” He added that the commissioners controlled his budget and agreed that it was a “commissioner issue.”
(Commissioner Dowaliby replied that the commissioners do not tell the Sheriff how to spend his money line by line and that the Sheriff makes those decisions.)
Graves stated that the budget for training directly affects the community. He said that the community would be shocked at how little the patrol and jail deputies are paid. He added that training affects the costs in lawsuits and insurance for liability of the department. The better the training, the fewer the incidents of suit and liability costing the county money for settlements and increased insurance costs.
Clerk and Recorder Candidates:
-What is your position on a mail-only ballot?
Green announced that the primary election this year would include voting in person at vote centers. She said she prefers the mail ballot because it cuts costs. She said that the mailed ballots are locked up in a room at her office and are not counted until election day or the day before. Previously, Green had been asking the commissioners to approve a mail-only ballot for the primary election.
Wagner said that she prefers a standard election where people can vote in person if they choose to or if they are worried that their vote won't get counted. She was worried that ballots could be lost in the mail or that the clerk's employees and other county employees would have access to and would be handling the mailed in ballots and have total control over all ballots at the clerk's office. She said that only election judges should handle ballots, including mailed ballots, and not county employees.
Assessor Candidates:
Dave Wissel explained the operation of the assessor's office and said that his management approach was to find good people and develop them. He said he has been Assessor since 1980 and has passed all certification.
Goettelman said that he would pursue the same training and certification and wanted to focus more effort on customer service. He said he was well educated and experienced in educating others. He added that he would watch the budget and had no agenda except to serve the public. Goettelman said that, after 31 years, he thought that the office should be changed and made more transparent.
Coroner Candidate:
Davis was the only candidate for the office of Coroner to participate in the event. Questions were not directed to the position of coroner, but Davis answered a question on saving money for the taxpayers. Tammy Davis said she would help save the county money with her training and experience. She said that fewer outside resources would be needed if she were in the Coroner's office and she also knew of a facility for autopsy that would cost half what the county is paying for the service under the current coroner. She added that her five years experience as a deputy coroner would mean that the county would not have to fund basic education for a new, inexperienced coroner.
Platte Canyon Fire Board Candidates:
Many challenges and attacks were directed at one particular candidate – Rebecca (Becky) Van Hout. Among the questions directed at Van Hout was a concern she is said to have raised about how the department handled a particular fire. The firefighter said that they had only responded to two fires this year and wanted to know which one Van Hout had a problem with. Van Hout said that her previous question about the handling of a fire had to do with the department's response on the 2002 Snaking Fire, not the fires this year. She added that the issues surrounding the Snaking Fire were too complex to address in that night's format.
The majority of complaints directed toward the Platte Canyon Fire Department were regarding transparency and financial information used to pass the 2009 tax increase. The Chief had reported a collection rate for the ambulance far below the actual rate collected overall. He had no explanation for why he used the incorrect lower rate to try to move the taxpayers to vote them additional tax money that, under examination, appeared to be far more than what they could justify as needed.
Bennett brought up the importance of transparency and the questionable way in which the board election process was handled with the legal filed late, number of seats changed, and the last minute alterations of procedure. He said that his experience with billion dollar budgets would enable him to assist the department in doing a better job with the money they already had. Bennett added that the firefighters should not be attacking citizens like himself who were coming forward to serve their department. He said that his job and government clearance require the highest of ethics and that the current perception of the fire department is that it is not ethical. Bennett is an engineer employed by Lockheed-Martin and holds a government security clearance. He has been responsible for computer security and billion dollar budgets. He also said he served on Gilpin County Search & Rescue.
Van Hout said her concerns also included transparency. She recalled that several people tried to get financial information from the department during the debate about the tax increase and roadblocks were put in the way of informing the public. She said that the person who went to the department to get the 2008 audit was given papers with two important pages missing. The person had to go back again for the missing pages. Van Hout also reminded the audience that the department had promised repeatedly to provide certain financial answers and to also publish them on their website, but failed to do so during the entire tax discussion and debate. She asked how the public could expect transparency now from the same board when none was forthcoming in past years. She felt that the leadership's reputation had been badly tarnished during the tax election and she would like to serve on the board to help improve the attitude toward transparency and help restore confidence in the department. Van Hout added that she has long praised the people serving on the department and her battle was with the leadership, not the firefighters. She lists, as part of her qualifications, her years of previous service on a water board and her two businesses that include management of assets in excess of a million dollars. She said that the current adversarial climate is emanating from the fire department, not from the public.
Abcarian also brought up the matter of transparency and said that the previous 21-minute board meeting included pushing through a resolution that was read hurriedly and passed unanimously without discussion. She said she also wanted financial information during the tax election debate and was disappointed that none was forthcoming. She has filed several requests for open records with the department and would discuss the documents when received. She said that the relationship of the department to the public should be less adversarial and she would like to serve on the board to represent the interests of the taxpayers and citizens instead of having all fire department people voting on how to spend the tax dollars. Abcarian listed her experience including her years as editor of the local newspaper and her current position as northwest editor of a national newspaper, as well as her time serving on the staff of a U.S. Senator. She said that the public deserves to be informed.
Pence said that he thought he was a transparent person and that he thought 21 minutes was enough for the board meeting because he liked to run things efficiently. His qualifications include his time as a teacher and coach, he is one of the co-founders of the rescue service and has served as deputy coroner. He is a long-serving incumbent member of the Platte Canyon Fire Board.
McMullen, also an incumbent, said that his qualifications include being a businessman in the community for many years and has been here for 39 years. He has years of experience serving on the board.
Rosetto said that he has an associate's degree in hotel and restaurant management and is currently a local contractor. He said he was pleased to be asked to serve on the board when a previous member resigned. He has served a little over a year and would like to continue as a board member.
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