A contract between the City of Aurora and Dentons for lobbying services during the upcoming Colorado General Assembly has been delayed for a few weeks by City Council over conflict of interest wording in the contract.

Councilwoman Angela Lawson, a lobbyist program manager for the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, noted during the City Council’s Nov. 21 meeting that most lobbying contracts contain a statement on how potential conflicts of interest will be addressed.

“I think our policy on this is a little soft,” Lawson said.

City Attorney Michael Hyman said he could see situations where Dentons might run into a conflict of interest while working for the city on an issue while another client represented the opposite side.

“There are wording arrangements typical in lobbying contracts for things of this nature,” he added. “We can look at those as a model and ensure the city is essentially considered a preferred client.”

Lawson said her concern was to see the contract language “a little tightened or strengthened” about conflicts of interest.

Council agreed to defer consideration of the contract until its Dec. 5 meeting.

The city contracted with Capitol Capital for lobbying services in 2016 for $39,600, according to information provided to the Council. The renewal of that contract in 2016 represented the final one-year extension option, so the 2017 contract was required to be openly solicited.

Proposals were received from three firms by the Sept. 16 closing date: Capitol Capital,Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and Dentons. Capitol Capital was eliminated from further consideration and the other two firms were  interviewed by the evaluation committee. Both firms offered their services at an annual cost of $72,000 plus expenses. On Oct. 18, the committee selected Dentons as the top ranked firm.

Negotiations were held with Dentons on Oct. 27, and Dentons submitted a final proposal of $63,000 plus expenses for consideration by the City Council. Amy Stephens, former Colorado House Majority Leader, and Matthew LaCrue were chosen by Dentons to be Aurora’s lead lobbyists.