Nearly six months after a group of residents filed a lawsuit in district court, alleging the Elbert County Board of Commissioners had given two senior county employees hefty employment contracts outside the public’s view, the county quietly settled the case in exchange for payment of attorney fees.

Steven D. Zansberg, attorney for the plaintiffs, confirmed the case had been settled.

Court documents ordered the case dismissed March 13, 2025.

In exchange for the voluntary dismissal of the case, the county paid the five plaintiffs — Jill Duvall, Jim Duvall, Christopher Hatton, Nic Meyer, and former Elbert County Commissioner Robert Rowland — a total of $15,000 to cover their attorney’s fees and costs, Zansberg said in an email to The Denver Gazette.

According to court documents, the parties have “settled all disputes arising from or relating to the allegations, claims and defenses asserted in this case.”

The legal action, filed on Sept. 19, 2024, named the county board and Commissioners Chris Richardson, Dallas Schroeder and Grant Thayer as defendants in their official capacities and sought to compel them to reimburse the county for any funds they voted to commit Elbert County to pay that were not previously authorized in a public fashion.

“Elbert County Commissioners preferred to settle rather than go to court,” Jill Duvall, a plaintiff in the case, told The Denver Gazette. “Since two of the three county commissioners who signed these exorbitant contracts were no longer in office, and since former County Commissioners Chris Richardson and Grant Thayer, in addition to current Commissioner Dallas Schroeder, basically admitted they were guilty of violating the Open Meetings Law by “curing” the contracts in October 2024, the current county commissioners were agreeable to settling this issue without wasting anymore taxpayer dollars.”

The Denver Gazette reached out to Elbert County officials for comment on the settlement, but a response has yet to be received.

Thayer, a Republican, departed due to term limits.

Richardson, also a Republican, currently serves in the Colorado Legislature, representing House District 56.

The former county commissioners attempted to “cure” the Open Meetings Law violation by amending their agenda at the start of a Board of County Commissioners’ meeting in July of 2024, Duvall said.

However, they failed to give citizens a 24-hour notice, as required by law, of their intent.

Commissioners eventually held a properly noticed meeting to approve the new contracts six months after the two county employees — Elbert County Manager Shawn Fletcher and Elbert County Attorney Bart Greer — had already been receiving their increased salaries.

But even with a settlement, Duvall said questions still linger, such as who is responsible for the salary and benefit increases.

Richardson explained to residents at a town hall meeting last year that pay problems within the county were nothing new, and years of unskilled HR staff and local competition from neighboring counties were to blame.

Jill Duvall said she’d also like to know if Fletcher and Greer should repay the county for the monies they received “under illegally executed contracts.”

“Per state statute, if a violation of the Open Meetings Law occurs, the contracts should have been declared null and void,” Duvall said. “Legally, the county commissioners who approved these contracts, in violation of the OML, could be held personally responsible for the monies.”

That would be up to the current county commissioners to take legal action against the former county commissioners to recover those funds, Duvall said.

Duvall criticized Greer for providing legal advice to the former county commissioners named in the lawsuit as his employment contract and subsequent pay raise were at the center of the open meetings feud.

She said the move calls into question conflict of interest issues.

The original lawsuit stemmed from several weeks of heated, back-and-forth public meetings in the summer of 2024, during which residents expressed outrage over the hefty pay bumps and benefit packages awarded to Fletcher and Greer.

Fletcher, who had been on the job for less than 18 months at the time of his contract extension, saw a pay bump of $80,000 over his 2023 agreement, bringing his annual salary to $220,000. Additionally, he was given a county-owned or leased vehicle, a monthly housing allowance of $1,500, and an extra two weeks (eight days) of vacation leave above his current accrual rate.

Greer, who has represented the county for seven years, also received an annual salary of $220,000 and the use of a county vehicle. A previous contract signed by Greer in January 2023 put his annual salary at $145,500.

The residents alleged that the contracts were approved behind closed doors. County officials argued the issue was a personnel matter and falls under their purview to do so.

Plaintiff Christopher Hatton said both Thayer and Richardson have “shown blatant disregard for the legal process and have a history of thumbing their nose at residents of Elbert County.”

The plaintiffs assert their efforts have made residents more civically aware.

“I don’t think the ordinary citizens realized what had occurred during the prior commissioners’ tenure, ” Hatton added. “We plan to continue working towards transparency, managing development, and protecting our water rights. Two of our three commissioners share this vision.”

Attorney Steven D. Zansberg represents The Denver Gazette and the Clarity Media family of newspapers.