Author: Jessica Gibbs
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Aurora Water employees live on-site at remote reservoirs
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Jordan Worrell reported to work on a Monday morning in June only to get a call from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. A herd of buffalo had wandered into the park surrounding Spinney Mountain Reservoir, a 53,651 acre-foot dam tucked inside Park County about an hour-and-a-half west of Colorado Springs. Someone had to corral them. But…
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Colorado’s unemployment rate holds steady at 2.8%
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The government sector has now returned to pre-pandemic employment levels, the latest jobs report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment shows, while the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 2.8% for May. The number of unemployed people rose by 600 from April to May, reaching 90,000, although the unemployment rate remains unchanged. Colorado’s…
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Aurora clerk evaluates ‘strong mayor’ petition, other charter amendments advance
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The city clerk in Aurora will soon begin assessing whether an initiative to instate a strong mayor system in the city has secured enough petition signatures to put a question on the November ballot. The move requires amending the city charter, which must get voter approval. Meanwhile, voters will likely decide on three other charter…
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Denver City Council approves $1.8 million in meals for emergency shelters
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The Denver City Council on Monday approved purchasing $1.8 million worth of meals to feed people at the city’s emergency shelters. The orders include $800,000 in meals from FED LLC, $500,000 from Snap Colorado, and $500,000 in meals from Michael’s of Denver Catering. A city spokesman said the funding for meals from Snap Colorado and…
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Denver City Council approves liability claim settlements amounting to more than $750,000
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The Denver City Council passed two resolutions Monday that approve paying more than $750,000 to settle liability claims brought against city agencies, including the Denver Police Department. The first resolution authorized paying $450,000 to the estate of JaLonte ‘Jojo’ Jones, who died in 2020. The 18-year-old bled to death as a Denver police officer stood…
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Denver City Council backs providing campsites for homeless
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A bill to make a pandemic-era tool to provide homeless people with campsites a permanent – rather than temporary – policy earned the support of a majority of the Denver City Council on Monday. The bill amends the portion of city code that permits temporary tiny home villages to also allow a “temporary managed community use” or…
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Controversy follows push for strong mayor system in Aurora
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As petitioners gathered signatures for a proposed charter amendment seeking to instate a strong mayor system in Aurora, controversy quickly brewed. A group called “Term Limits for a Better Aurora” were given until Tuesday, June 6, to collect more than 12,000 valid signatures to make the November ballot. The proposal, if it makes the ballot…
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More charter amendments coming for Aurora City Council debate
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A lineup of possible city charter amendments will be coming before the Aurora City Council for consideration after several bills cleared the council’s Charter Review Ad Hoc Committee this week. Councilmembers Alison Coombs, Angela Lawson and Juan Marcano sit on the committee, which has been working through multiple potential ballot questions this year. Amendments to…
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Aurora City Council voices support for council-manager system
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The Aurora City Council adopted a resolution Monday that declares its support for Aurora’s current council-manager form of government as a controversial campaign to usher in a “strong mayor” system gears up. The decision came hours after a bipartisan group of current and former elected officials denounced the ballot initiative that is seeking to create…
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Some Aurora leaders denounce ‘strong mayor’ initiative
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A group of nearly two dozen current and former elected officials, along with police and fire union representatives, gathered on the steps of Aurora City Hall Monday to denounce an effort to create a “strong mayor” form of government in the city. They claimed that residents are being misled about the proposal, which they argue…