Colorado Springs City Council lauds mayor's budget, but wants change process changed

Mayor Steve Bach's proposed 2015 budget sailed through a City Council markup session Thursday with hardly a change to spending.

However, the City Council is expected to propose a series of changes to the overall budget process that would increase the number of budgeted departments, require council approval before spending money on outside legal counsel and reaffirm that severance pay only is given to senior managers if they are fired, not if they resign -- something that is spelled out in city policy but not adhered to, some council members said.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Nov. 10: City Council will vote, first reading, on the proposed 2015 city budget. Meeting begins at 1 p.m. in City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave.

Nov. 25: City Council will vote, final reading, on the proposed 2015 city budget. Meeting begins at 1 p.m. The budget will go to Mayor Steve Bach, who can accept or veto any changes.

Dec. 9: City Council will consider any vetoes and could vote to override veto. It requires six votes to override a veto.

Councilman Don Knight, who headed the budget committee, called the mayor's proposed $259 million general fund budget solid.

"The budget rigor by the executive branch is very laudable," he said. "Everybody had to justify their spending . . . a good healthy scrub by the executive branch was done."

But Knight and other council members have continued concerns that the budget process is out of whack and gives too much power to the mayor to move money within departments without council approval.

Those proposed budget policy changes, though, may never see the light of day if Bach vetoes them, as he did last year.

The policy changes are expected to be approved by the council in November on a 5-4 split. If Bach vetoes any changes, the City Council would need six votes to override his veto. Knight said he doesn't believe there are six votes to block a veto. He added that he expects budget issues to become part of the 2015 mayoral campaign.

"Come April, at 10 a.m. on the third Tuesday, I hope we have a new administration that appreciates the transparency we have to have with the people," Knight said.

Bach has not said if he intends to run for a second term. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and El Paso County Commissioner Amy Lathen have said they plan to run for mayor.

Bach could not be reached Thursday for comment.

One of the proposed City Council changes is to the number of appropriations departments. Bach's budget has six, the council wants 12. The issue is that Bach can move money within a department without council approval, however he needs council approval to move money from one department to another. A change to 12 departments would limit movement without the council and the public knowing, council members said.

"It's all about transparency, and this budget is a contract with the citizens on how we use taxpayer dollars," Knight said.

Council attempted to make the department change in the 2014 budget, but Bach said last December that he would ignore it. In the weeks leading to council's vote in December 2013, two deputy city attorneys said that increasing appropriations departments interferes with the mayor's executive authority and violates the separation of powers intended in the city's charter. They advised the council not to make the change.

Under another proposed change this year, the city attorney would need to provide a list to council of all of the private attorneys kept on retainer. Any spending for outside legal counsel beyond the budgeted $250,000 would require advance council approval.

"This goes beyond what we think council has the authority to do," said Tom Florczak, deputy city attorney. Florczak said the council sets the overall legal services budget, which in 2015 would be $4.8 million, and the mayor is responsible for executing that budget.

Knight said in the first nine months of this year, the city spent $47,000 more to hire outside legal counsel than was listed in the 2014 Legal Defense Reserve budget. Where did the money come from? Knight asked. The city also spent $42,000 on outside legal counsel from the general fund without council approval, he said.

Another issue that bothers some council members is severance payouts. City policy states that up to six months of severance pay can be given to senior managers if that employee is fired without cause. But Bach has given severance packages to some senior managers who have resigned.

Records obtained by The Gazette under the Colorado Open Records Act show that from June 2011 to September 2014, the city paid $1.6 million in severance packages. That figure does not include the value of extended health benefits, vacation payout, sick leave or sick leave to retirement health savings plan.

Mike Sullivan, Human Resources director, told council less than 50 percent of the $1.6 million went to senior managers. The rest went to employees who were cut due to a reduction in force, including employees in fleet and Information Technology.

It is not uncommon in the business and civic service worlds to offer severance as part of a negotiated resignation -- such as when employees are given an option to resign rather than be forced out.

Sullivan said that severance payouts protect the city and should be considered agreements that the former employee will not make a claim against the city, will not disparage the city and will not reveal sensitive information.

"The city benefits from these," he said. "This is not a giveaway or free money."

Councilwoman Helen Collins said mayoral appointees, including the fire chief, aviation director, city attorney and police chief -- all of whom resigned in the past three years -- had the highest payouts, from $28,618 to $92,647, records show. Further, she said, the mayor has not provided to council a quarterly report on severance payouts, something city policy says he would do. Council learned about the total severance payouts from two newspapers, she said. The only spending change City Council will propose to the mayor's 2015 budget is to park watering. Bach had proposed that $1.4 million of the park watering bill be covered by the Conservation Trust Fund, which is money that comes to the city's parks department from the state lottery.

That move would bump $300,000 of planned parks projects, including replacing playground equipment in a number of parks. It also would cut severely into the Conservation Trust Fund end balance, leaving only $857.

The council agreed to put the $1.4 million back into the Conservation Trust Fund and pray for rain. For the past two years the city had more than $1 million unused park watering money because of rainy seasons. If the summer is hot and dry, the Council could revisit the watering plan, Knight said.

"We will have the weather's vote in August," Knight said. "And will know more about sales and use tax collections. At that time we could look at whether we need to put more money into park funding."

Contact Monica Mendoza

636-0187

Twitter @Mendo1987

blog, City Hallways

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