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Resident urges clearer responses, says CORA should not be used to avoid constituent communication
Summary
Resident Connie Weisenhunt told the council she has repeatedly asked city staff and elected officials for responses to constituent emails and urged the council to clarify CORA/sunshine-law limits so officials do not use them as a reason to avoid replying.
Connie Weisenhunt, a Fountain resident, used the public-comment period on April 8 to urge the City Council and staff to respond more consistently to constituent emails and to stop citing the Sunshine Law or CORA as a reason to avoid basic replies.
"The Sunshine Law, in spirit and in practice, is about transparency," Weisenhunt said. "It was not written to prevent elected officials from communicating with people they represent." She told council she had sent multiple emails to departments and council members with little or no acknowledgement and asked the council to seek legal training or clear guidance rather than defaulting to nonresponse.
Council members and staff responded that Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) and open-meeting rules can create caution among officials; the city attorney said it would be inappropriate to give legal advice in an open forum but that CORA concerns and privacy issues can affect whether staff responds by email. The mayor noted staff had asked the city attorney to reach out to Weisenhunt and confirmed that contact was made.
Weisenhunt asked the council to adopt a culture of engagement: even a brief "thank you for your message" reply, she said, would improve transparency and public trust. City officials said they would review the matter and that staff had already contacted her.
