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Elected officials object to proposed legal-fee provisions in draft Pueblo County personnel policy
Summary
Elected county officials told commissioners the draft policy’s sections requiring elected officials to reimburse legal fees (sections D and E) are vague and could create liability for offices; they asked for a rewrite or a new policy and county-attorney sign-off for any internal EO policies.
Multiple elected officials addressed the Board of County Commissioners on March 6 with concerns about a draft change to Pueblo County’s personnel policy that would grant elected officials more discretion over pay and internal office policies but would also, in two subsections (D and E), require elected officials to bear legal fees arising from lawsuits tied to their internal policies.
Several elected officials said those two subsections are vague and could impose unexpected budgetary risk on offices. The county clerk said the policy’s language — which states elected officials “shall be required to reimburse Pueblo County to defend” lawsuits and that elected officials “pay all legal fees and settlements from [their] BOCC-approved annual budget” — leaves unclear whether the liability would be personal or should come from the office budget. The clerk and other elected officials asked whether the county attorney would review internal office policies and who would contract legal services if the county attorney’s office did not handle a case.
Another elected official raised concerns specific to public-safety offices, saying a major settlement could deplete an office budget and affect core services, such as emergency response. Multiple speakers asked that the board either revise the draft from scratch or substantially rewrite it to remove the ambiguity and to preserve the constitutional independence of elected officials where Colorado law protects that independence.
County Attorney Cynthia Mitchell said the county will not force personal liability on individuals and suggested a possible compromise: allow elected officials to adopt internal office policies but require sign-off from the county attorney and human-resources staff on any policy that deviates from countywide personnel rules. Commissioners said the draft is a first step and agreed to work with elected officials, the county attorney and HR to rework the language; one commissioner said a fresh draft could be ready the following week.
Ending: Commissioners directed staff and the county attorney’s office to work with elected officials on clarifying language, including explicitly specifying which personnel areas elected officials may control, requiring legal and HR review for deviations, and clarifying whether reimbursements would come from office budgets rather than personal funds. No formal vote was taken on the draft policy during the meeting.
