Wellington trustees pick members to help screen town attorney applicants

Town Administrator Patty Garcia briefed the Wellington Board of Trustees on Jan. 27 about the Request for Qualifications and the proposed interview schedule for a new town attorney, seeking trustee direction on participation in the screening and interview process.

Garcia said the RFQ was posted to BidNet and directly emailed to municipal attorneys across Northern Colorado and the Front Range, with responses due Feb. 4 and the initial review targeted to be completed by Feb. 11. Phone interviews of first‑round finalists were planned to follow, with the goal of having the top three or four finalists appear before the full board in a public meeting on March 13.

Garcia recommended appointing no more than two trustees to participate in the initial application review and phone interviews, noting those members would need availability for all interview dates. Trustees agreed: Trustee Cannon and Trustee Teets volunteered to serve on the initial review panel, with other trustees offering to serve as alternates if scheduling conflicts arise.

Garcia said the town has not previously run this hiring process for a town attorney (the town attorney is one of three direct reports to the board, along with the municipal judge and the town administrator) and staff will put the selected reviewers on the calendar and return to the board with finalists and recommended next steps.

Next steps: RFQ responses are due Feb. 4; staff will complete the initial review by Feb. 11, hold phone interviews, and plan to bring finalists to the board at a public meeting on March 13.