Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment And Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Heated public comment at Montrose County meeting centers on alleged executive-session leaks and recall effort
Summary
Public commenters at the July 16 Montrose County meeting accused outside actors of divulging executive-session personnel information and urged accountability; the chair denied open-meeting violations and the exchange became a focal point of the public-comment period.
Several members of the public used the July 16 Montrose County commissioners meeting to raise allegations about the handling and disclosure of personnel matters, and the exchange produced sharp back-and-forth between commenters and commissioners.
Julie Arnell told the board she watched a July 7 special meeting and asked why the Montrose County GOP chairman, Monte George, was cited in a KJCT news interview as a source who had information about salary offers and voting outcomes tied to executive-session discussion. Arnell asked, “How did Monte George obtain county personnel salary information and voting results from executive session?” and called the disclosure a breach of trust.
The chair responded on the public record, saying there was no violation of the Colorado Open Meetings Act (citing CRS 24-6-402) and that no decisions were made in executive session. The chair said the resignations in question were voluntary, disputed assertions about large severance totals, and invited anyone who believed an open-meetings violation occurred to ask a judge to release relevant records.
Other public commenters addressed related topics: some voiced strong support for the sheriff’s office and thanked commissioners for backing law enforcement; others urged staff and legal offices to enforce ordinances and examine staff behavior and workplace culture. Several participants who said they were on the original PSST committee testified about the ballot intent that PSST funds be an addition to, not a substitute for, the sheriff’s budget.
The exchange included heated language from at least one commenter who told commissioners “the rest of you can go to hell” and who was then gavelled by the chair. The public-comment period and the chair’s long rebuttal set a contentious tone before the board advanced to agenda business.
No legal finding on alleged executive-session violations was made at the meeting; the chair denied the allegations on the record and directed staff to follow legal processes if further inquiry is sought.
