Mayor Bach’s Monthly Media Meetings provide an opportunity to discuss key issues and answer questions from Colorado Springs media.
On Tuesday, February 14, 2012, reporters from the Colorado Springs Gazette, The Independent, KKTV, KOAA TV, FOX 21 and KRDO TV attended the Mayor’s Monthly Media Meeting. The Mayor’s comments included the following:
Staff Changes. Changes in City staff are typical when a new leader comes on board. Some may decide to leave, especially those who are at the end of their career. It is possible for people of good will to differ in their opinions and choose other options for themselves. We’ve done our best to take care of these folks during their transition. We thank them for their service and wish them the best in their new pursuits.
Hiring. We want to draft the best talent available to create a stable civilian workforce. We’re looking for change agents – people who are well qualified and have worked in a variety of public, private and non-profit environments. Our new additions include Chief of Staff, Laura Neumann, who brings extensive experience in the hospitality industry. She understands the customer and since we serve a wide variety of constituents, her background is invaluable. Both Colorado Springs Police Chief Carey and Fire Department Chief Brown were promoted from within after many years of service with the City. It’s also paramount we hire people who want to be in government for the right reasons, which is to make our City better.
Fiscal Sustainability and Economic Vitality. It’s important to stimulate our economy and to do that, we must keep and attract primary employers. We hope the benefits employers gain include the reasonable cost of living, quality of life and a skilled labor force.
Another benefit to our economic vitality is the Pro Cycling Challenge coming up again this summer. The City will contribute in-kind services and we will get paid back in the sales tax revenue this event will stimulate. City Council feels strongly about supporting this event.
Transparency. The purpose of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) is to ensure citizens have access to information, however, that information should not be limited to a select few. Being transparent doesn’t mean 100% of the information requested is releasable. We are responsible to the citizens of Colorado Springs. So upon a review, the attorneys will make a decision, and then we release the appropriate information.
This is not a punitive decision. We want to do the right thing but we’re not here to promote one media outlet over another. Since we’ve decided to release CORA results to the public, I haven’t heard any complaints from citizens, so we’ll release more of these Open Record Act results in the future.
Not everyone gets their information from the newspapers and it’s important for citizens to have access to information. The public should know the costs of each CORA request. We’ve posted a few of them on the SpringsGov.com website to provide access to the public.
