Colorado city declines to fire city manager despite concerns from residents, police and firefighters
A controversial member of the Federal Heights government will get to keep her job, despite months of concerns about her leadership raised by residents and members of the police and fire departments.
"We've talked about this, and we've talked about this, and nothing gets done," said one Federal Heights resident.
CBS Colorado has been following concerns with City Manager Jacqueline Halburnt's leadership for months. Most recently, residents pressed for answers and accountability from city leaders after Police Chief Robert Grado and Fire Chief Marc Mahoney were both fired by the City Manager, despite both being recognized in the community for helping their departments improve over the years.
"I want to see the council do what's right. I want them to take and relieve Jackie of her duties," said resident Jim Fenimore.
Under the city manager's leadership, police and fire officials say they've faced retaliation for speaking up on issues regarding funding, staffing, and having a clear line of communication between the members of council. Both the police and fire unions shared their vote of no confidence for Halburnt back in January.
"I think more people who are on council are hearing more and have gone to other sessions and other trainings and now understand the things that are going on in this city," said Ken Murphy, "and understand that things need to change and the way things are in the city are not proactive for the citizens or for the staff."
With these recent terminations, not only have residents expressed concerns about the community's safety, but elected officials outside of Federal Heights have also chimed in.
The latest official to share his concerns was U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, who serves Colorado's 8th district. Evans sent a letter to city leaders in late July.
"To not only restore public faith in but to also ensure the public safety of the community, I urge you to address the concerns and questions the general public has regarding the terminations earlier this year and provide a clear vision for the future of the city's management of first-responder services in Federal Heights," said Evans in one portion of his letter.
After Tuesday night's city council meeting, where residents voiced their concerns, city leaders entered an executive session to discuss Halburnt's employment. While residents remained hopeful that more council members would vote to remove Halburnt from her role, a source tells CBS Colorado that members were tied 3-3 on the final vote, with one council member not present at the meeting. They also say she has been awarded a contract for another year with no increase in pay.
