QUESTIONS ARISE AROUND COMPLAINT PROCESS AS COUNCILMEMBER ACCUSED OF CONDUCT VIOLATION
A Boulder resident has filed a complaint with the City Clerk to investigate a possible Municipal Code violation by Councilmember Nicole Speer. The City Council will address this at its April 6 regular meeting.
The complaint — filed by Emily Reynolds on March 30 — alleges that Speer violated code of conduct requirements laid out in the Municipal Code by testifying on March 1 in support of House Bill 1202, Overdose Prevention Center Authorization. If enacted, the bill would allow municipalities to authorize the operation of an overdose prevention center within the city’s jurisdiction.
In the written complaint, Reynolds alleges “that Council Member Speer’s testimony before the Colorado House Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee occurred prior to any discussion of HB23-1202 by either the City Council or the [Intergovernmental Affairs] Committee and therefore was in fact outside the boundaries and scope of authority granted to individual Council Members as defined by the city charter and code.”
City code maintains that any resident or City employee “may initiate an investigation of any city council member, employee or appointee to a city board, commission, task force or similar body by filing a sworn statement with the city clerk.” A properly filed complaint must result in an investigation by a specially appointed counsel.
In an email, Deputy City Attorney Erin Poe called code of conduct complaints like the one filed against Speer “infrequent.”
“I am not sure when the last one was filed prior to 2023,” Poe wrote. “The Council could pass a motion of censure for this type of complaint. There will be additional costs for the investigation.”
Censure is an expression of disapproval and does not carry legal weight.
However, it seems code of conduct complaints are on the rise. City Clerk Elesha Johnson says her office is currently processing a total of six code of conduct complaints.
According to Speer, she was asked to testify on behalf of the HB 1202 by one of its sponsors. She then reached out to Carl Castillo, the City’s chief policy advisor on the Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA)Committee, who Speer says confirmed to her that the City would be supporting the bill.
When asked via email whether support for HB 1202 was on the city’s legislative policy prior to Speer’s testimony on March 1, Castillo responded, “Arguably, it was. In particular, Council’s stated support for local control.”
Feeling “a little nervous,” Speer says she asked Castillo and Wendy Schwartz, the City’s housing and human services policy manager, to “edit” and provide feedback on her testimony prior to presenting it to the Colorado House Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee on March 1. Both Castillo and Schwartz confirmed this.
Speer expects the investigation will find that she “followed the protocol.”
“If I violated the code by following rules that Council is supposed to follow, then we should look at changing our process for the future,” Speer says.
Councilmember Bob Yates says he’s “somewhat concerned about the number of” complaints recently filed.
“I don’t believe many Code of Conduct complaints were filed during my first seven years serving on city council,” he wrote via email. “However, we have seen several complaints filed in the first few months of this year, on a variety of topics.
“While it is certainly important that we provide community members an avenue to raise legitimate concerns if they believe that an elected official or city staff member has acted unethically or illegally, I would be disappointed if the Code of Conduct complaint system was weaponized to the point where people filed complaints simply because they disagree with a policy position,” Yates wrote. “Given the unprecedented number of complaints filed during the first few months of this year, I think that we need to take a look at our Code of Conduct complaint protocols to ensure that they are used for their intended purpose.” —Caitlin Rockett
COUNTY EXPLORES METHODS TO TRACK OPIOID USAGE, DISTRIBUTE FUNDS
The Boulder County Regional Opioid Council (BCROC) on March 28 began exploring wastewater testing and opioid mapping plans as methods for pinpointing opioid usage in the county.
The council — made up of county, municipal and elected leaders across the region — is tasked with investing and monitoring the use of more than $17 million in settlement dollars over 18 years to repair damages caused to the region from the opioid epidemic. BCROC is one of 19 councils in Colorado deciding how to allocate the state’s portion of the nationwide opioids settlement funds.
“We’re just at the place of diving into more investigation on this topic,” says Kelly Viet, Boulder County’s behavioral health hub manager and a member of BCROC’s operations board. “What I can say more generally is that the testing of wastewater for opioids was brought forward as a potential way to both target resources to particular areas and an additional means to help us evaluate our impact on opioid abatement efforts over time.”
At the March 28 meeting, BCROC members discussed a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that tested wastewater in North Carolina and found correlations between opioid overdose rates and the detection of treatment or overdose reversal drugs at various sites. However, differentiating illegal and medical use of opioids in wastewater is difficult.
The Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, or ODMAP, could allow BCROC to create a map of opioid overdoses in the County. The web-based program allows first responders to report the location, time and status — fatal or non-fatal — of an opioid overdose, reducing lag in information sharing at the time of an overdose.
Viet says the council needs to do more research before it moves forward with either method.
“We’re working closely with our partners to investigate a few key questions: Where else has this been done, and to what end? What are the potential resources required in the lifespan of an initiative like this? What does the data look like, and how actionable might it be? How could this work pair with or complement some of our region’s broader abatement strategies?” Viet says.
The council meets again on April 28. The public is invited to attend via Zoom: bit.ly/OpioidsCouncil
