Ouray County commissioners will develop a conduct policy for both elected county leaders and staff in the wake of a final report on an investigation of Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger’s complaint against Commissioner Lynn Padgett, in which he accused her of harassment and “a continuous pattern of hostility.”

A third-party investigator validated some of the concerns raised by Barger but ultimately was silent about whether Padgett harassed Barger and created a hostile work environment.

At a board meeting Tuesday, commissioners said they wanted to acknowledge the complaint but didn’t want to rehash the findings in the 58-page report from Employers Council, which has a contract with the county to conduct complaint investigations. The county spent $14,175 for the investigation and report.

Instead, commissioners agreed it was time to create a code-of-conduct policy that would become a job description for county commissioners, detailing ethics, decorum and conduct.

“I would like to see some sort of document … that we can all sign off on and live with, so we will move forward and we will get along,” Commissioner Michelle Nauer said. “We all will agree to respect one another and govern at a higher level and let staff do their jobs.”

Commissioner Jake Niece agreed he wanted to focus on crafting a policy but added, “I want to stay focused on what this is about. This is about a complaint from an employee about a commissioner, not necessarily commissioner to commissioner stuff, so I don’t want to lose the complaint in the process. We had a third-party investigation into a commissioner that largely corroborated the complaint.”

Nauer added: “I’m not going to punish you, Lynn. I’m not going to punish anybody. I want to protect you and the employees.”

Barger expressed his gratitude for having a final report after four months.

“I accept the findings and the conclusion that our independent investigator reached, and I hope you will too,” Barger said.

County officials reiterated their commitment to enforcing personnel policies that prohibit retaliation against employees who file complaints.

In the complaint Barger filed in August and made public in October, just prior to Padgett’s re-election, he detailed a series of incidents dating back to 2022 in which he accused her of creating a hostile work environment.

“I request protection for my department and myself from the ongoing hostility and retaliation engaged in by Commissioner Padgett, and censure of Commissioner Padgett by the chair, and board of county commissioners,” he wrote in the complaint.

Padgett’s statement to the Plaindealer said Barger’s complaint made false accusations about her, and she has not harassed or retaliated against any county employee, including Barger.

But according to the investigation report, the investigator found Padgett “more likely than not” has treated employees poorly.

At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, after a short recess to confer with her attorney, Padgett addressed the group both with a tearful apology and a response to allegations in the harassment complaint.

“The investigation interviews and the witness statements show a disconnect between how I tend to communicate with the county staff and officials and how they perceive what I’m saying,” Padgett said. “So for that, I apologize to my county colleagues and to the Ouray County citizens that we are holding a hearing about a harassment complaint against me. So this is something I personally need to learn and grow from, and I will actively work on my communication skills.”

She apologized to Barger for upsetting him enough for the situation to reach the point it had, and she said she hopes all parties take responsibility for their roles in the situation.

Investigation results

Barger’s complaint detailed four allegations against Padgett. Employers Council workplace investigator Nicole D. Rice interviewed Padgett and Barger, plus Niece, Human Resource Director Sherry Peck, Emergency Manager Glenn Boyd, Planning Director Mark Castrodale and former administrative specialist Hannah Hollenbeck.

County Manager Connie Hunt and County Attorney Leo Caselli both declined to be interviewed for the investigation, with Caselli “noting it may be a conflict or create concerns for his law license,” Rice wrote.

Rice also viewed several recordings of county commission meetings.

This is a summary of Rice’s findings:

First allegation: According to Barger’s complaint, Padgett became hostile to Barger after the two had lunch in spring 2022. The first part of the allegation says Padgett sent Caselli to “recruit Barger to have lunch with Padgett to discuss Hunt.” Rice found it “less likely than so” that Padgett recruited Caselli to organize the lunch.

The second part of the allegation said Padgett had lunch with Barger to get Barger to speak negatively about Hunt, and Rice said it was “more likely than not” Barger did not do that.

According to Rice’s report: “This investigator finds it is more likely than not that Mr. Barger did not speak negatively about Ms. Hunt with Ms. Padgett at that lunch, despite Ms. Padgett’s reported encouragement.”

Rice also states: “Mr. Barger says the interaction was particularly awkward because Ms. Padgett reportedly spoke poorly about Mr. Barger’s supervisor, Ms. Hunt. … Mr. Barger states he told Ms. Padgett he felt there was dysfunction within the county leadership and that he did not feel Ms. Hunt was the problem, but that everyone needed to take responsibility in order for there to be change.

Padgett recalled the lunch meeting much differently.

“Ms. Padgett states the conversation was not inherently awkward or uncomfortable because it was just Ms. Padgett checking in with Mr. Barger to see how things were going and if he needed any additional support in his department,” the investigator wrote.

Second allegation: Barger alleged Padgett asked why Barger and his department were not doing their jobs and encouraged community members to attend public meetings to speak out against Barger and his department, starting after his 2022 lunch with Padgett.

Rice found it is “more likely than not” Padgett has asked why Barger and his department are not doing their jobs, and has encouraged community members to attend public meetings likely knowing they would speak out against Barger and his department, and “more likely than not” that this treatment began after Barger’s lunch with Padgett in spring 2022.

Rice found Padgett “expresses criticism, blame and thinly veiled accusations of lying against Mr. Barger and other department heads,” while Padgett told the investigator she “has never said in a public meeting that Barger is lying.”

Third allegation: Barger alleged Padgett has regularly spoken condescendingly and harshly to department heads and other county employees, while Padgett told the investigator people have a problem with her words or tone because she is direct with them. Rice found it is “more likely than not that Ms. Padgett has regularly spoken condescendingly and harshly to department heads and other county employees.”

Fourth allegation: Barger alleged Padgett repeatedly asked in public meetings when Hunt is going to retire and if Hunt needs an accommodation for her eyesight without Hunt reporting having a disability. Rice found that it “is more likely than not” that Padgett did this, though Padgett said she was supporting Hunt, not indicating she wanted Hunt out as county manager.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Padgett addressed the allegations: She said she does not want Hunt’s job, nor does she intend to or have the power to fire Barger or any other county employee.

“My apology does not in any way mean that I am validating any of the accusations of harassment, retaliation, buying public comment, buying votes, supporting a petition to have someone fired or anything else contained in the investigation,” she said.

“Harassment is a serious charge, and I am taking it very seriously,” she said.

She said she wants to keep fighting for the health, safety and welfare of Ouray County.

“I’m going to use this experience as an opportunity to reflect and grow as a communicator and as a county leader, and I hope we all do that together for the sake of the county and our citizens,” she said.

County discussion on moving forward

Hunt said when she first joined the county in 2002, she suggested that Ouray County should have a code of conduct, which wasn’t necessary at the time because the staff was smaller. But she said it’s time to establish one.

Commissioners asked her and other staff to use other counties’ policies as a jumping-off point. They hope to begin discussing a draft policy at an upcoming work session.

Padgett said she appreciates wanting to move forward with an agreement around conduct and hopes it includes county leadership beyond commissioners, which Caselli said is a fair request.

Padgett asked why the process for creating such a policy didn’t begin when the complaint was filed.

Hunt responded she had never dealt with such an issue before and followed the process called for by the county’s personnel policy.

According to another attorney hired by the county, Chris McAnany with Dufford Waldeck Law, the matter was more difficult than traditional employee complaints because it was filed by a county employee against an elected official.

Niece added: “I really want to make sure the employees are protected. That is ultimately what this is about, what the complaint is about.”

Public discussion, public report

While Rice’s report is marked “confidential information,” Caselli determined the report is open to the public. The county posted the entirety of the investigation report on its website, unredacted, in the meeting materials.

Caselli said in a letter to the Plaindealer, which requested the documents last week, that after a review of the Colorado Open Records law, he felt it was necessary to release the document.

“The County Manager is the custodian of central administrative records, who has authorized the general release of these records, for a civil/administrative investigation,” Caselli wrote to the Plaindealer. “I do not have a legal basis to withhold such records ….”

Caselli also stated in the letter that Hunt “finds that it is unclear whether ‘public disclosure is likely to stifle honest and frank discussion within the government.’” Boyd said he interviewed with the Employers Council under the impression that his comments would be private, but because the county made them public, he consented to public discussion.

The meeting agenda initially scheduled the investigation report for a possible executive session, held behind closed doors.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner Michelle Nauer asked everyone who was interviewed for the investigation whether the report could be discussed in a public meeting or whether they preferred the discussion happen privately. All agreed the discussion could be done in a public meeting.

Lia Salvatierra is a journalist with Report for America, a service program that helps boost underserved areas with more reporting resources.

Deb Hurley Brobst is a longtime, award-winning journalist and can be reached at deb.hurley.brobst@gmail.com.

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