Ouray County commissioners spent six hours debating two new policies – specifying how they should treat each other and the public – in meetings last week and this week that devolved into the type of conflict the policies aim to prevent.

Commissioners adopted the public meeting policy unanimously on Tuesday. But they adopted a separate leadership and governance policy in a 2-1 vote, after an extended debate about whether the resolution adopting the rules should address why it was created: the aftermath of an investigation into a complaint filed by Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger against Commissioner Lynn Padgett last fall.

Members of the public, commissioners and county staff locked heads on that issue for more than four hours during a March 19 work session, and again during a regular meeting on Tuesday.

Creating a leadership and governance policy stems from the fallout of Barger’s original complaint. County leaders decided the policy was needed during a discussion about the final investigation report of that complaint during a Jan. 14 meeting.

During that meeting, commissioners decided to craft new leadership and conduct norms rather than rehashing details of the investigation report into Barger’s complaint, which accused Padgett of harassment and “a continuous pattern of hostility.” The report said it “was more likely than not” that Padgett treated department heads and other county employees harshly but did not make a finding whether she harassed Barger and created a hostile work environment.

During the Jan. 14 meeting Padgett said she and her attorney, Roger Sagal, came prepared to address the content of the report in a hearing — by presenting their own evidence and witnesses — but agreed to move on via creating a leadership and governance conduct code.

The resolution

The 2-1 vote to adopt the conduct code followed a conflict-filled work session last week that boiled over after four hours. It was the second work session on the topic that was also discussed on Feb. 26. The sticking point centered on whether the resolution adopting the policy should acknowledge the complaint and investigation. The original resolution language named Padgett and cited the complaint, which she objected to.

Commissioner Jake Niece called the policy and its resolution a compromise that did not necessarily satisfy all parties. He said it’s standard for a resolution to explain why a policy is being adopted.

During last week’s work session, Padgett and her attorney argued it was “patently unfair” to link the rules to an investigation report that made no concrete findings of “guilt.”

Padgett said she wants to create a future-thinking document “that’s not rooted in a perception of a single event.”

Earlier in the month, Sagal submitted an objection to the original draft resolution discussed during a Feb. 26 work session that referenced Padgett by name and the complaint.

“The Board cannot, on the one hand, decide not to engage in any determination of the merits of the complaint or report and deny Commissioner Padgett a hearing on the merits, and on the other hand, reference or credit the report in a resolution,” Sagal’s objection said.

The county’s outside counsel on the issue, Chris McAnany, revised the resolution in response, removing specific references to Padgett herself but retaining references to the investigation broadly. Sagal responded to McAnany’s revised resolution, calling it “acceptable.”

During the work session last week, Niece and Commissioner Michelle Nauer said they found the resolution language factual and an important way of acknowledging why the leadership and governance policy was created in the first place.

“How we got here cannot be ignored,” Nauer said. But Padgett and more than 10 members of the public pushed back fiercely, arguing any references to the investigation report were unfair, saying the investigation report made no findings of fact and arguing the investigation itself was completed poorly.

On Tuesday members of the public spoke to the wider ripples of Barger’s complaint — such as when Padgett was not chosen to run meetings as the board chair in January — and called the events a “public flogging.” Some asked the county to revisit the conduct code at a later date when circumstances are less emotional.

During the work session Barger looked directly at Padgett while addressing her.

“I had some serious concerns, and it’s appearing now that neither of those concerns in my complaint are going to be addressed. And so it’s quite concerning to me that there is zero accountability for very poor conduct. I think it’s unacceptable,” Barger said.

Padgett responded to Barger: “I appreciate, Ty, you looking directly at me and telling me my behavior is unacceptable, and if your complaint were true, I agree with you,” she said.

Barger then stood up from his seat in the audience and told Padgett he could “continue to have the back and forth.”

Padgett started refuting Barger’s specific allegations before Niece refocused the group.

At the end of the meeting, Ouray County Clerk and Recorder Cristy Lynn addressed commissioners on behalf of the employees, saying the resolution must acknowledge the complaint to validate employee experiences because it’s important to ensure they feel safe raising issues in the future.

Niece repeated this sentiment on Tuesday, saying there is a power imbalance when a member of staff files a complaint against a commissioner.

After the more than four-hour work session, Niece asked Padgett multiple times if she was OK with the resolution language acknowledging the complaint and investigation without naming her. She repeated she wanted any reference removed from the resolution.

On Tuesday she voted against the policy and resolution, saying it was her only choice. She said she couldn’t support a policy she felt was not based in fact.

Other conflict

During last week’s work session Padgett asked for other changes to the leadership and governance policy, primarily to a section governing commissioners’ interactions with staff. She said the policy should establish a “two-way-street,” requiring the same behavior from commissioners as county staff.

Niece argued the policy shouldn’t establish the exact same expectations for both parties, considering commissioners are in a position of power over staff and possess the ability to fire them.

Padgett called out specific language preventing “unreasonable interference” with staff’s duties or scope of authority, claiming “interference” could be equated with a commissioner saying something others don’t want to hear.

She asked to strike language saying commissioners should not engage in “coordinated recruitment efforts to intimidate or coerce other Board members or County staff to engage in such viewpoints.” One of the allegations in Barger’s complaint accused Padgett of rallying supporters to attend a meeting to attack him last summer. More recently, members of the public voiced support for Padgett to be able to act as board chairperson and showed up to demand that she have her turn in running the meetings. This formality does not usually attract public attention.

Padgett and some members of the public also asked for changes to the “compliance” section, saying it should prevent a situation where two members of the board could take political action against a single commissioner. Commissioners agreed on changes that ensure a commissioner is notified if there are allegations they are out of compliance with the policy and given the chance to address it before action is taken.

County leaders and the public offered little comment on the public conduct rules document and resolution. But on Tuesday multiple members of the public expressed frustration that Niece and Nauer were not considering their extensive input — especially on the policy resolution question — as part of their decision making.

Commissioners agreed to add language to the policy ensuring the public can comment after new information is presented during a hearing and adopted the policy and its resolution unanimously.

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