Ignacio is in the market for a new treasurer and a new town trustee as well as a new town manager.
Town trustees discussed the situation on May 6. They fired Town Manager Lee San Miguel at a special meeting on April 22, and treasurer Lisa Rea has taken another job. At the end of the May 6 meeting, trustee Cecilia Robbins surprised her colleagues by announcing her resignation from the board, effective immediately.
Trustees Lawrence Bartley and Tom Atencio asked her to reconsider.
Robbins said she's been frustrated since she was appointed to the board last fall. She didn't elaborate.
"I've decided," she said. "I really appreciate the vote of confidence. I've learned a lot about things I didn't want to know about. It's made me a better person. But when I start to feel some of the things I've felt for the last couple months, I can't" continue on the board.
Earlier in the meeting, trustees discussed hiring someone who provides interim town manager services while a town is seeking a new manager. Police Chief Kirk Phillips is currently serving as manager.
Mayor Stella Cox said she, Phillips, Rea, and Mayor Pro Tem Alison deKay met with State Department of Local Affairs area representative Ken Charles on different types of town government. "He recommended don't do away with the manager/ council," she said. "He had recommendations for interim managers: Mark Garcia, current interim for Silverton, and Steve Raabe, current interim manager in Canon City. He said interim managers can give an assessment of what kind of manager we want, what issues we have to address. They can be here as short or long as we need them."
All that's negotiable, Cox said.
DeKay added, "Ken Charles said not to rush the process (to find a new manager). That's why he suggested an interim." She said Garcia was previously in Pagosa Springs, and Raabe has worked in various towns in Colorado. "Ken was going to contact them and feel them out for us," deKay said.
Atencio said, "There are other forms of government. Ignacio isn't big enough" to warrant a town manager. "It shouldn't be a statutory town, because it doesn't have the population."
He said there was a time when the mayor handled day-to-day town affairs. "This town is unique - tri-ethnic, maybe more. For somebody to come in and tell us how to run this town, I don't think it should be done that way. It should be the board and the people," not with "the board as a rubber stamp" to a town manager. "We aren't that big that we we need somebody for day to day duties."
Other board members disagreed. Dixie Melton cited rules and regulations the town has to follow, and increasingg amounts of paperwork that has to be dealt with. "My plate is full already. If more is put on me, I can't continue as a town trustee," she said. "You need someone to do the day-to-day stuff," such as writing grant applications to help pay for town projects.
Atencio responded, "I'm not saying for the board to take on extra duties. I'm saying for the board to interact more with the supervisors (department heads)."
If they are asked to do more, they need to be considered for pay raises, Melton said.
Bartley said, "This town has grown past the old days. We need a manager. Society has changed."
DeKay also opposed eliminating the manager position.
Cox agreed. "The interim position would be the first thing to consider. While that person is here, we look at what we want in a town manager."
Edward Box III added, "At this point, I feel it's a crucial position. ... I want to be more professional in how we conduct business."
Town attorney David Liberman said most towns have a council-manager government, and he thinks that's the best form. "CIRSA (which insures governments in Colorado) says the board should stay out of administrative affairs," he said.
Cox said discussion will continue at the May 20 meeting.
Also on May 6, trustees appointed town planner Dan Naiman to replace San Miguel as the town representative on various area boards and commissions. They also expanded his hours from 32 hours per week to full time. He was hired last September.
San Miguel started with the town in November 2013. Rea started in summer 2012, another time when the town was dealing with administrative turnover, complicated by financial issues.
