Through an open-record request to the Town of Monument, it was discovered that the town illegally engaged in electioneering with taxpayer dollars to promote passing the Town Charter. Fearing if voters found out about this illegal activity, they might potentially lose, the town manager and most on the Charter commission hid the illegal activity from the voters until after the election. Some engaged in this illegal activity are now, as of January 2023, your Monument Council.
The outgoing trustees called for a legitimate investigation into how and why taxpayer dollars were used illegally, but these newly elected corrupt politicians didn’t want you to know the results. They went to great lengths to try sabotaging the investigation, and the reporting of its findings. The town attorney wrote a laughable “report” to try to justify what was discovered. Thinking you can simply vote to bury a report and its evidence of corruption in order to “go away” is something the Mafia does.
On top of illegal electioneering, and only under pressure of an open records request, you, the taxpayers, are going to pick up the tab for the mayor’s personal attorney fees over $21,000. The personal attorney was hired to protect the mayor during the electioneering investigation, which uncovered, among other things, an inappropriate sexual comment made by the mayor toward another trustee.
The taxpayers should never be paying for an elected official’s legal counsel for inappropriate behavior. Shouldn’t our tax dollars be put toward better use, such as fixing the numerous potholes between LPHS and YMCA that would benefit our citizens? Lack of transparency and excusing bad behavior by this Town Council is not in the best interest of Monument citizens. Not now, not ever.
Amy Stephens
Other Letters to Our Community
- Letters to Our Community – Thanks to OCN for its support (2/1/2025)
- Letters to Our Community – Wildfire call to action (2/1/2025)
- Letters to Our Community – Another hidden cost of excessive development (1/23/2025)
- Letters to Our Community – Opposed to proposed Buc-ee’s (12/5/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Lodging tax issue rebuttal (12/5/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Tax, spend, and tax some more (11/2/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Vote no on Prop. 127 (11/2/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Back to school (9/7/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Freedom of speech (8/3/2024)
- Letters to Our Community – Remembering and honoring those who fought for our freedoms (7/6/2024)