Thornton’s long-discussed City Council Code of Conduct is back on the shelf

A hotly debated proposal to impose a code of conduct on Thornton City Council members remains just a talking point.

The council declined Tuesday to adopt an ordinance that would have set firm rules for how council members interact with each other, the public and the media. In the event of a tie of 4 to 4, the proposed code of conduct will be put on hold.

Kathy Henson, a code of conduct advocate, resigned her City Council seat on Nov. 27 after winning the Adams County Commissioner position in the November election. Because she is a strong supporter of the code, her absence Tuesday night likely allowed for a tie vote.

Mayor Jan Kulmann said council members had been working on a code for years, but this latest attempt failed because it was “weaponized.”

Kulman and Councilwoman Jessica Sandgren said that under the proposed code, only a simple majority of council members could censure another council member for violating the code.

Kulmann and Sandgren both wanted a two-thirds majority of the council to censure a council member. Along with Kulmann and Sandgren, council members Tony Unrein and David Acunto voted against the code.

hostility

Mayor Pro Tem Karen Bigelow said the city’s other boards and commissions are subject to a code of conduct and the City Council should do the same.

The proposed code has stoked hostility among council members in recent months and even provoked profanity between council representatives. But Tuesday’s vote passed without rancor.

The proposed code would have required council members to agree to a commitment to uphold the City of Thornton’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, to put the public interest first, to conduct themselves in a manner that brings credit to the city, and with integrity and Impartiality and transparency.

The code also required that council members “exercise courtesy, professionalism and decorum in discussions and debates” and honor the chair’s role in maintaining order.

Council members should also avoid personal comments.

“In addition, the discussion must not attack or suggest the motives of other members. “No inflammatory language should be used, including spoken word or audio or visual material, and a member may not criticize previous action by the group,” it said in the proposed code.

Council members must also treat employees like professionals, limit contact to specific employees and not seek political support from employees, the draft code says.

Members of the public speaking to the council should be welcomed and councilors must “treat them with care and gentleness”.

A majority of the council agreed Tuesday to allow public speakers to address the council for longer than three minutes under certain circumstances. The additional time for speakers may be to “address unique or exceptional circumstances.” “Any request for an extension of speaking time must not be contestable,” the regulation states.

Kulmann and Sandgren voted against the ordinance, saying traditional Roberts rules of order already allow the council to give additional time to a speaker.

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