ASPEN, Colo.—Elected officials have approved an exception to city housing policy to give the city public works director and his wife housing for life.
Attorney Steve Zansberg, a consultant for the Colorado Press Association on open records and meetings law, said Friday that the City Council may have violated state open meetings law in making the decision behind closed doors, in an executive session.
Under an agreement signed May 8, Phil Overeynder must work full time for the city for the next five years and then part time for five years after which he can retire in a city-owned house where he has lived since 1995.
If Overeynder, 59, dies before his wife, she will be able to live in the house for the rest of her life.
The agreement is an exception to city policy that says employees in city-owned housing must vacate within six months of resigning.
City Manager Steve Barwick said the lifetime housing was offered after Overeynder attempted to resign last month to take a similar position in Ukiah, Calif.
“After hearing Phil’s announcement that he was leaving the city, I asked him what I could do to make him change his mind, and he said he was leaving because of the lack of an appropriate place to live upon retirement,” Barwick said.
“It was a simple business decision,” Barwick added. “The upside of having Phil for 10 years far outweighs the cost of dedicating housing to him.”
Overeynder and his wife, Deborah, pay $1,540 a month to live in the city-owned house on the Marolt Open Space. Overeynder, who has worked for the city for 15 years, makes about $110,000 a year.
Overeynder said his offer in Ukiah would have paid him 20 percent more and offered better retirement benefits than in Aspen.
Barwick and City Attorney John Worcester said the City Council was justified in making a policy change for Overeynder in executive session.
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Information from: The Aspen Times
