BRIGHTON — A member of the City Council on Tuesday urged colleagues to abide by a policy of “full disclosure” in conducting the city’s business.
Councilwoman Lynn Baca’s entreaty at a study session about nearly $150,000 in city contracts being awarded to economic development consultant David Fitzgerald without the approval of the City Council.
Brighton’s code states that contracts exceeding $50,000 should go before the council before being finalized. City Manager Manuel Esquibel told The Post that Fitzgerald’s $84,000 in compensation from the city in late 2014 and early 2015 was split into two fiscal years — each of which came in below the $50,000 trigger.
Fitzgerald also earned $60,000 as a consultant for the Brighton Urban Renewal Authority — a contract that didn’t get the approval of the authority’s board.
City spokeswoman Kristen Chernosky wrote in an e-mail that BURA tries to follow the same rules as the city when it comes to contracts. But in Fitzgerald’s case, the BURA staff was unaware that the notification threshold had been reached, she said.
Fitzgerald, who resigned last month, was hired by Brighton to court private-sector partners to the city to help develop long-vacant parcels in the northern suburb.
His hiring raised eyebrows among some city leaders after it was revealed that he had run afoul of financial regulators when working as a municipal bond underwriter in California in the late 1990s. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Fitzgerald with fraud, and in 2002 he agreed to pay a fine and surrender his securities dealer license.
Baca said last week that the lack of council notification regarding Fitzgerald’s pay constituted a “breach of policy.” She didn’t address details during Tuesday’s session, saying those discussions likely would end up in executive session later in the evening.
“We need to understand that Joe Public can look over our shoulders at any time,” Baca said. “We must conduct ourselves as if they are sitting at our side.”
John Aguilar: 303-954-1695
