Tony Schiefelbein – County Undersheriff and Chief of Operations: As such, as the Chief of Operations, the county attorney and the board know that we currently are working on an executive order from the governor’s office that looks at???? The executive order does discuss the threats to public safety posed by marijuana contaminated by pesticides. This is an ongoing issue in the state of Colorado and I just want to put you on notice that currently attorney Wade Gateley is working with the sheriff’s office on this executive order because this is an executive order from the governor’s office and we do need direction. We also have county attorney Wade Gateley working on inmate healthcare options for the Elbert county jail that we have been ongoing and have been continuing our financial responsibilities that he has been working with us on. We also have an MOU that attorney Wade Gateley is working on as far as a community effort with the fire departments and the sheriff’s office. It’s an MOU to include the fire departments in an Elbert County fire investigation team. This is an MOU that is currently ongoing. So these are things I see on the agenda that are maybe some changes in attorney services that we need to continue as a county or we will be held liable and could financially cause a lot of harm to the county. Thank you.

Brandon Lenderink, Office of Emergency Management: What you see before you here today is a body of Elbert County, the foundation. You see people that work together; they corroborate, they cooperate in building that foundation. Since stepping in as director over two years ago, all I heard from within and outside the county is Elbert County, Elbert County, what a dysfunctional But, when I stepped in, what I found was I saw that foundation being built more than ever before. I saw cornerstone taking place and I saw people beginning to work together, department heads getting together, elected officials getting together. People said in the past that elected officials couldn’t even be in the same room. But now, they are in the same room. They are working together. They are working together and taking the time to work above and beyond the work hours. Outstanding work with limited staff. We are experiencing the disasters and snowstorms and things that overwhelm the public works office, the sheriff’s office, the finance office, and many people are working together and cooperating to keep this county at its best. And when I found out about the items on the agenda on Monday, I tell you I was greatly disappointed to see the beginning of breaking that foundation dramatically. And you can already tell that there are many people here today that want to keep that foundation together and so I just want to say that I personally, as the director of emergency management that I have thoroughly enjoyed working together with all these people and I want to continue thoroughly working together as a team. I want to see this county as a county standing on top and I don’t want it to fall back. If this continues in the direction that we are going in it will fall far and it will go back decades. Thank you.

Billie Mills, Assessor: Good morning commissioners. I am here this morning to …. I am disturbed that it has come to this point. The three of you have been elected from the taxpayers in Elbert County and with work and with taking off personal… there is no reason that you can’t have an effective board and I’m just sorry that that is not happening. Whatever reasons for that you guys could come together and make changes because you guys were elected to these positions and people have trust in you to do that and so I am sorry that it has come to this because and I’m not here to say that anybody needs to resign. I’m not for that. I’m for people trying to make it work and trying to make changes because everybody can try and make changes to work together. But the money that is being spent in this county for lawsuits is inexcusable. And, that has to be changed. And, to step up to the plate and do what’s right. Because there is no reason that all these lawsuits have to be in place and I’m sorry that they are there because this community deserves better to get the leadership that is on top and as elected officials I think we can all work together. But, some changes have to be made. It was brought to my attention this morning that the public is under the impression and it’s probably not everybody here, but there is rumors going around that Ed tried to cut my budget in the assessor’s office and that is not the case. So, I just want to have that out there. Two line items were taken out of my budget to go to IT. And so, it was a carry over to another department for her to pay those bills which is going for another department. I am very disappointed that we cannot… I desperately need extra help in the assessor’s office. I need more appraisers to do the job that we need to do and with the excess money that is being spent we are told there is nobody being hired and that is very disturbing news. There is no raises for the people that are working hard and it’s very disheartening for the employees. But, like I said. Why can’t we get along? There’s no reason. It’s different personalities. But I think things need to be looked at. Different tactics to take a look at. You guys were elected to be the commissioners and I… But I think it could be a great team if you were willing to be team players and do that and to get along. Everybody is not happy for… and that’s part of your position but you still have to make this county run and do what’s right. So, thank you.

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Lt. Michelle Mattive, Sheriff’s Office: The recording here is almost incomphrehensible. Some of what I was able to distinguish…. I wish I had the optimism that there would be positive change with the commissioners but things have changed for the worse, I guess. I started in ’91 long before you guys took office. I thought back then the commissioners were weak at best, but now in 2015, twenty years later, you, as a board of county commissioners are an embarrassment and a discouragement to the employees that you claim to want to protect. I support two divisions that put themselves out there daily with limited resources and undue risk to their lives. Wade Gateley is always available, professional and has a great outcome for the county, more than a large Denver firm that has no personal interest in what’s best for the county. We can walk across the street and have him available, even by phone when he is not personally available. That beats a phone call to Denver any day. He’s also very concerned with things that involve us ….. so that we don’t get sued. He’s always there. He’s always given us good advice and we’ve never been sued because of it. He’s also concerned with community concerns. Ed and him has spent many hours in his off time with myself and many others in an attempt to grow Elbert County into a great place to work, with support for the employees, but also how that affects our families. Elbert County will suffer greatly if Wade Gateley and Ed Ehmann are not part of the team You can work with questionable management throughout the county for a high wage or a low wage with great management and I think everyone currently here can testify what we do.

Sgt. Patrick Cillo, EC Sheriff’s Office: I just want to go on record that a letter of no confidence is being passed currently to the employees of Elbert County to include everyone in this room and all the people who are out working to clear the snow and help with emergency problems in the county. Commissioners Larry Ross and Kelly Dore, due to your poor working environment that you both have created, your lack of leadership and inability to make sound decisions have negatively impacted this community and have negatively affected the county employees of this county.

Jennifer Grote, IT Director: I’d like to take a minute to highlight the outstanding progress we have made in Elbert County here in the last two years. Before I came to Elbert County in 2012, I had professional training and previous experience working with and serving the county as a telecommunications employer and a security….recording unintelligible…

At that time I knew Elbert County to be an entity struggling to support the services with professionalism and integrity but held back by bitter politics, personal agendas, and a lack of direction and leadership. I saw working for Elbert County as a significant risk to the progress of my career. I took a chance and since then I have witnessed this county blossom and grow into something its citizens and staff can be proud of. This dramatic change is a direct result of decisions made by members of this and of previous boards in the selection of two outstanding professionals to lead staff and to provide the county with organizational leadership and strong voting skills. I’m not a public speaker, I’m terrified, so I apologize. Wade Gateley and Ed Ehmann have patiently and seemingly tirelessly led with integrity and professionalism, to bring about a dramatic change. Wade and Ed have built a team of professionals that have created a legacy of achievements that this board should be proud of. Listed among those achievements are a balanced budget, a consistent and timely audit that meets statutory requirements, and pre-payment schedules that do not cease three to four months each year due to budget deficiencies the elimination of favoritism and cronyism in current hiring and the addition of professional standards, policies and procedures for conducting county business. I would like to take this time to personally thank the members of this board and the previous board for their foresight in the selection and hiring of two outstanding and inspiring individuals and professional leaders.

Teresa Crowner, Executive Assistant to County Sheriff’s Office: I think one thing that we might all be forgetting is three or four years ago we had an outside legal firm for Elbert County. It didn’t work. When I was hired in 2008, a ?? citizen of Elbert County, loved this county and had the opportunity to come and work for the sheriff’s office. I had worked in a civil department. We had no civil attorney for help. It was the biggest thing that my counterparts in Denver and Boulder said we needed. If we needed somebody, we could walk across the street and get that legal advice from. A couple of years ago, I was appointed as the executive assistant at the sheriff’s office in charge of the budget. Until Ed took over as county manager, never have we had a cohesive finance department where we all work together. Johanna, Kyrei and I always match; we know where we stand. And that’s because of great leadership we’ve had in Ed and the great cohesiveness that they have all brought between all of the department heads down to the employees. To remove Wade and even Ed from these positions would be a huge detriment to the county. Thank you.