Dear Editor,

Say what? An across-the-board wage, salary and expenditures freeze at the city, but attorney Karl Hanlon gets a $20,000 raise and a car allowance? A car allowance? That’s a new one.

An “emergency” item voted on at a meeting without discussion or comment. Not listening is one thing, but not talking now, too. And the employment contract was mysteriously missing from the candidates’ packets.

Are these folks getting ready to run for Congress, or what?

City Council has a recent, unfortunate habit of hiring marginal counsel, grossly overpaying them and then adding insult to injury by constantly paying huge outside counsel fees because the city attorney is not capable of handling a particular matter ” almost whatever it is. And it appears they have done it again, but now they’ve added the “in your face” nuance for the benefit of city employees and citizens. Nice touch. What a class act this maneuver was. Good thing some are leaving. Four gone sounds good to me.

And why would you hand out a mind-boggling raise and bennies to someone after only six months on the job? And whose budget was over the top before the raise? A paralegal, a receptionist and even another attorney to prosecute his cases in municipal court! I guess it takes a lot of time to lobby the Council for a raise!

I fear we’ve been slipped another “Mickey,” folks.

Thanks for listening.

Bob Richardson

Glenwood Springs