March 5, 2021
Tempers flared as Brighton City Council members argued over the departure of the city attorney.
Last month, City Attorney Paul Burns tendered his resignation. During City Councilâs online meeting, Thursday, Councilmember Jim Bohn brought up questions about the resignation and why his request for a closed session to discuss it was ignored. Bohn said he was thinking about the February 16th letter and that it struck him awfully hard with being an abrupt resignation. He said he did some investigating and found out the day before Burnsâ resignation, there was a meeting with City Manager Nate Geinzer, Burns, and another lawyer who worked for Burns. Bohn said he learned there was an argument that escalated into a profanity and obscenity-filled shouting match, leading to the associate quitting and Burns resigning. Bohn said the argument involved a situation where the City manager was in disagreement with the legal advice being given by Burnsâ
February 22, 2021
A search is underway for a new attorney to represent the City of Brighton.
City Council met virtually last Thursday and it was relayed that a letter had been received from longtime City Attorney Paul Burns announcing he would be stepping aside. Heâs retiring after representing the City for roughly four decades. Burns told Council his contract has a 30-day clause but he wants to make sure the City is taken care of. Members said they were disappointed to see Burns leave but wished him well in retirement, saying his custodial knowledge of City is priceless.
There was some debate amongst Council as to whether or not staff should be involved in the search process. The majority commented they felt the selection needed to be council-driven as the position reports to council, and that staff should not be involved in any vetting process or provide any recommendation. Councilman Jim Muzzin said he thought otherwise and that staff needed to b