Aurora City Council members tour Anadarko Petroluem Corp.'s drilling operations Aug. 24, 2012 at Xtreme Rig 23 in Wattenberg Field. The City of Aurora received several new drilling permit applications that could bring wells closer to residential neighborhoods. Aurora cannot ban oil and gas drilling or hydraulic fracturing, but it does jointly regulate the industry with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. (Marla R. Keown/Aurora Sentinel)

AURORA | Despite Aurora council member Nicole Johnston saying altering the make up of the city’s oil and gas commission was a “small ask,” the majority of council members opposed the change.

During a final reading of the resolution on Monday, some council members said they didn’t see the need for the change. That was a sentiment that followed the proposal from a committee hearing. 

Johnston, who served on the committee before she was elected last year, suggested the committee drop from 11 members to 9 members, and that the makeup would require five residents, two industry representatives and two surface property owners. 

Only one resident on that commission would be allowed to be a present or former employee of any oil and gas industry company, receive more than 50 percent of their income from the industry or be a current or former lobbyist for the industry. 

Johnston said it would have provided more transparency and citizen input on the panel.

Councilwoman Marsha Berzins, who originally supported the change, said she couldn’t support it after looking at the makeup of other city boards. But she said if there was a proposal to simply add citizens to the board, she would support that.

Allison Hiltz, an at-large member, was critical of the opposition of the change. She said she was elected by citizens of Aurora, not oil and gas companies. Therefore, it made sense to have more citizens than oil representatives on the commission. 

She went on to highlight the $100,000 that was dropped into the November municipal election by an oil and gas PAC. 

The cash was used to primarily buy TV campaign commercials, robocalls and live calls to potential voters for at-large council candidates that included now-council member Dave Gruber.

Council members Francoise Bergan and Angela Lawson said they took offense to Hiltz’s comments, to which Hiltz said she didn’t call out anybody in particular, but if they felt offended perhaps that was a guilty conscience. 

“I have zero guilt,” Bergan said.

Members Bergan, Lawson, Gruber, Berzins, Bob LeGare and Bob Roth voted against the ordinance.