Aurora lawmakers dissolve city race-relations commission, sparking debate

AURORA | After weeks of talk about dissolving a host of long-standing citizen boards and committees in an effort to save staff time and taxpayer dollars, only two panels were axed amid hours of comment and criticism Monday.

The Independent Review Board and the Human Relations Commission were the only two advisory groups eliminated by the city council — so far — to save staff time, administration costs and redundancy.

“Even if the Human Relations Commission (HRC) is no longer active, many of you have my contact information, and I encourage you to reach out anytime,” Amy Wiles, HRC chairperson and Ward II city council candidate, said at the meeting. “I will continue to connect you with the resources we have in place and ensure you are supported and your needs are addressed.”

Several other advisory boards faced elimination or consolidation during Monday’s meeting. The Veterans Affairs Commission will now meet quarterly, and the city’s Parks and Recreation, Open Space, and Golf Course Advisory boards are scheduled to be consolidated into a single Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board. The city’s arts and cultural boards, including the Aurora Fox Arts Center Board, were also targeted to merge into a single Cultural Services Commission.

The Youth Commission narrowly avoided elimination after a rare occasion where Councilmember Ruben Medina said why he strongly opposed the elimination of the Youth Commission.

“I’m certainly opposed to this, because of a lot of reasons,” Medina said. “Again, the youth are going to be silenced. The issues that we have with youth currently in our community are going to be even more exacerbated. I think, because we’re telling them we really don’t care about you.”

The plan proposed by Councilmember Françoise Bergan was to dissolve the Youth Commission and allow young people to serve on other boards to learn from the adult members. Medina said that this would silence their voices and diminish participation more because most meetings occur during school hours or after-school activities, which would make their participation challenging.

He also added that competing with adult voices would likely silence them more than encourage them to voice their opinions strongly. 

Bergan decided to withdraw the proposed ordinance change after hearing Medina’s concerns and said her intention was to engage the youth, and not exclude them.  

This caused all of the other proposed changes addressing the remaining boards and commissions to be postponed because they included the elimination of the Youth Commission.

While city officials said many of the cuts were linked to budget shortfalls, with the city facing a $6 million budget deficit next year, the decision to dissolve the HRC drew criticism from members who said the commission costs little and plays a vital community role.

The HRC was founded decades ago to combat racism and prejudice and advise the city on civil rights issues. 

The commission has supported a wide range of events and initiatives, including the Community Reading Event, drives for unhoused veterans, Know Your Rights workshops, Holocaust Remembrance, Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations and the Aurora Police Department’s Blue Backpack Initiative, Wiles said.

The group also volunteers for the National Night Out, Aurora Pride, Santa in the Park, summer and winter events with Iron Sharp, a community foundation that helps community members in need, along with additional outreach programs.

The group has held pivotal roles during controversial episodes involving race relations in the city decades, including at times when police were accused of harassing Black residents during ‘gang crackdowns” in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as when allegations of racism roiled into the public arena, such as several instances of allegations of racial profiling by security officials at what is now the Town Center of Aurora Mall.

When the idea to cut boards and commissions was initially suggested by City Manager Jason Batchelor, it was because advisory groups like the Independent Review Board were unable to find participants, and it was deemed redundant and a waste of staff time. 

The HRC has never had an issue filling its board seats; if anything, in the last year, its appointees have been held from being put in the city council agenda packet for city council to approve for months at a time, according to members.

Another reason given for why advisory groups like the HRC were named was to save funding through the budget and administrative costs. The HRC only receives a budget of $9,000 annually, according to Wiles, and they require a maximum of two hours of staff time a month. 

“I recognize that no words heard today will change some council person’s decisions, and I understand that despite the fact that council receives yearly presentations with data, photos and a compelling case for the work the commission does within the community, personal feelings often Trump data and facts,” Wiles said. “I also understand how influence works. When one dominant voice leads, others on this council tend to follow.”

Councilmember Alison Coombs asked Batchelor how complaints and discussions about discrimination that would have been taken to the HRC would be handled if the commission were dissolved. She asked whether residents would still have an avenue to report such issues and whether the city would continue providing education and outreach on discrimination prevention.

Batchelor said that complaints could be directed to county and state racism and human relations commissions, and if directed by city council, the city’s communications team could work to educate the public about those resources. 

Wiles and another member of the HRC, Aaron Furtrell, both spoke during the city council meeting and suggested political motivations for the decision. Futrell said he previously posted criticism of some city council members on a personal social media account four years ago, which he said might be influencing the council’s decision to dissolve the HRC. 

“I commented that two council members seemed out of touch for calling the Aurora Mall, the Town Center of Aurora,” Futrell said about the April 2022 Facebook post, referring to council members Steve Sundberg and Danielle Jurinsky. In the missive, Futrell criticizes the two city lawmakers for badmouthing Aurora as being riddled with crime and at the same time, drawing attention to an extensively rehabilitated mall, which had been the scene of a shooting near the time of the post.

Sundberg and Jurinsky have both alluded to these statements in previous study sessions, with Sundberg saying he thought the criticism was unprofessional given Futrell’s position on the commission.

Wiles told the Sentinel that Jurinsky asked her to quiet Futrell over the social media post, and instead, Futrell stepped down from his position on the HRC, but his post remains on his social media. 

“I respectfully urge you not to let one individual who sent that post determine the future of a commission that continues to serve Aurora with heart and purpose,” Futrell said.

Both Futrell and Wiles are Democrats running for council seats against Republican incumbents Steve Sundberg and Danielle Jurinsky. Futrell has since withdrawn to avoid splitting the vote among other democratic candidates in his ward.

“Dissolving it could send the wrong message that Aurora is moving away from its commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity,” Futrell said. “I know that isn’t true for many of you.”

Wiles agreed.

“Through my role in the commission, I’ve witnessed the power of partnership,” Wiles said.  “We’ve collaborated with nonprofits, shared vital messages and extended services to our neighbors.”

Mayor Mike Coffman, a former HRC member, asked whether the group could continue informally under his leadership, as well as funding from his mayoral expense account.

“Is it possible that I could continue them on an informal basis, where there would be no new appointments on it?” Coffman said. “It would just be basically an advisory to the mayor, and I would meet with them once a month, and any council members who wanted to join me on the Human Relations Commission and the Veterans Commission. I would fund it, if possible, and with unexpended travel funds.”

The elimination of the Human Relations Commission was approved on first reading with six council members in favor, including council members Jurinsky, Sundberg, Bergan, Amsalu Kassaw, Stephanie Hancock and Curtis Gardner.

“I want to remind the community that while the HRC may not always exist, if you feel your voice has been silenced or your needs not met, whether through ignored emails, refusal to meet or public dismissals, I encourage you to ask community has a powerful voice, use it November and vote them out,” Wiles said. 

Other board and commissions considered for consolidation or dissolution include: The Veterans’ Affairs Commission was changed from monthly to quarterly, Parks and Recreation, Open Space and Golf Course Advisory are scheduled to be consolidated into a Single Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board, and the city’s arts and cultural boards, including the Aurora Fox Arts Center Board, were also targeted to merge into a single Cultural Services Commission.

The Business Advisory Board had a small adjustment to change it so that appointees to the board would serve terms concurrent with the appointing council member, rather than fixed three-year terms. 

Now that the Youth Commission is no longer going to be eliminated, the amendments to all of the other boards and commissions are no longer required. Aurora has 30 boards and commissions, including the ones that are scheduled to be consolidated and eliminated.