Jason Batchelor
Aurora city manager rebukes protester demands to fire Police Chief Chamberlain
AURORA | A group of community activists dominated Monday’s City Council meeting for nearly five hours, mostly demanding the firing of the city’s police chief — and then continued in the city hall lobby until almost 3 a.m. Tuesday. After listening to hours of testimony, City Manager Jason Batchelor told the group that while their […]
Activists schedule Oct. 12 sit-in to pressure Aurora to fire the city’s police chief
AURORA | A group of community activists are calling on the city to fire its police chief with a sit-in planned for the Oct. 12 city council meeting. The Epitome of Black Excellence, a community organization that includes many family members of Black men who were killed by Aurora police, said in a press release […]
Arapahoe County leaders tour data centers amid community pushback, regulations
AURORA | Amid community backlash against data centers, a group of elected officials from Arapahoe County and nearby municipalities participated in a tour of local data centers in an effort to get more information about the controversial projects. On Friday, about 40 officials, municipal staff and representatives from Xcel Energy and Core Electric boarded a […]
Aurora recruiting its first police, fire ‘accountability’ monitor
AURORA | The city is starting to recruit its first public safety accountability monitor to establish a new office meant to be a watchdog over police, fire, 911 and detention. The job application for the manager of the recently created Office of Public Safety Accountability will open on Aug. 24. The city is working with […]
Aurora plans $1.9 million accessibility update for City Council chambers
AURORA | Plans are underway for a $1.9 million accessibility update for the city council chambers to bring the space in line with federal standards. Earlier this year, the city identified a number of accessibility issues with the council chambers not meeting the standards defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and, in July, brought […]
Aurora plans $1.9 million accessibility update for City Council chambers
AURORA | Plans are underway for a $1.9 million accessibility update for the city council chambers to bring the space in line with federal standards. Earlier this year, the city identified a number of accessibility issues with the council chambers not meeting the standards defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and, in July, brought […]
EDITORIAL: If Aurora doesn’t like its residency rule, change it. But stop the pretending
Aurora has a problem it needs to solve, rather than ignore, no matter how banal and awkward it’s become. The problem is that the city’s charter, which is akin to the nation’s constitution, says explicitly that the city manager has to live in Aurora, but he doesn’t. Making this all the more awkward, knowing that […]
Aurora city manager’s residency questioned amid loophole concerns
AURORA | When it comes to the city’s residency requirement for the city manager, some residents and staff are questioning whether renting an apartment while owning a house outside of the city is enough to claim Aurora as home. Similar to residency requirements for elected officials, Aurora requires its city manager to reside within the […]
Aurora closer to creating internal police, fire oversight office in wake of consent decree
AURORA | City council on Monday unanimously approved the creation of an Office of Public Safety Accountability, a permanent monitoring office to oversee police, fire, 911 and detention. The office’s duties will include investigating critical public safety incidents that result in serious injury or death, as well as ongoing reviews of public safety operations. It […]
Aurora moves to create ‘independent’ police oversight office amid state reform mandate
AURORA | After four years under a state mandated consent decree overseeing policy and training changes in Aurora’s public safety departments, the city is moving forward with creating its own permanent monitoring office to ensure accountability continues. City Manager Jason Batchelor presented a proposed ordinance to create the Office of Public Safety Accountability to city […]