Jason Batchelor
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 […]
Tariffs, Iran War, AI and more leads to Aurora’s $20 million budget hole, officials say
AURORA | The city is facing a more than $20 million budget shortfall for 2027 due to declining revenues and increasing costs. Greg Hays, Aurora’s budget manager, told city council at a May 9 workshop that economic projections so far indicate the city will have a budget hole in excess of $20 million next year […]