Council to examine work of top officials

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003 | 9:30 a.m.

The Boulder City Council is scheduled to meet Monday for closed-door meetings to evaluate the city clerk and the city attorney.

City officials said the evaluations are routine job reviews and are not being held because of the recent arrest of City Attorney Dave Olsen on drunken driving charges.

"I don't think anyone's of a mind to fire anyone," Councilwoman Andrea Anderson said. Anderson also said she doesn't expect Olsen's legal problems will be brought up during the Monday meeting.

"I look at it as a personal issue," Anderson said. "It was with a private vehicle and on personal time."

About 1 a.m. on Sept. 14, Olsen was arrested by Boulder City police and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, and cited for failure to maintain travel lane and operating a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement, which means he had not taken a driving and written test to drive a motorcycle.

Olsen has said although he was drinking prior to being pulled over, he wasn't legally drunk. The results of two Breathalyzer tests Olsen did when he was arrested have not been released.

"Unfortunately so many people associate these reviews with a movement to get rid of somebody but that is not the case," Olsen said. "This is not motivated by my pending issues with the court."

Olsen and City Clerk Vicki Mayes were last given formal evaluations by the council more than two years ago. Their coming evaluations comes after closed-door meetings with City Manager John Sullard over his job performance. Anderson said Sullard's reviews reminded them the council it was probably time to give the clerk and attorney a job review.

Sullard's job review was prompted by Mayor Bob Ferraro's call for Sullard's resignation in May. Sullard never offered to resign and the council never voted on firing him, but since then the council and Sullard have met twice behind closed doors, and a third meeting is scheduled for February.

Ferraro said he expects the evaluations of Olsen and Mayes will only take one meeting.

Sullard has faced substantial criticism, especially from Ferraro, over reported financial shortfalls at the city-owned Boulder Creek Golf Club.

Mayes is paid $96,278 a year, and Olsen's annual salary is $105,287. They both receive a car allowance of $350 a month.