Public Complaints Spark Guidance from La Junta City Attorney

Anne Boswell Taylor
14 minutes ago
2 min read

Fairly new to working with the city of La Junta, attorney Clay Buchner earned his paycheck at Monday night's city council meeting.

Joining the meeting by phone, Buchner gave advice on four complaints on the agenda.

First, a complaint on City Manager Michael Hart's application for a job in another state and that the city didn't disclose it to the public.

Buchner explained that no action would be advised as it is state law to keep applicants information private to protect them. It was a law in Colorado that was born of legislation, House Bill 21-1051 according to Buchner.

Secondly, Buchner addressed a complaint concerning a romantic relationship between the former city attorney and the city manager. Buchner said it was a conflict of interest and normally one of the parties would resign which had already happened. Because of that, he advised that no action was needed on the complaint.

Third, the exclusion of council members. Buchner said it was a third party complaint that council member Maureen Rikhof was left out of public meetings/communication with other council members.

While no action was taken due to the nature of the complaint being from a third party, Buchner told council that all council members must be included when discussing city business. He mentioned later that even a conversation between two members of council would be subject to require public notice of a meeting. This is to be compliant with Colorado's Sunshine Law.

Rikhof was given a chance to make a comment and gave the following statement and question.

She started by saying she was appreciative of the fact that council acknowledged that they are professionals and if there's a complaint, it can be handed.

"I did speak up and I brought it up at a city council meeting and I guess I'm just curious if anybody else has a problem knowing that communications happens and I am excluded from those conversations, if that's okay with council going forward."

There was silence following her question to the council.

The last two complaints the city sought legal advice on was Mayor Joe Ayala's involvement in the March 2026 incident along with City Manager Michael Harts. it was stated as

Mayor's Involvement in March 2026 Incident
City Manager's Involvement in March 2026 Incident as stated just as so on the city's agenda for the meeting.

Attorney Buchner stated he investigated the incident concerning fireworks with the La Junta Police Department and saw no reason to suggest action on either complaint.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend the city's public meetings and are offered a chance to speak out during a public comment section.

Meeting minutes and agendas are posted on the city's website, listed in the link of relevant links to this story you will find below.

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~CNYW staff