Paul Capo was selected as the EVFPD fire chief according to a confidential email sent out to members of the fire district on Thursday afternoon. Credit: Patti Brown / Estes Valley Voice

Paul Capo has been selected by the Estes Valley Fire Protection District chief according to an email that was sent by board chair Ryan Bross to members of the fire district at 5:04 p.m. on Thursday. The email was marked “confidential.”

The EPFPD board met in executive session on Wednesday. It did not take a vote in a public meeting on its decision to hire Capo who has been serving as the interim chief since Rick Lasky resigned earlier this summer.

5 replies on “Paul Capo chosen as new fire chief according to confidential email”

    1. The email was not sent to the Estes Valley Voice by the sender. By the time we wrote our story, the contents of the email had been shared with us by more than one source both electronically and verbally.

      Considering that the email was initially sent to 50-60 people, by the time we learned about the hiring decision, it can be expected that several hundred people had heard the information. We were under no obligation to keep the information confidential, nor were the people who received the email obligated to keep the information confidential unless they had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

      Marking something “confidential” does not, in and of itself, make it confidential.

      And it is foolhardy to think that by sending an email to 50-60 people that the news contained in that email would not be shared with spouses, domestic partners, friends, and others in the community.

      It was nearly 20 hours after the email had been sent that we saw a copy of it, and by that time, the information was anything but “confidential.”

      But significantly the information in the email was about a hiring decision by a publicly elected board accountable to the voters of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District, and it should have been shared in a press release immediately when the decision was made.

      There is a difference between someone’s private, personal “confidential” information–such as information protected by HIPPA or information that someone is having marital problems or involved in a private relationship–and information that the public has a right to know, such as the hiring of a public official whose salary will be paid for with public tax monies.

      Colorado has Sunshine Laws about the public’s right to know the public’s business — including public records and open meeting laws. The Estes Valley Fire Protection District is not a private business, it is a public institution. Its business is not “confidential.”

      As a matter of policy, if information is shared “on background” (off the record) with the Estes Valley Voice, and we agree to that before the information is shared, we will honor that agreement. We
      will not out either the source or reveal the information. We will, however, hold public officials on the record, including elected board members and people who hold public positions in government offices, because the public’s business needs to be done publicly and on the record.

      Considering the serious administration issues the EVFPD has faced during the past two years with the separation agreement the board entered into with one chief just days before a municipal election where voters were asked whether or not to approve a significant mil levy increase, and the sudden resignation of another chief after just three months on the job, it is essential that the EFVPD operate with complete transparency and accountability to the voters.

      A few years ago, The Washington Post adopted the motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.” The primary role of the media is to be a watchdog to government in order to keep government accountable to the people and to make its actions transparent. The Estes Valley community deserves its tax-payer funded institutions to operate openly, honestly, and with complete transparency.

  1. If you want to keep something confidential, email is probably not the way to go. Just ask Hillary – or Trump.

  2. It is common courtesy to give our volunteer firefighters notice of the decision for a new chief as soon as an agreement has been reached, just like it is common courtesy to notify the other candidates of the decision before it becomes public knowledge. A public announcement/press release will undoubtedly follow soon. There is nothing nefarious or uncommon in this sequence of notifications in hiring decisions.
    Please note that the Sunshine Law for open meetings makes explicit exception for discussion of personnel matters (§24-6-402(4). It is entirely correct and even necessary that the interview process is confidential; and that EVFPD Board’s decision to offer the job to Chief Capo was made in executive session. Without confidentiality the candidates would never open up during interviews, and it would be impossible for the Board to have candid discussions about the candidates.
    Our Fire Department consistently provides us with outstanding public safety and service. Our volunteers need to feel appreciated and supported if this is to continue. Contentious public discussions are very hard on their morale. Let’s help Chief Capo get off to a good start by showing public support for our firefighters, their management and their board.

  3. We went to the meeting at the fire station of the three candidates. I think that Capo was the best choice.

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