About the PPLD Joint Appointment Committee
The Joint Appointment Committee: how it was set up and our recommendations for revision
By COS Reads
What is the Joint Appointment Committee (JAC)?
The Joint Appointment Committee (JAC) for the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is a special body of four members -- two from the El Paso County Commissioners and two from the Colorado Springs City Council -- tasked with selecting and recommending new members for the PPLD Board of Trustees, ensuring leadership for the public library system in El Paso County, Colorado. *
How was the JAC set up to operate?
Below is the Colorado Library Law that governs the process for nominating and approving new trustees to library boards. Some notes explain how the library law applies to PPLD and other Colorado library districts. (Note: Our comments below are in blue.)
Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24. Government State § 24-90-108. Board of trustees of public libraries https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-24-government-state/co-rev-st-sect-24-90-108/
Current as of January 01, 2022 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(1) The management and control of any library established, operated, or maintained under the provisions of this part 1 shall be vested in a board of not fewer than five nor more than seven trustees. Appointees to the library board of trustees shall be chosen from the residents within the legal service area of the library. (General rule that allows CO library districts follow)
(2)(a) In cities and towns, the trustees shall be appointed by the mayor with the consent of the legislative body. (Denver follows this statute.)
(b) In counties, the trustees shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners. (The majority of CO library districts rely on county commissioners to nominate and approve trustees. Some examples include: Garfield County Library District, Mesa River County Library District, Douglas County Library District, Poudre River Valley Library District, Jefferson County, and Rangeview Library District.)
(c) In a library district established by only one governmental unit, the legislative body of the governmental unit shall decide the number of its members to be appointed to the committee formed to appoint the initial board of trustees in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph (c). In a library district established by more than one governmental unit, the legislative body of each participating governmental unit shall appoint two of its members to a committee that shall appoint the initial board of trustees. Thereafter, any such legislative body or bodies may either continue such a committee or delegate to the board of trustees of the library district the authority to recommend new trustees. Trustee appointments shall be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the legislative body; except that the failure of a legislative body to act within sixty days upon a recommendation shall be considered a ratification of such appointment. (PPLD relies on more than one governmental unit. Therefore, the Colorado Springs City Council and the Board of County Commissioners help nominate applicants for approval as trustees by the majority of both the City Council and the County Commissioners. From the Colorado Springs City Council, Nancy Henjum and Lynette Crow-Iverson serve on the JAC. From the Board of County Commissioners, Carrie Geitner and Lauren Nelson serve on the JAC. Together, these are the four local government leaders who interview and bring a trustee nomination forward to the majority of City Council and County Commissioners.)
(d) In school districts, the trustees shall be appointed by the school board. (High Plains Library District and Arapahoe Library District have school board involvement when interviewing and nominating applicants for trustee positions.)
(e) For joint libraries, the trustees shall be appointed by the legislative bodies of the participating governmental units unless otherwise specified in the contract.
(3)(a) The first appointments of such boards of trustees shall be for terms of one, two, three, four, and five years respectively if there are five trustees, one for each of such terms except the five-year term for which two shall be appointed if there are six trustees, and one for each of such terms except the four-year and five-year terms for each of which two shall be appointed if there are seven trustees. Thereafter, a trustee shall be appointed for the length of term specified by the legislative body or, in the case of a library district, by the bylaws adopted by its board of trustees. The number of terms a trustee may serve shall be specified by the legislative body or, in the case of a library district, by the bylaws adopted by its board of trustees.
(b) Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term as soon as possible in the manner in which trustees are regularly chosen.
(4) A trustee shall not receive a salary nor other compensation for services as a trustee, but necessary traveling and subsistence expenses actually incurred may be paid from the public library fund.
(5) A library trustee may be removed only by a majority vote of the appointing legislative body or bodies, but only upon a showing of good cause as defined in, but not limited to, the bylaws adopted by the board.
(6) The board of trustees, immediately after their appointment, shall meet and organize by the election of a president and a secretary and such other officers as deemed necessary.
We cannot escape the need to have these initial four committee members, but what about adding more?
Why we think our Joint Appointment Committee needs revision
[Please follow this link] to the 20-minute video of the last Joint Appointment (JAC) Meeting. Note: The paragraphs below include timestamps.
With just four members, the JAC does not seem to bring many alternative viewpoints or diverse perspectives to the process of considering the qualities needed in library trustees.
Carrie Geitner has made it clear that this is a political appointment (see 6:16), which is problematic to some. Libraries exist to serve the entire community. To do that well, a library district must remain above politics and operate in an apolitical manner.
We have twice now ended up with a coincidental situation where three out of four members have “independently” chosen the same person as their top choice, even though they do not have the strongest qualifications in finance, leadership, or library knowledge. They are Carrie Geitner (president of the JAC), Lauren Nelson, and Lynette Crow-Iverson (note that Lauren said, “WE met with him….” (see 3:00) and watch Lynette’s reaction when Nancy said that they’d all interviewed Austin: (see 13:09).
While a prepared statement about the strengths of that applicant was read, little discussion followed, and the other applicants were rarely mentioned. Nancy Henjum has continued to raise the need for a more coordinated effort, including a process and a rubric, to objectively choose the best-qualified applicant (see in particular 15:57). At the same time, Carrie Geitner, backed by Lynette Crow-Iverson and Lauren Nelson, has shut down any discussion of process or rubric.
In other districts, applicants are interviewed by all members of the appointment committee in attendance, so everyone hears the same answers. Please follow the link to see how interviews for the Garfield County Public Library are chosen: https://www.protectgarcolibraries.org/events. During the public interviews, citizens are even allowed to make public comments. Lynette and Carrie have raised how awkward and unfair it would be for the applicant to be interviewed in front of all of them and the public (see 16:29). A Board of Trustees should be able to speak in front of the public. The interview would be an opportunity to see how they present themselves publicly.
Our Joint Appointment Committee members have also added to the problem: Lynette Crow-Iverson has said that she doesn’t have the time to interview more than the few she does, due to her busy schedule (see 18:18). This raises the question of whether she might have taken on too many committees and should possibly let this one go. In January, she promised to pass along this committee to Dave Donelson if he’d vote for her to become president of the City Council. He voted for her, yet she still has not handed over this position to him after almost a year has passed. This is common knowledge among the City Council.
The JAC requested that the current PPLD Board of Trustees relay to them which qualities/skills/experience they would find helpful to have in their newest Trustee. The PPLD Trustees conducted a self-survey and shared the results with the committee members. The Trustees’ survey showed a need/request for experience in real estate and accounting, and there were candidates who more closely matched those qualifications. It appears that the committee is not utilizing the guidance it requested from the Trustees (see 4:20).
Austin Jurgensmeyer has been honest. In his application, he let everyone know that he googled “TABOR” to answer that question. He has a lot to learn and is willing to do it. But listen to what Carrie Geitner says about this (see 12:00). One applicant had 30 years of experience with TABOR as it applies to our library and was known statewide as an expert on the subject. He was not mentioned at the JAC meeting.
