Council president: benefits for same-sex partners will ‘eventually’ pass

An ordinance that would establish equal benefits for the City of Pueblo’s gay and lesbian employees and their partners will become law sooner, rather than later, the city’s council president said Tuesday.

Despite his personal beliefs and public opposition, council president Chris Kaufman told Out Front during a telephone interview Tuesday, he believes the policy that died Monday night will eventually pass.

“While I believe the state has already spoken on the issues of family values, I understand where the country is going. I think in the right time … in the grand scheme of things, I think this will eventually pass,” he said.

The southern Colorado LGBT and allied community were stunned after the council removed from its Monday night agenda public discussion and a final vote on the proposed policy. Organizers from the Colorado Progressive Coalition and the Pueblo = Equality campaign said they were prepared to celebrate.

The policy, as proposed, would not extend marriage rights to city employees, but rather benefits like health insurance, maternity leave and sick time to take care of family members. The state of Colorado and cities across the state, like Westminster and Arvada, have similar policies.

Enough votes had been pledged, organizers said. Only one member of the council, Kaufman, had publicly voiced opposition. But new fiscal information about the ordinance provided to the council before the meeting triggered one member to question whether the city was moving too fast.

So, during the approval of the agenda councilman Chris Nicoll motioned for the ordinance’s second reading and public testimony to be tabled indefinitely.

“Given our budget situation, I don’t think we should be incurring more costs,” Nicoll told The Pueblo Chieftain.

The motion carried 5-1. Voting in favor was one of the policy’s sponsor, Stacy Daff, and a candidate for Colorado’s General Assembly, Leroy Garcia.

Garcia is running as a Democrat.

Supporters of the ordinance considered it a slap in the face.

“The only opposition in the room was at the council table,” supporter Dawn DiPrince said.

To make matters worse for supporters, council members Out Front spoke with, including Daff, said they weren’t sure how the break down happened.

“I was concerned the voted might not be there,” Daff said. “But we collectively decided to go ahead.”

The ordinances other co-sponsor, Steve Nawrocki, was out of town for Monday’s meeting.

Both Daff and Kaufman expressed empathy for supporters who packed the council chambers and wanted to testify in support of the ordinance.

“The real travesty is that they didn’t get to have their voices heard,” Daff said.

Kaufman said he’s tried to respond to as many of his constituents as possible, even the ones leaving him “hateful messages.”

“This threw everyone off guard,” he said. “I understand their frustrations. I’m not going to be supportive of this, but if this community will be patient, it will be positive.”

If the policy is re-introduced and approved by the council, it will cost the city between $54,000 and $58,000. That figure is less than the 1 percent national average municipalities spend on providing benefits to gay and lesbian employees in committed relationships, human resources director Marisa Walker previously told council.

The council previously cut more than $500,000 from its budget, Kaufman said. And the city will need to cut another $5 million from its budget next year to balance the books. Additional layoffs are possible on top of the 70 positions council has already frozen.

The city’s total budget is about $77 million.

Supporters of the policy are planning to meet Thursday night at the city’s main library to discuss there next steps.