City Leaders Hope to Get “Head Boss” Pick Finalized Within Four and a Half Months
Rick Langenberg
For the first time in four-plus years, the city of Cripple Creek must pick a new full-time head boss to run its government operations.
With this pending decision comes plenty of unanswered questions, as the city faces big challenges in the economic development and infrastructure arena.
Frank Salvato, who held this post since the spring of 2022, recently stepped down to move back to Texas with his wife as part of a new retirement chapter in their lives. During his stint with the city, Salvato pursued many aggressive infrastructure funding pursuits for the city. He also played a lead role in the town’s bid to become a home rule city.
In November, citizens will decide if they want to approve a new home-rule charter and join a growing number of Colorado communities that want to free themselves from the often-restrictive state statutory setup. The city has toyed with this idea ever since gaming started in 1991.
Salvato’s last official meeting with the city occurred on June 17. Besides saying farewell to Salvato, city leaders also approved an interim administrator contract with Steven G. Rabe. Rabe specializes in working for communities as an interim boss, noting he has handled this assignment on many occasions. “I have done this 17 times,” said Rabe, when addressing the council, via Zoom, at their June 17 session.
Besides serving as the interim boss, Rabe will help the city in landing a permanent administrator, which can be a tricky process. In the last two decades, Cripple Creek has undergone at least six substantial changes in city administration.
Avoiding a Revolving Chair Syndrome
At times, this position experienced a revolving chair syndrome, with a few town bosses lasting less than a year.
What especially impressed the council was Rabe’s role in assisting Victor with this process. Through the recommendations of Rabe, Victor picked Bobby Tech, a fit that has worked well, according to most reports.
“He has the experience,” said Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Brown, when the contract with Rabe was discussed.
In many ways, leaders want to avoid previous hurdles they encountered in picking a city administrator.
When Salvato took the head administrator position, the city underwent a lengthy period when it operated without a permanent city administrator. The hiring of a permanent city boss was plagued by the COVID-19 epidemic and many economic woes for Cripple Creek, with the closure of casinos for three months.
During a nearly two-year period, Ray White, who served as the city’s first heritage tourism director and then as its full-fledged administrator, worked as Cripple Creek’s interim boss. The city selected a consulting firm to help the government with the hiring process. But even then, the hiring process was anything but a smooth ride.
As part of his role, Rabe will work at city hall for several days a week and will attend their twice-a-month council sessions, held on the first and third Wednesdays of every month.
Cripple Creek Mayor Annie Durham stated that based on Rabe’s initial estimates, the city hopes to have a new full-time administrator on board within four and a half months. But the mayor admitted this timetable is quite ambitious, and leaders want to make sure they have the right fit.
Cripple Creek sports a population base of less than 2,000 permanent residents. But due to its gaming and tourism base, it often faces the challenges of a city of 20,000 or more people, noted the mayor.
In addition, if city residents okay their new charter, this position will gain much more prominence, advancing from a “city administrator” designation to that as a “city manager.” It also will become more stable as far as potential termination.
Under the proposed charter, it would take a two-thirds council mandate to fire its city manager, rather than the current majority tally, if the council opted to part ways with the town’s head boss.
Along with picking a new administrator, Cripple Creek must pick a new council person to assume the seat of Jared Bowman, who represents Ward 5, for the remainder of his term that extends until Jan. 2027. Bowman recently announced plans to step down because of his intentions to move out of the area.
As a result, the city will be accepting letters of interest from applicants for this seat. Applicants must reside in the Ward 5 area and must be registered voters and reside in the city for at least a year.
For more information, call 719-689-2502 or visit the city’s government website.
