CREEDE - City of Creede Manager Louis Fineberg was narrowly reappointed by trustees, 3-2, during the board’s first meeting of 2025 on Jan. 7. Mayor Jeffery Larson broke the tie.
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CREEDE - City of Creede Manager Louis Fineberg was narrowly reappointed by trustees, 3-2, during the board’s first meeting of 2025 on Jan. 7. Mayor Jeffery Larson broke the tie.
Trustees Shane Castleberry and Lori Dooley voted to reappoint Fineberg, and trustees Hendrik Shullts and Dana Brink voted no. Mayor Larson serves as the tiebreaker for the board.
After meeting in closed session, the board reconvened the regular session and opened the meeting to public discussion pertaining to Fineberg's position.
The first to speak during the public comment period was Jenna Yund, a resident that spoke against the reappointment of Fineberg, stating that Fineberg did not live in the City of Creede and had made no attempt to find housing.
Yund said that Fineberg did not keep regular office hours and had spent city money on lawsuits against residents and businesses.
“Our local government has seemingly become an entity that has normalized the practice of attacking its own citizens which is just wrong no matter how anyone has to justify it. The position of city manager is a public facing position and Louis Finberg has shown that he is unwilling to work with the public,” Yund said.
Yund also said that the grant funding that was procured by Fineberg to improve the city through several projects including the sewer and water treatment project as well as the downtown revitalization project was not procured by Fineberg alone and that Fineberg had sought other employment opportunities in other municipalities while under contract with Creede.
“I know many of you are afraid to dismiss Louis Fineberg due to the unfavorable language in his current employment agreement, but I want to assure you that the contract is airtight and bulletproof and can definitely be challenged,” Yund said.
Resident Kerry Kraybill also spoke to the board stating, “I just wanted to say that in a town where the community members are afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation whether that is perceived or true, is not a healthy environment and I feel like that fear is coming from the way the town has been managed up to this point and I feel like the town should be in a healthy and safe environment where we are safe to speak and not be afraid of retaliation.”
After public comment, the board of trustees moved through the consent agenda and then moved into discussion on reappointing Fineberg.
Trustee Shullts was the first to speak asking Fineberg if he was seeking employment elsewhere while under contract with the City of Creede.
Fineberg responded that there was nothing to prohibit him from doing so. The rest of the board concurred.
Shullts said that he felt that Fineberg seeking other employment while under contract with Creede showed disloyalty and concerned him.
A motion to reappoint Fineberg was made by the mayor that led to Fineberg narrowly being reappointed as city manager.