Letter from Sam Mamet
Politics – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
Local control fares ill at Statehouse
Dear Ed:
I continue to enjoy the magazine greatly. Lots of great stuff, and always well written.
I’ve enjoyed the past few articles on the problems facing small community law enforcement agencies, especially the one recently written by Clint Driscoll. Peace officer training, especially for reserves and part-time officers, has been a major concern for many of our smaller communities around the state.
We asked the attorney general and the POST board to establish a task force to review this, and that has been going on the past few months. We’ve had some success.
The legislature passed a bill at the end of the session, SB 96-234 that will add some flexibility in the mandated training requirements for such law enforcement personnel.
Also, the POST board has been modifying some of its regulations to address the problem. Gunnison County Sheriff Rick Murdie has been a big help in that regard as a POST board member.
Finally, I wish you would focus a bit more on this past legislative session and its impact on local government. The constant hits on local control and local government were pretty tough — most frustrating for me in a long while.
Best regards,
Samuel D. Mamet
Associate Director
Colorado Municipal League