13 Investigates: High employee turnover, culture at Colorado Springs Utilities

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- 13 Investigates has learned people identifying as employees of Colorado Springs Utilities have sent dozens of anonymous emails to elected officials in the government alleging a culture of fear amid a high turnover rate at the publicly-owned utility.

Multiple council members confirm the emails have all been sent during the period that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aram Benyamin has managed Colorado Springs Utilities.

"You never liked to hear those kind of words. However, what I would say is it's not surprising because we are a utility. We are an industry that is undergoing a lot of change. And it's really reflective of what's going on in other industries, too," Colorado Springs Utilities spokesperson Steve Berry said.

The turmoil at the top comes at the heels of large utility ratepayer hikes in November 2021, which have caused significant concern for Colorado Springs families and business owners in the last few months. The utility continues to say that the rate hikes are "mostly related" to fuel costs, generation, infrastructure, day-to-day operations, and maintenance of a four-service utility. The rates decreased in February.

"A lot of the volatility in rates that customers have seen over the last couple of years, have been related to fuel costs, and those market drivers so that's your natural gas, for example, to power those natural gas generators to provide electricity to our community and so we have to buy that on the market. We're influenced by those market drivers. We try to lock in costs as best we can. But it's hard to insulate customers from that volatility," Berry said.

The allegations about the employee culture at Colorado Springs Utilities were brought to 13 Investigates just days after Chief Water and Compliance Officer Earl Wilkinson and General Manager of Public Affairs Cindy Newsome submitted their resignations. According to a spokesperson for Colorado Springs Utilities, both left to "pursue other opportunities" and will be gone by the end of March.

"I think that it's important that our customers know that we are testing and challenging our workforce on their behalf. And you don't want your municipal utilities employees to say 'Oh, everything is hunky-dory. We're just sitting pretty we're very comfortable in our jobs.' And I think it's really a sign of we are challenging all of our employees to adapt, to learn to grow, to adapt to change," Berry said.

Colorado Springs Utilities Board Chair Councilman Wayne Williams said he had received communications that include various allegations from people stating they are employees at the publicly-owned utility. Williams tells 13 Investigates the utility board, which comprises city council members, will meet in executive session on March 16 to discuss the concerns with the CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities about his regularly scheduled performance review.

"We can't have this kind of turmoil within a billion-dollar company," Councilman Bill Murray said.

Colorado Springs City Council President Tom Strand, who previously served as the Colorado Springs Utilities Board Chairman, tells 13 Investigates that he believes at least 10 Colorado Springs Utilities employees in Senior Leadership have left the organization in the last year. He says that there have been four finance officers for Colorado Springs Utilities in the previous seven years. Strand says he is highly concerned about the turnover rate at the publicly-owned utility.

Strand tells 13 Investigates that in the last few years, he and other city council members have received four to five dozen letters from people who identified as anonymous utility employees saying they are afraid, uncomfortable, and feeling unheard.

"I'm very concerned about that," Strand said. "We just can't get ahead of our headlights."

Strand says the board needs to conduct a thorough review very carefully. Multiple city council members have confirmed City of Colorado Springs auditors are looking into complaints related to the management of Colorado Springs Utilities.

"As a board of member and ratepayer, myself, I will do everything in my power to make sure that we are understanding what's happening and not put CSU or our community at risk," Nancy Henjum said.

The concerns are expected to be discussed at next Wednesday's Colorado Springs Utilities board meeting.

13 Investigates asked Mayor John Suthers and Colorado Springs Chief of Staff Jeff Greene for comment on the issues but were told to direct our questions to the utility.

The CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities was unavailable for an interview on Thursday. We asked the utility spokesperson if CEO Aram Benyamin would be willing to change the culture of the utility he manages if his bosses deem it necessary.

"I just talked to him about some of that yesterday. And I think what his response to that is yes. I mean, if there are tangible things, tangible, and emphasis on tangible, tangible steps that I can take to improve how employees feel about working here or our leadership team, then I will make those changes," Berry responded.

If you have a tip you want our team to look into, email us at 13Investigates@krdo.com.