Town of Monument spends more than $100,000 of taxpayer money in ‘political’ legal battle
MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) - A legal battle between the Monument mayor and a private attorney has cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars and it's still not over.
More than 17 months after Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind filed a state complaint against private attorney Grant Van Der Jagt, the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel said the complaint is still pending.
“I think the town needs to know how our money is being spent,” LaKind said. “Being that we have spent over $100,000 in legal fees on top of the $25,000 that was paid via the (legal) engagement, the town people have a right to know what this attorney and his law firm and those that supported his engagement cost.”
In December 2022, Van Der Jagt was hired by the Town of Monument to investigate a potential violation of campaign finance laws. The Town of Monument was accused of donating about $2,500 to the Monument for Home Rule Issue Committee for signs and door hangers related to a ballot measure that would make Monument a Home Rule municipality.
Municipalities or government agencies are not permitted to make “any contributions, to urge electors to vote in favor of or against any local ballot issue…” according to Colorado state law. LaKind said the town never violated the Fair Campaign Practices Act or the Monument Municipal Code.
However, Van Der Jagt’s report found otherwise. He said, “There was a deliberate attempt to purchase the materials in question with the Town of Monument funds, and then to hide that
purchase from the public and the Board of Trustees.”
The findings included a number of other allegations too, which LaKind said was “out of scope” for what Van Der Jagt was hired to investigate. The report alleged sexual harassment by LaKind, who was a mayoral candidate at the time.
“He threatened multiple town personnel, including me, including the town manager,” LaKind said about Van Der Jagt’s report. “It's our role as elected officials here to protect the town and he was attacking it. I did what I thought was right.”
In response, LaKind hired a personal attorney and, on Jan. 4, 2023, filed a complaint with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) against Van Der Jagt. According to the complaint, LaKind claimed Van Der Jagt’s investigation was “a political vendetta against certain public officials and employees.” He accused Van Der Jagt of violating attorney-client privileges, threatening town employees, and displaying legal incompetence.
“If you let him go, what's he going to do to the next person or the next municipality?” LaKind said.
The Monument Mayor said he filed the OARC complaint by himself in his “official capacity.” He never received approval from the town council. His personal attorney bills for filing the complaint were more than $20,000. In April 2023, the town council agreed the town should pay those legal fees, which have since grown to more than $100,000.
When KRDO13 Investigates asked if Monument taxpayers are still footing the bill, LaKind said he wouldn’t be addressing that because it’s under investigation. In August 2023, multiple Monument residents and former council members filed a complaint with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission, claiming LaKind influenced the town council to pay his personal legal fees. The IEC is still investigating.
When asked if Monument residents support the use of taxpayer money going toward filing the complaint against Van Der Jagt and fighting this legal battle, he said yes and “no one has told me that I did the wrong thing and they've had plenty of opportunity to do so.”
The OARC told KRDO13 Investigates it received the complaint but it is still pending. Van Der Jagt declined an interview but said the OARC is dismissing most of the allegations it has reviewed but has not processed what remains.
“Mitch LaKind is trying to use his position to electioneer and defame,” Van Der Jagt said in a statement. “This time, just like before, it will cost the Town and him more to defend…I'm a private citizen. I am not a public person nor a public issue. Mitch LaKind and the Town of Monument are trying to defame my personal and professional name, knowing the falsity of their statements. Government immunity will not protect them from suit.”
LaKind said his decisions are in the best interest of the town and he would file the complaint again if necessary.
“I will always do what I think is best to protect the town's interests from people within the town, and especially people who are not from the town,” LaKind said.
