Apr 19, 2007 11:01 pm US/Mountain
Aurora Fire Chief's Tee Times Raise Eyebrows
Contact reporter Brian Maass at bmaass@cbs.com
by Brian Maass
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Aurora's Deputy City Manager said he wants a lot more answers about why city records seem to suggest Fire Chief Casey Jones spends big chunks of his time playing golf when he is scheduled to be on the job.
"The perception is not a particularly good one," said Frank Ragan after reviewing information obtained through a CBS4 investigation.
The records showed that from March 2006 through November 2006, Chief Jones set up 15 tee times at Aurora golf courses and paid for the rounds that were scheduled during normal work hours on standard work days, Monday through Friday. The records did not show if Jones actually played or whom he played with, and they do not show if 9 or 18 holes were played, but a comparison with Jones' personnel records showed that for all 15 work days, the chief did not use leave time, personal time or vacation time.
"On the surface it doesn't look very good," said Randy Rester, President of the Aurora Firefighter's Union, which represents most of the department's approximately 300 firefighters. Rester reviewed the records obtained by CBS4.
"The appearance is the chief has been playing golf on days he should have been at headquarters," Rester said. "Obviously, if he's not there at the department running the department we're concerned about that."
Rester said he would withhold further comment until he received an explanation from Chief Jones about the numerous tee times.
The CBS4 investigation was sparked by accusations made last month by former Aurora Assistant City Attorney Rob Werking, who was fired. On a blog, Werking claimed Chief Jones was carrying on an affair with Werking's wife, Julie, also an Assistant City Attorney. On his blog, Werking also accused the chief of playing golf while he was supposed to be working.
The records, obtained under open records act requests, showed Casey Jones reserving and paying for tee times at five Aurora golf courses including Murphy Creek, Aurora Hills, Fitzsimons, Meadow Hills and Saddle Rock. Some of the reservations were for twosomes and some were for foursomes. Most of the tee times were at the Aurora Hills and Saddle Rock courses.
The tee times were predominantly for times in the middle of the work day.
Frank Ragan, the Deputy City Manager and Chief Jones' boss, told CBS4 he was unaware the fire chief had been playing so much golf during the work week. He said he has spoken with Jones about the records, but Ragan said he is withholding judgment until he has all the facts.
"On the surface it appears there are quite a few dates being taken," Ragan said.
But Ragan said he wanted to know more about who Jones played with, if there was a business purpose, and if Jones had been taking time off to make up for extra hours worked.
Ragan added that, "A certain amount is expected," in terms of extra work hours from the fire chief. He said Jones is now going back through his date book and personal records, attempting to recall who he played with.
In recent days, CBS4 made numerous attempts to speak with Chief Jones about the golf records. The chief did not return calls or emails until Thursday afternoon, about an hour after a CBS4 reporter and photographer showed up at his office asking questions.
He called back but said he would not provide any details or information about his golf habits due to a broader, ongoing city investigation prompted by Rob Werking's blog accusations. Chief Jones said when that investigation is complete, he would be willing to answer questions about the tee times made under his name. An outside agency is conducting the investigation, but it's unclear how long their probe might take.
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