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City officials should provide financial disclosures

Where are the personal financial statements of our City Council members and City Manager? Candidates for Congress have to file annual reports disclosing their financial position and interests, why don’t our City Council members and key city officials? These folks make decisions that create or destroy millions of dollars of value for citizens, developers, contractors, suppliers and others. Some of them have been in office (City Council, Mayor, City Manager) over a decade. There’s a powerful incentive to trade official decisions for financial benefits. The longer they’re in power, the more opportunities for personal gain. How do we know our officials aren’t selling favors and profiting personally? We should require annual financial disclosures that are sworn true under penalties of perjury. Scrutiny should focus on anyone who objects.

Maurice Emmer

Aspen