Crowley County Sheriff Releases Town of Ordway Correspondence

Description: Crowley County Sheriff Terry Reeves Released the Following Correspondence with the Town of Ordway...

Crowley County Sheriff Releases Town of Ordway Correspondence

A copy of the letter Terry Reeves sent to the town of Ordway...

September 19, 2024, 7:00 am

To the Town of Ordway, CO.

Since I took office as the Crowley County Sheriff in 2021 there has existed a contract between the Town of Ordway and The Crowley County Sheriff’s Office. That contract has existed to fulfill the Town of Ordway’s statutory requirement to provide law enforcement services to its citizens. The last contract expired at the end of 2023. 

Each time this contract has been re-negotiated, the town of Ordway has attempted to add animal control and municipal ordinances. This I will not do.  I will not provide services to Ordway above and beyond what I provide to the rest of the County.

Since the expiration of the last contract, I have made several attempts to reach out to the town of Ordway through its mayor and its trustees to re-generate the contract. 

Mayor Jerry Barber asked if we could hold off until the new town council was seated, which I agreed to.

Once the council was seated, I again tried to set up a meeting but was told I could only talk to the town’s attorney.

On May 28, 2024, I received this e-mail:

“From: Phil Malouff

Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2024 9:18 PM

To: Nathan Shultz 

Cc: Ordway Mayor

Subject: ordway-sheriff

Nathan:  the town voted to stop making payments to the county until the county and the town sit down and iron out their grievances.  The town feels very strongly about this.  I do not think that back and forth between lawyers will suffice.  I suggest a meeting between you, me, the county administrator, the town administrator, the mayor and the sheriff.  I have told them that you are still recovering, so I will leave it to you to decided when and where.  Thanks.”

The town of Ordway then ceased to make any further payments for several months, leading me to believe that this e-mail served as written notice of the town of Ordway’s intent to end the contract. 

Based on this e-mail which complained of grievances, I asked the town what those grievances were. 

My inquiries were met with silence. 

Eventually two separate meetings were set up by the attorneys, and both were abandoned by the town.

I asked the council for a voice at the town council meeting and was denied.

I then received this e-mail.

“From: Phil Malouff

Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2024 8:44 PM

To Nathan Shultz

Cc: Ordway Treasurer; 'Jerry Barber' 

Subject: Sheriff contract....

Nathan…Ordway would like to cancel the meeting scheduled for 8-12….maybe later in the year….”

It became quite clear to me that the town of Ordway had no intention of negotiating in good faith, but still I persisted.

On June 26, 2024, I sent a letter to the Ordway Mayor and trustees asking for clarification and their intentions. 

That letter was met with silence.

On August 7, 2024, I again sent a letter to the mayor and trustees. I received no response from anyone other than the County attorney. Telling me that town wants me to provide animal control for the town. 

I have since received no communication from the town of Ordway.

On September 18, 2024, I received a phone call from FOX news asking me about a contract with Ordway and why I was no longer providing law enforcement services to Ordway.

I explained that there had not been an active contract for nearly a year and no services had diminished as a result.

On September 18, 2024, I went to the Ordway town hall and tried to talk to Mayor Jerry Barber, begging to open a line of communication into issues involving Ordway that my office continues to handle but with no assistance from the town. I was told that the town was instructed not to talk to me except through their attorney.

I was told by Mayor Barber that the County was continuing to accept payment under the old contract, and as such their attorney claimed it was still valid. I explained to the mayor that I had instructed the County months ago to no longer accept those payments and that I felt I was under no obligation to that expired contract.

On September 19, 2024, I received a phone call from Crowley County Attorney Nathan Schultz telling me a contract was ready for me to review, and that the town did not wish to meet to discuss it. I explained to Nathan that no one was willing to talk to me and that was my biggest concern. I told him that due to the overall circumstances from the last several months I was undecided at this time whether I was willing to enter into any contract with Ordway, but was leaning towards ending all negotiations, and that I would make a decision by the end of business today.

September 23, 2024 

On September 20, 2024, I received a proposed contract from Phil Malouff. The contract appeared to be the same one with the animal control issues removed.  The amount included in the contract proposes the town pay the Sheriff’s Office $4,911.08 per month for law enforcement services and has no provision for dispatch services.  This is totally unacceptable.

This weekend it was reported to me that KBLJ radio has been reporting that I have discontinued services to the town of Ordway. I called the station and demanded a retraction.  

After many sleepless nights and unsuccessful attempts to resolve the communication problem that exists between the town of Ordway and the Sheriff’s Office, I have decided to end my fruitless attempts to negotiate with the town. This has been a recurring issue I am no longer willing to exert any effort towards resolving. I have lost all trust that the town of Ordway is interested in continuing with my services as I will provide them. 

I hereby serve notice to the town of Ordway Colorado that I wish to dissolve any and all contracts held between the Crowley County Sheriff’s Office and the Town of Ordway, Colorado. As the town holds the belief that our expired contract is still valid, I will honor the 90-day clause in the expired contract and serve notice that on January 1, 2025, no further agreement exists between us.

I do this with great regret, but I feel that this has been a one-sided attempt to make this work. I cannot conduct business in a vacuum.

I hope and pray that a future does exist between the two entities but that is for the town to decide. My door is always open.

Terry Reeves, Crowley County Sheriff

Related Content:

Crowley County Sheriff Letter to the Community Regarding Ordway Service Contract

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