Colorado town of Bennett asks for more transparency from Adams County law enforcement

Over the last two months, the town of Bennett has been fighting for transparency in the wake of payment between the town and the Adams County Sheriff's Office over police services.

 "Our main concern is public safety," said Royce Pindell, Bennett's mayor.

At the end of 2023, Bennett and the Adams County Sheriff's Office ended their contract with one another. This means the Adams County Sheriff's Office was no longer required to provide law enforcement services to the town. 

However, Pindell says they are still not receiving transparency from Adams County Sheriff Gene Claps since ending their contract.

"His contract, his decisions, and it makes it very hard for us to justify an expenditure like that every month for the town," said Pindell.

Pindell says they have been asked to pay more than $40,000 to the sheriff's office twice, with the latest payment being due Feb. 20.

"Municipal bills that come in, we usually have 30 days after we're billed," said Pindell. "We pretty much explained that we're not going to pay another bill without that itemized invoice, the transparency of financial situations that we should see the bill for any services that we receive, we haven't received that yet."

In a letter issued to Claps, Pindell said:

"You have made it clear to the Town that you do not wish to serve its citizens any longer and I can assure you the Town Board is equally anxious to obtain law enforcement services from an entity other than you."

"It was his demand that we have an answer by the 20th, we answered it with our letter," said Pindel.

The letter also states the sheriff has threatened to remove services from Bennett if they don't receive these payments, but Pindell argues it's their responsibility as a law enforcement agency to continue to protect residents.

"We expect the sheriff to continue to provide that law enforcement as he would for the unincorporated parts of the county. He promised to help us with the smooth transition," said Pindell.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office continues to serve part of the Bennett community, but the town expects them to take over Adams County's former services by later this spring.

 
A spokesperson for the Adams County Sheriff's Office says tells CBS Colorado the sheriff is working with their legal time to provide a response to the town of Bennett leadership.

As of Wednesday night, neither CBS Colorado nor the town have received a response.