The Denver Post reports that the Denver City Council hit pause on a nearly 27,000 dollar, three‑day mountain retreat after someone finally looked at a calendar and noticed it was scheduled the week after 171 city employees were laid off. Council President Amanda Sandoval announced the postponement in a statement, saying the focus should be on helping the city move forward.
The trip had been booked for Aug. 27 to 29 at Lone Rock Retreat near Bailey for ten council members and three staffers. Price tag: 26,700 dollars. CBS News Colorado’s report on the cost poured gasoline on the optics problem, which is how we ended up with this very pious postponement rather than a photo op in the pines.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The retreat was budgeted at 26,700 dollars and slated for Lone Rock Retreat on Aug. 27 to 29. Attendance list: ten council members, three staff.
- Amenities at the site include cabins with oxygen enrichment systems, a lodge with jam‑session‑ready instruments, board games and the obligatory breathtaking views. Because of course.
- Sandoval’s statement framed the delay as keeping constituents’ best interests at heart. Translation: the optics were radioactive.
- The contract for this kumbaya campout was signed May 8, before the full scope of cuts was public, but after everyone knew the budget was in bad shape.
- Context that makes taxpayers twitch: 171 layoffs, 665 vacant positions eliminated and 92 moved off the General Fund to save about 100 million dollars in 2026.
My Bottom Line
Can these people be any more tone deaf?! That is all. What virus invades your mind when you fling hundreds of millions here, hundreds of millions there, lay off workers, cut services, then suddenly remember the boondoggle in the mountains and decide to cancel it for a round of fiscal virtue cosplay? Puh‑lease.
The council issued the statement, not a campfire sing‑along, but the math still stinks: layoffs on Monday and Tuesday, retreat on Wednesday’s to‑do list, and a 26,700 dollar invoice that now has to be rescheduled or eaten. This is what happens when government confuses vibes for stewardship. Postponing a retreat is not leadership. It is damage control with better lighting.
