HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 10/5/2021 - Memorandum From Aaron Harris Re: Rationale For Termination Of Independent Recreation Contracts - Dance Program
Recreation Department
215 North Mason
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6655
fcgov.com/recreation
MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 29, 2021
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
THRU: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Seve Ghose, Community Services Director
FROM: Aaron Harris, Interim Recreation Director
RE: Rational for Termination of Independent Recreation Contracts
Bottom Line
City Council requested additional information responding to a concern raised at the September 21, 2021
meeting regarding the termination of select program contracts. As a result of implementing changes to
meet legal and IRS compliance, several recreation contracts required updates. Notification of the required
changes was provided to 17 independent contractors earlier this month, and all have been provided the
opportunity to continue teaching classes as hourly employees, or by renting facility space to offer classes
independently.
Background
In April 2021, the Recreation Department began work to remedy compliance issues related to
independent contractors that were identified by Human Resources and the City Attorney’s Office.
After learning that there were IRS compliance and legal issues to be addressed, policy updates were
developed in consultation with fellow City colleagues including the Purchasing Department, Human
Resources, and the City Attorney’s Office. These updates were developed to correct any current contracts
that were out of compliance, as well as set appropriate guidelines for the future.
Once work was completed internally to understand current policies, and outline a process for moving
forward, it became apparent that a select number of agreements with independent contractors would need
to be dissolved. The notification of this change of policy was sent on September 16, 2021, to 17
independent contractors, ranging across various program areas in Recreation. The notification explained
that contracts would terminate in January of 2022, which provided the impacted contractors with four
months to plan for future programming independent of involvement with the City of Fort Collins. There
was no direct conversation with the individual contractors to keep the integrity of the process intact with
one mode of communication.
All contractors of cancelled agreements have been given the opportunity to either apply to become an
hourly employee of the City and continue teaching classes, or rent space in a recreation facility and
manage programs independently. City staff are hopeful that the contractors will be interested in one of
these options and may be able to continue to provide classes in Recreation facilities.
DocuSign Envelope ID: D34BBF5C-850B-4B90-A421-2223F36DE834
2
The Recreation Department is committed to the enrichment and development of the youth in our
community and will continue to offer high-quality and accessible programming. For youth dance classes
specifically, Recreation is currently able to offer programming using existing hourly instructors. The
Dance program tallied 938 enrollments in 2019 of which 253 (27%) are participants in the Reduced Fee
Program. The amount of class offerings will continue to be monitored and adjusted to reflect community
demand and meet cost recovery goals.
DocuSign Envelope ID: D34BBF5C-850B-4B90-A421-2223F36DE834