El Paso County Merges Economic and Workforce Departments Amid Legal Dispute
El Paso County departments are consolidating following a disputed legal settlement and subsequent personnel shifts, gazette.com reported. The merger pairs the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and the Economic Development Department into a single agency, creating a streamlined organizational structure even as local officials grapple with financial clawbacks and conditional state oversight.
Crystal LaTier Leads New Economic and Workforce Development Agency
The administrative restructuring fuses the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and the Economic Development Department under the newly minted title of Economic and Workforce Development. Crystal LaTier assumed leadership of the combined agency last month. LaTier brings sixteen years of experience from the county’s economic development arm, having served as its executive director since 2019 while also managing the El Paso County Housing Authority.
With this promotion, LaTier oversees economic development, workforce services, community development, and affordable housing. County job listings indicate that applications for a deputy or assistant executive director for workforce development are being solicited through Tuesday.
The public-facing changes involve a physical relocation for economic development staff. Operations are shifting from 9 E. Vermijo Ave. to the El Paso County Citizens Service Center located at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road. Meanwhile, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center maintains its presence on the first floor of the Citizens Service Center. Crystal LaTier confirmed via email that workforce eligibility and services remain unchanged.
Internal cuts accompany the administrative merger. Three jobs are being eliminated, including one position left vacant by a retiring employee. Funding streams will be managed separately within each office. County leadership projects eventual cost savings, though exact financial figures remain undetermined.
State Audit Flags Disallowed Expenses for Pandemic Relief Funds
The structural integration follows a turbulent dispute involving federal pandemic relief funds and state regulatory agencies. The conflict centers on $1.24 million in grant money previously disbursed to the now-defunct nonprofit Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective for adult training programs in culinary arts, media, and early childhood development.
A 2024 state audit flagged grant-compliance deficiencies, citing disallowed expenses such as taxes, payroll processing fees, and insufficient documentation regarding staff time. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment demanded repayment, prompting the workforce center to file a lawsuit in Denver district court. Debbie Miller and former workforce center CEO Traci Marques maintained that the agency had a solid legal case to challenge the state’s clawback authority.
Legal representation was initially funded by an insurer at no cost to taxpayers. However, the litigation escalated when the state enacted a vendor offset in early July. This action withheld $44,961.20 from unrelated county accounts, including the Department of Human Services, the Sheriff’s Office, the Facilities Department, and the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
County commissioners voted unanimously on July 21 to approve a total repayment of $1.24 million to settle the matter and secure the dismissal of the lawsuit. Sunny Bryant, deputy county administrator, noted that the resolution utilized $100,000 from the workforce center’s former insurer, Philadelphia Insurance Co., alongside temporary draws from the county’s self-insurance fund. Separately, the workforce center must reimburse its own budget $284,726.65 to correct December 2024 expenses that were submitted and reimbursed twice.
Contrasting Positions on Grant Compliance
Conversely, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment defended the state’s enforcement actions. The agency stated that state government bears ultimate responsibility to the federal government for disallowed costs identified during monitoring. After nearly two years of working to bring the workforce center into compliance or recoup the funds, the department executed the vendor offset according to state statutes designed to protect public funds.
The state paused the vendor offset on July 14 to allow the county time to reach a resolution. Traci Marques concluded her tenure as president and CEO of the workforce center amid these pressures, stepping down in mid-June through an early retirement.