{"id":65603,"date":"2019-07-27T18:08:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T00:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-city-manager-lists-house-for-sale-with-councilors-firm\/"},"modified":"2019-07-28T00:08:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-28T00:08:22","slug":"durango-city-manager-lists-house-for-sale-with-councilors-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-city-manager-lists-house-for-sale-with-councilors-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango city manager lists house for sale with councilor\u2019s firm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Ron
Ron LeBlanc and Chris Bettin<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Durango City Manager Ron LeBlanc has his house listed for sale with Durango Land and Homes, a real estate brokerage owned and managed by City Councilor Chris Bettin.<\/p>\n

City ethics forbid supervisors from engaging in a \u201csubstantial financial transaction\u201d with subordinates. But neither Bettin nor LeBlanc said they perceive a conflict of interest or ethical violation, despite their professional relationship, in which Bettin is one of LeBlanc\u2019s five direct supervisors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a complaint, then it needs to be filed with the Board of Ethics,\u201d LeBlanc said. \u201cIf somebody has a complaint, then we can go from there. \u2026 There\u2019s no complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

A perception of conflict<\/div>\n

Katherine Burgess, chairwoman of the city ethic\u2019s board, said no formal complaints had been filed involving Bettin as of noon Friday and declined to render an opinion about a hypothetical situation regarding an ethical violation between City Council and the city manager.<\/p>\n

The board, which was established to adjudicate ethics complaints, does not have authority to start investigations on its own volition, she said. But speaking in general, Burgess, who has a doctorate in ethics, said perception plays a \u201chuge role\u201d in ethics.<\/p>\n

\u201cElected and appointed officials should be very conscious of how actions are perceived,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The broker selling LeBlanc\u2019s house is Christina Rinderle, a former city councilor who co-owns Durango Land and Homes with her romantic partner, Bettin.<\/p>\n

\"A
A screen shot from July 25 of the listing of City Manager Ron LeBlanc\u2019s home on www.durangolandandhomes.com.<\/span>Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The 2,112-square-foot home, which includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms on 0.33 acres in the Hillcrest neighborhood, is listed for $649,000. As of noon Friday, the home was listed on durangolandandhomes.com<\/a> and was marked \u201ccontingent,\u201d meaning an offer has been made but is not finalized.<\/p>\n

Bettin, as the managing broker, said he does not profit from Rinderle\u2019s commission.<\/p>\n

In addition to co-owning a business, Bettin and Rinderle share a home. The mortgage is in Rinderle\u2019s name and Bettin pays \u201cquote-unquote, rent,\u201d she said. But both said their finances are \u201ctotally separate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not married,\u201d Bettin said. \u201cShe is my girlfriend, we have totally separate finances. \u2026 We split the mortgage, totally separate. We don\u2019t have a joint checking account, we don\u2019t share jointly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Melissa Youssef said City Council is aware of the arrangement between Rinderle and the city manager and declined to comment about any perception of conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of those situations we may hear down the road and we simply can\u2019t comment or prejudge any of the facts,\u201d Youssef said in a voice message.<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s no story\u2019<\/div>\n

But in an acknowledgment that at least a public perception of a conflict of interest exists, Rinderle said she plans to donate proceeds from the sale to charity. Proceeds would go to Manna, Durango\u2019s soup kitchen; Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County; and the Women\u2019s Resource Center, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no story because there\u2019s no money that\u2019s going to be received,\u201d she said. \u201cI want it to be very clear that \u2026 no proceeds will come to the company from the sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Executive directors of Manna, Boys & Girls Club and the Women\u2019s Resource Center all confirmed Rinderle has been a longtime supporter.<\/p>\n

LeBlanc declined to say why he is selling his house, saying it has nothing to do with his public duties as city manager. He chose Durango Land and Homes out of about 75 real estate firms in the area because \u201cI think it\u2019s a really good real estate firm and they have a good track record,\u201d LeBlanc said.<\/p>\n

\"Christina
Christina Rinderle served as mayor twice during her eight-year tenure on Durango City Council.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Rinderle said a contract has been signed, but it has not closed. She declined to discuss details of LeBlanc\u2019s sale, including why he is moving, as she would with any client, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work with people getting a new job, getting a divorce, going to a new location or dealing with a medical condition,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very sensitive job I have. Every person that\u2019s buying or selling has a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bettin said he didn\u2019t know Rinderle and LeBlanc had arranged to sell the city manager\u2019s house until LeBlanc mentioned how impressed he was with Rinderle\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to him (LeBlanc), \u2018Are there any concerns you have over conflict of interest that we need to clear up?\u2019 He said, \u2018No,\u2019\u201d Bettin said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t something I\u2019d given a lot of thought to. We had a discussion to think through that; we couldn\u2019t think of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials are subject to investigation by the city ethics board if they \u201cengage in a substantial financial transaction for the city official\u2019s private business purposes with a person the city official inspects or supervises in the course of the city official\u2019s official duties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigations must be triggered by a complaint.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people have to look at the facts of anything like that,\u201d Bettin said of a perception of impropriety. \u201cIf there were an ethics complaint, the board would want to investigate. I think folks would get to see what those facts are and people can make up their own minds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this particular case,\u201d he continued, \u201cthe facts are such that the perception \u2013 anybody is free to perceive anything they like \u2013 but the facts show that there is not an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

bhauff@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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