Loveland council members praise City Attorney Vince Junglas in performance review

Loveland City Council members praised the city attorney for his availability and honesty Nov. 4, after council returned to open session at 10:10 p.m. from a closed-session performance review.

Council voted on Nov. 4 to recess into executive session to evaluate Junglas. The session was authorized to address attorney-client privileged and confidential matters, receive legal advice, review documents not open to public inspection and discuss personnel matters, including his evaluation.

Before the recess, a speaker said possible action might follow the executive session.

Loveland's charter requires the council to evaluate the City Manager and City Attorney at least annually, and the council also intends to continue regular evaluations of the Municipal Judge. The annual review of the City Attorney includes performance feedback and compensation, and council may provide direction on compensation. The evaluation process calls for bi-annual performance-feedback meetings, one of which is the required annual evaluation.

Back in open session, one council member praised Junglas's counsel and integrity, saying he treated people respectfully regardless of who they were or how often he had dealt with them. Another called him diligent, responsive and a legal genius who briefed council on matters it needed to know. That member said, "You win cases, but you do so with kindness, with humility." A third praised his leadership and stability amid many changes, saying he was always available by phone and had never known him to be dishonest.

Other members focused on how Junglas communicates. A council member said his emails, even when they arrived at 11 o'clock at night or 1 o'clock in the morning, were easy to digest and helped the member stay informed, and praised his honesty. Council Member Zeke Cortez said Junglas adjusted his communication to individual council members, made time for them and provided top-notch legal work.

Cortez also said Junglas spoke with council members candidly outside formal meetings and made time for his family as well as his work. "You can also talk, you know, with me and everybody else is just a human being as well," Cortez said.

Council Member Geoff Frahm said Junglas made himself unusually available.

Frahm said their rare disagreements troubled him because he trusted Junglas, and that he was proud of how Junglas conducted himself. He also urged the council to better support Junglas's team. "I really hope that we can support you, in terms of your team, better as that grows and gets full," Frahm said.

A speaker responding to the praise said candor and authenticity were qualities the speaker tried to bring to the work. The speaker said it was an honor and privilege to work for the community, council and the organization, and that they would continue doing their best to meet expectations in the next year. "It's an honor and a privilege of a lifetime to work here," the speaker said.