{"id":3682,"date":"2026-08-12T21:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:34:51","slug":"golden-fires-city-manager-over-response-to-racist-incident-at-fire-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3682","title":{"rendered":"Golden fires city manager over response to \u2018racist incident\u2019 at fire station"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Golden City Council voted unanimously to fire City Manger Scott Vargo on Tuesday night over his handling of a \u201cracist incident\u201d in which an employee hung a Black doll by its neck in a fire station stairwell.<\/p>\n

Read more Gun group sues to halt Colorado\u2019s new training requirement for certain firearms<\/a><\/p>\n

Councilmembers voted to oust Vargo after an executive session and unanimously voted to appoint Deputy City Manager Carly Lorentz as interim city manager effective immediately, city officials said in a news release Wednesday.<\/p>\n

A city subcommittee will negotiate a separation agreement with Vargo, who was hired in 2022 and earned $247,200 as of 2023, according to city records. His current salary information was not immediately available.<\/p>\n

The incident was first discovered in March after a novelty doll called \u201cSnoop on the Stoop,\u201d a parody of \u201cElf on the Shelf,\u201d was found hanging from a rope by its neck in a Golden Fire Department stairwell.<\/p>\n

City officials said they took disciplinary action and launched an internal investigation, but the incident was not made public until late July, when employees outside the fire department learned about what had happened and raised concerns. City leaders then launched an independent investigation and fired the employee involved.<\/p>\n

Read more White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, youngest person to hold role, to leave at month\u2019s end<\/a><\/p>\n

Council members on Tuesday acknowledged that the response \u201cdid not meet expectations for action and accountability and that trust has been lost among employees, residents and city leadership,\u201d according to the news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extremely difficult moment for our city, but maintaining trust is fundamental to leadership,\u201d Mayor Laura Weinberg said in a statement. \u201cWe are committed to accountability, meaningful change and doing the work necessary to rebuild trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

The independent investigation is still moving forward, and a City Council subcommittee is working to select a third-party investigator.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

This is a developing story and may be updated.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Read more Denver suspends changes to sheriff\u2019s discipline after pushback from oversight groups<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golden City Council voted unanimously to fire City Manger Scott Vargo on Tuesday night for his handling of a \u201cracist incident\u201d in which an employee hung a Black doll by its neck in a fire station stairwell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colorado-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGolden fires city manager over response to \u2018racist incident\u2019 at fire station - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3682\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Golden fires city manager over response to \u2018racist incident\u2019 at fire station - 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