Many citizens and members of the Fort Morgan Police Department speak at the city council meeting about Chief Loren Sharp's departure
At the recent City of Fort Morgan City Council meeting, all current council members were present, as Councilmember Brian Urdiales’s seat remains vacant until a new council member is picked to fill that seat. The meeting started with the public comments segment, as it was a full room, with most seats filled and many citizens, as well as members of the Fort Morgan Police Department, standing behind the seating area.
First up to the podium was Sergeant Caleb Creech of the Fort Morgan Police Department. He was there on his own time, as an employee, not speaking in any official capacity or representing the Fort Morgan Police Department, but he was there to advocate for the department’s employees. He had a letter that reflected the concerns of those employees who voluntarily signed it.
He respectfully asked that no one face any consequences for exercising their right to sign the letter and attend the council meeting. He thanked the council for allowing them to be heard and said it is a blessing to work for the City of Fort Morgan and the community. The police officers were not there in connection with any other speakers in the room.
The letter read: ‘Members of the Fort Morgan Police Department want to express their concern regarding the decision to remove Chief Loren Sharp from his position. We supported Chief Sharp, and if possible, would like to see him reinstated. We also support Interim Chief Steve Brown and his application for the permanent position. Most importantly, we want the most qualified candidate selected through a fair and impartial process. We have concerns about the actions of the 6 city council members involved in Chief Sharp’s departure. We understand that not all council members participated in the conversations leading up to the decision, and we don’t believe it’s appropriate to rely on the statements of certain individuals without fully considering the facts. We believe that decisions of this importance should be made fairly and carefully without political influence. We are also concerned about the financial side of this decision, as all city departments, including the police department, were asked to reduce their budget by 5%. At the same time, the city is paying Chief Sharp a lump sum for his departure and will now face the cost of hiring another chief. This raises concerns about how taxpayer money is being spent and how employees across city departments are being treated. We have also been told there is limited funding for employee wage increases & pay plans, as this is especially frustrating for the police department, because a majority of police departments nationwide have a structured pay plan. Because of these concerns, we do not believe that city council should have a role in selecting the next chief. We would support an unbiased community panel to help ensure a fair process and that the best candidate is selected. We support Loren Sharp, Interim Chief Steve Brown, and a fair selection process for the next chief of police. We will make sure that the concerns surrounding Chief Sharp’s departure do not affect the hiring decision or future issues within the police department and other city departments.’ The letter Sergeant Creech read was signed by 29 of the 34 members of the FMPD.
Citizen Barbera Keenan was up to the podium next, again asking for the council to reverse their decision, as she was submitting 3 recall petitions to the city clerk. There was a brief disagreement between Marilyn Musgrave and Jack Darnell, as they spoke in that order, and it didn’t get out of control. This was not a one-sided meeting, as 4 citizens, including Marilyn Musgrave, stepped up to the podium to support the city council, basically saying that no one knows all of the facts or what happened behind closed doors. The last citizen to speak was Juan Ayala; he said it was too bad that Brian Urdiales was not there, and he really wanted to ask Jill Curtis (the City Clerk) to get a packet and some information about the vacant city council seat.
To see the public comments segment, as well as the rest of the city council meeting in its entirety, go to the city’s website at cityoffortmorgan.com. Click on the GOVERNMENT tab at the top of the home page, then scroll down to MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL, then click on CITY COUNCIL MEETING VIDEOS, which will take you to the YouTube page that contains the various council videos, and click on the ‘City Council Meeting (from) 11-03-2026 '. Following the public comments segment, the rest of the regular meeting continued.
