A judge blocked a rural Colorado city from disbanding a church’s homeless encampment. Then the city fired her.

In late February, city officials in Montrose and representatives from the community’s oldest church met before a municipal judge, seeking to settle a simmering dispute.

Since December, the First United Methodist Church had been allowing some 50 unhoused individuals to set up camp on its grounds. Church leaders said they opened their doors because a recent city ordinance made it illegal to camp anywhere in Montrose. With temperatures plummeting, they worried about people freezing to death.

The city of 20,000, located 60 miles southeast of Grand Junction, began issuing citations to the church, arguing the encampment was disorderly and dangerous.

The municipal court judge, Erin Maxwell, sided with First United Methodist, rejecting the city’s request to clear the grounds.

Church leaders cheered the ruling.

But less than three weeks after the hearing, the Montrose City Council voted unanimously to put Maxwell on administrative leave and negotiate a severance package. On March 31, the council voted to terminate her contract.

The move underscores Colorado’s deepening housing crisis, even on the rural Western Slope, and the lengths to which city officials will go to crack down on homelessness in their communities, while offering few alternatives for people living on the streets. The firing prompted serious concern from church leaders and homeless advocates, who wonder whether the city is stacking the deck against them.

And it shines a light on the potential conflicts of interest when a municipal judge must rule on cases involving their employers.

Maxwell’s firing stands as an “implicit gesture that if you don’t fall into line, you’re out,” said Jennifer Jones, a volunteer social worker who serves Montrose’s unhoused population.

City officials, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on Maxwell’s firing, saying they don’t speak about personnel matters. City Council members did not explain their decision to end Maxwell’s contract during public meetings. And city officials also declined an interview request to speak about the church dispute, citing ongoing litigation.

Meanwhile, church leaders disbanded the camp for the summer months as they plan for the coming winter. They face thousands of dollars in fines from the more than 40 citations they’ve racked up since December. Still, leaders remain resolute.

“This is what we do and who we are,” said the Rev. Kevin Young, the church’s pastor, in an interview. “Issuing citations doesn’t change the fundamental character of our faith. If we have the choice of being faithful or facing challenges from the city, we’re gonna choose being faithful.”

Ordinance 2670

The encampment at the church traces its origins to a city ordinance passed in November by the Montrose City Council.

Ordinance 2670 made it illegal for individuals to camp on public property within the city limits. It also stiffened penalties for camping to include mandatory jail, up to 10 days, for second offenses and mandatory minimum jail sentences for third offenses and beyond.

The potential punishments made Montrose’s camping ban one of the most stringent in Colorado. Homeless advocates could not find any other municipality in Colorado that uses mandatory jail sentences for camping violations.

City officials said the ban was not intended to target the unhoused.

“This has nothing to do with particular groups of people,” City Manager Bill Bell said at a council meeting in August. “This has to do with our parks and trails.”

Public commenters, during a series of council meetings in the fall, universally opposed the ordinance. None spoke in favor of the camping ban.

The city only has one emergency shelter. It has 30 beds and is only open in the winter — hardly enough space for Montrose’s roughly 200-person unhoused population.

The new ordinance and lack of available shelter beds offered few options for those living on the street.

In mid-December, as temperatures dropped, people started showing up at the First United Methodist Church seeking help.

Young and his staff couldn’t say no.

“For any person of Christian faith, if people’s lives are literally in danger, it’s not something you have to think about too deeply,” he said. “Our faith is loving our neighbor as ourselves and caring for people in need.”

The church dedicated a parking area adjoining an alley, outfitting the space with a portable toilet and dumpster. Staff passed out agreements for people to sign, outlining expectations for their behavior.

Unhoused people came from neighboring towns, including Olathe, Delta and Ouray, after hearing about the church’s welcoming attitude. Around 20 people stayed there under the agreement, with another 20 to 25 people who would come in at night and park their cars or put up tents but did not sign the church’s accord, Young said.

Bell told Colorado Public Radio earlier this year that the city has shelters for “the good people,” but that they won’t allow violent individuals, sexual predators and drug users to stay there.

“We don’t, as a city, believe that it’s our job to figure out the solution for people who have made really bad decisions in their lives,” he told the radio station.

The city quickly went on the offensive, issuing the church citations for zoning, nuisance and trash violations. Between December and May, the church received 42 citations — each carrying a maximum penalty of $2,650.

Police drove past the camp every two hours and took photos, even during the night, Young said.

“It’s stressful and traumatic for people living there,” he said. “It’s very upsetting to us.”

Montrose’s goal, Young said, is to “make everything so difficult on the unhoused here that they’ll leave.”

“That presumption is not well-informed,” he added. “That just doesn’t work.”

Trial set for next month

The city in February attempted to get an emergency order from the municipal judge, citing fire and public health concerns. That effort was unsuccessful. Officials then tried a district court judge, who ruled in April that the case should remain in municipal court.

With Maxwell out, the municipal case concerning the civil citations will now be overseen by an alternate judge. Church officials, though, fear that they’re not getting a fair shake.

“It’s hard not to feel like every card that can be stacked in the city’s favor is being stacked in the city’s favor,” Young said.

Maxwell declined to comment for this story.

At the end of May, the church wound down its encampment. Church leaders made the decision not due to the city’s pressure, Young said, but so the congregation could regroup and plan for the winter.

Still, the city pressed ahead with the citations. A trial is set for July 23.

Montrose’s attorneys on June 6 offered a deal to church leaders: Plead guilty, pay reduced fines and serve 12 months of probation, which would prevent the church from sheltering people this winter.

Young said the church is not inclined to take the deal. He lamented how the relationship with the city has become so strained.

“It’s a source of real disappointment for us,” Young said. “They’re presenting a philosophy and point of view that is really unacceptable to people of faith and United Methodists.”

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