The Aurora City Council on Monday will tackle anew several contentious issues, notably the possible privatization of the public defender’s office, handling of the influx of immigrants into the metro area, retail theft mandatory minimums and the Israel Hamas war.

The councilmembers will hold a study session and their regular meeting late on Monday.

In the study session, the council will go over several resolutions and intergovernmental agreements involving transportation projects. They will also hear a legislative update and go over the community engagement plan for Aurora’s homeless navigation campus, which the city purchased the space for in January.

At its regular council meeting, the council will vote on several issues, including resolutions on the handling of the influx of immigrants into the metro area, efforts to potentially privatize the city’s public defenders office, and calls for a “cease-fire” in Gaza. 

Councilmembers Danielle Jurinsky and Steve Sundberg will bring forward the proposal to ask organizations to not transport immigrants into Aurora without first seeking an agreement or coordinating with the city. 

The resolution — which offers a sharp break from Denver — effectively reiterates Aurora’s stance since 2017 that it is not a “sanctuary city” but also signals that it won’t adopt its neighboring city’s more “welcoming” position toward the immigrants. Generally speaking, a “sanctuary city” is a local jurisdiction with a policy of discouraging cooperation with federal authorities, such as by forbidding law enforcement from reporting an individual’s immigration status.

Jurinsky and Sundberg argued that it’s necessary to send a clear signal that the city’s priority is caring for its residents — not the immigrants.

Critics, meanwhile, argued that the resolution lacks an enforcement mechanism and, by adopting it, the city would wade into a federal issue, which, they said, it has no business in.

The Federal, State and Intergovernmental Relations policy committee on Friday moved the resolution forward to the full city council.

Meanwhile, Councilmember Alison Coombs is pushing a resolution that would stop the city’s efforts to get proposals regarding contracting out for indigent defense.

Aurora sent out a request for proposals in January to determine the financial impact of contracting out for public defense services, with an eye toward privatizing the city’s in-house public defender’s office.

The question of whether or not to privatize the office has been going on since last year, with proposals due in early March, at which point council will go through the proposals and decide whether to move forward with privatization. 

Supporters, such as Councilmember Dustin Zvonek, argue that privatizing the service would not end access to a public defender for those who qualify but would likely save the city money.

Critics, including Aurora’s chief deputy public defender and a few councilmembers, counter that the request for proposal does not fully encompass the public defender’s role or the extra costs that come with privatization of the office.

Coombs will also bring forward a resolution on Monday night calling for a “cease-fire” in the war between Israel and Hamas and for the release of all Israeli hostages and “arbitrarily detained Palestine citizens.” 

The resolution reads that the city of Aurora calls for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and occupied West Bank, immediate, unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza, and release of all Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestine citizens.”

Councilmember Stephanie Hancock will advocate for a resolution urging the Colorado General Assembly to pass legislation allowing cities the ability to enforce motor vehicle registration laws. 

Currently, state law does not allow municipal police officers to issue summons for registration violations to a municipal court, according to meeting documents. 

Finally, the council will vote on a proposal that would lower the mandatory minimum sentence threshold for retail theft to $100. The measure would also add a 90-day mandatory minimum sentence for repeat offenders.

Meanwhile, a Business Advisory Board virtual meeting on Monday will welcome new  members and go over updates from various business officials in the city.  

The Planning and Zoning Commission, which meets Tuesday at 5 p.m. virtually, will go over draft plans for the Aurora Health Wealth and Well Being, as well as discuss the roles and responsibilities of the commission in reviewing oil and gas location applications. 

Next Friday, the Federal, State and Intergovernmental Relations Policy Committee will meet at 1 p.m. virtually. As of Friday afternoon, it had not posted its meeting agenda online. 

The council’s study session begins virtually at 5:15 p.m. Monday and will be live streamed at www.AuroraTV.org and Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel.

Following the study session, the council’s regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Paul Tauer City Council Chamber, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy. It will also be streamed virtually on AuroraTV and YouTube.