💸 The end of tipping in Boulder?

Boulder City Council seeks changes to police department’s partnership with the FBI

By John Herrick

Some Boulder city councilmembers want to amend the terms of the city’s partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which seeks to jointly investigate alleged terrorism activities in Boulder, citing concerns about police accountability.

The pushback highlights the recent tension over crime and justice issues in Boulder, echoing national conversations about how communities are responding to rising crime rates and extremism.  

In February, the Boulder City Council voted to allow the Boulder Police Department to enter into the partnership, known as the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under certain conditions. 

Police Chief Maris Herold has said the partnership will help the city respond to terrorism threats by white supremacists and other hate groups. Herold has also said it could be used to protect women’s health centers and prevent mass shootings like the 2021 King Soopers tragedy. 

Councilmembers requested that the agreement allow only one city police officer to work with the agency, and that the city officer follow local police department policies and procedures — including those regarding discipline for misconduct and requirements to wear body cameras. They also wanted the FBI to report annually to the Boulder City Council on its activities in Boulder.

Herold signed the memorandum of understanding with the FBI on May 16, with all those provisions included, at least to some degree. 

There remains disagreement, however, about whether the city’s participating officer on the Joint Task Force will always have to follow local policies. The agreement says if the federal government’s policies conflict with those in Boulder, the city officer will either have to follow those set by the federal government or not participate in the assignment. 

Body cameras, for instance, are used to hold officers accountable in the event of excessive use of force or misconduct. By July 1, 2023, Colorado law will require all the state’s police officers to be outfitted with body cameras. The FBI’s policy on body cameras only applies to certain law enforcement operations. 

Mayor Aaron Brockett told Boulder Reporting Lab on Tuesday he is waiting to hear back from the FBI about whether it will add more specific language to clarify the issue around local policies. 

The city council may seek to block the agreement if the FBI declines to make the changes.

“I think we’re having a collaborative back and forth,” Brockett said. “Council has agreed to the agreement with the amendments. Not without them. Hopefully we’re going to come to a mutually agreeable understanding.”

‘Fair wage fees’ are replacing traditional tips at some Boulder restaurants. Is it a more equitable payment model for restaurant workers?

By Jessica Mordacq

When Hosea Rosenberg opened the farm-to-table concept Blackbelly on Arapahoe Avenue in 2014, a few years off of his Top Chef Season 5 win, he and his team talked long and hard about bringing the kitchen staff into the front-of-house tip pool. 

But it seemed risky at the time. Because servers get tips, restaurants typically pay them a lower hourly rate than cooks and food prep workers in the kitchen. Rosenberg nixed the proposal fearing that Blackbelly wouldn’t attract quality servers if, with their tips pooled and split among everyone, they made less than before.

But when Rosenberg lost much of his staff at the start of the pandemic, he saw an opportunity to rethink his decision – and try to create a more equitable system that might help some of his lower-paid employees sustain a life in Boulder amid the notoriously high cost of housing.

In order for the system to work, his restaurant would need to break from the standard voluntary tipping model that’s become commonplace in the U.S. over decades of dining out.

Following the lead of restaurants in large coastal urban centers like New York City and San Francisco, Rosenberg instituted a “fair wage and wellness fee” at Blackbelly, along with Santo, his fast-casual spot focusing on New Mexican cuisine.

The 20 percent charge included on all bills — with additional tips appreciated, but not expected — is pooled and split between front- and back-of-house workers. Rosenberg says it’s been easier to retain workers since implementing the new fee system in 2020. “We haven’t noticed the kind of turnover other restaurants are seeing,” he says.