Victim's and Witnesses Assistance & Law Enforcement Board

What is the Victim's and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement (VALE) Board?

The Board reviews applications from victims of crime. The crime must have occurred within the City of Glenwood Springs and be under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court. For a more in-depth explanation, please review the VALE brochure. The Board can award up to $500 per incident.  

If you believe you qualify for assistance, please fill out the application and return it to the Police. You must submit insurance documentation, estimates to replace the items or fix the damage along with the completed and notarized application.  

Once you turn in your application, it will be placed on the next meeting agenda for review by the Board.  You will receive a letter in the mail within one week after the meeting with the Board's decision.

Questions pertaining to all board provided services should be directed to Katie Mulkey at the Glenwood Springs Police Department at 970-384-6500.

Regular Meetings

• 2nd Monday of each month at 7:30 am
• Please refer to the Board calendar as locations and dates may change.  Meetings will be held in person. 
• City Hall - City Council Chambers 
  101 West 8th Street
  Glenwood Springs, CO 81601

Members

• Christopher Sharrow
  Appointed: 03/2023 (to fill)
  Term Expires: 04/2025
• Melissa Jones
  Appointed:  04/2021
  Term Expires:  04/2024
• Joyce Jenkins
  Appointed:  09/2021
  Term Expires:  04/2024
• VACANT
  Appointed:  (to fill)
  Term Expires:  04/2024
• VACANT
  Appointed:  (to fill)
  Term Expires: 04/2024

• Mark Fishbein
  Appointed 12/2021 (to fill) 81601 Resident
  Term Expires:  04/2025

• Erin Zalinski

Composition of the VALE Board

• Five (5) citizens, at least four (4) who are residents of the City and one (1) who may reside outside of the City but within the 81601 zip code area or own real property or a business within the City.
• The Chief of Police as an advisory member, but a nonvoting member of the Board.

Powers and Duties of the VALE Board

(as defined in Title 020 of the Glenwood Springs Municipal Code);

(h): Powers and duties of the Victim's and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement Board.

(1) The Board shall designate one (1) of its members as chairman, shall establish rules of procedure and order and shall hold meetings as it might deem necessary.

(2) A surcharge equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the fine imposed for violation of all municipal ordinances, including ordinance violations under the Model Traffic Code, is hereby levied on each Municipal Court action resulting in a conviction, plea of guilty or no contest or in a deferred judgment and sentence, which municipal ordinance violation is charged pursuant to City ordinances. All calculated surcharge amounts resulting in dollars and cents shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. In the event a portion of the fine is suspended, the surcharge levied shall be computed based upon the original fine, regardless of whether a portion of said fine has been suspended. Said surcharges shall be paid to the Clerk of the Court by the defendant, and said Clerk shall deposit the money so received in the fund hereinafter created. (A 33-05,§2)

(3) The Victim's and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Fund," consist of all monies paid as a surcharge as provided in Subsection (2) above. All monies deposited in the Fund shall be deposited in an interest-bearing account, and all interest earned by monies in the Fund shall be credited to the Fund. The City Manager, by and through the Finance Director, shall be responsible for establishing a separate fund for purposes of accounting for the revenues and expenditures. At the conclusion of each fiscal year, all monies remaining in the Fund shall remain in the Fund for allocation as hereinafter set forth.

(4) The Board shall disburse monies from the Fund in the following manner:

• a. First, to the payment of all reasonable and necessary expenses and costs incurred by the Board in the performance of its duties, including but not limited to professional fees, office supplies and meeting expenses.
• b. Second, not less than fifty percent (50%) of the monies remaining in the Fund after the deduction of reasonable expenses and costs shall be allocated for the purchase of victims and witnesses services and reimbursements, as hereinafter set forth. No funds shall be paid except in those specific instances where a police report has been filed by the Police Department for an alleged violation of a municipal ordinance, regardless of whether the perpetrator has been identified, arrested or prosecuted.
• c. Third, any remaining monies may be allocated to the Police Department for the following purposes, including, but not limited to: equipment purchases, training programs for personnel and the employment of additional personnel. Such funds shall not be used by the Police Department for defraying the costs of routine and ongoing operating expenses. No disbursement within this category of expenditure shall be made without the approval of the City Council following a written recommendation by the Board.

(5) Disbursement of funds by the Board on behalf of the victim's and witnesses assistance services may be used for the following purposes:

• a. Provision of services for early crisis intervention;
• b. Assistance in prompt return of victims' property;
• c. Assistance to victims and witnesses in arranging transportation to and from court;
• d. Provision of translator services;
• e. Protection from threats of harm and other forms of intimidation
• f. Reasonable medical and hospital expenses and expenses incurred for dentures, eyeglasses, hearing aids or other prosthetic or medically necessary devices; and
• g. Losses resulting from property damage, including repair or replacement of property damaged as a result of crime or payment of the deductible amount on a residential insurance policy in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). Victims' recovery due to property damage shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for any crime, but in no case shall a loss be compensable if the aggregate property damages are less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(6) The Board is authorized to accept and evaluate all applications for disbursement of funds, whether emanating from victims, witnesses or law enforcement agencies. Applications for disbursement shall be made upon forms prescribed by the Board, and made available by the Municipal Court and the Police Department. The Board shall establish its own criteria for evaluating applications for disbursement, and nothing herein contained shall obligate the Board to make disbursement of any funds available to it. Upon a finding by the Board that a disbursement shall be made from the Fund, the Board shall submit a written request for payment to the Finance Department, which shall then remit payment in accordance with the request.

(7) The Board is required to submit minutes of its meetings to the City Council at the next regular Council meeting following the Board's meeting.