The sexual harassment scandal at the state Capitol has amassed a hefty — and growing — tab for Colorado taxpayers.

There’s the $120,000 cost for an outside review of the General Assembly’s harassment policies and culture. There’s another $90,000 for a new human resources position, the first for the legislative staff. And there’s more than $21,000 to pay for extra harassment-prevention training for lawmakers and aides.

The three expenses, approved by legislative leaders and totaling more than $230,000, came after numerous lawmakers were accused of sexual harassment beginning last fall and a Denver Post investigation revealed a toxic culture that some believe is permissive toward bad behavior.

But the ongoing scandal’s total cost remains far from certain — in one scenario, it could top $500,000 — and depends on the completion of investigations into at least eight sexual harassment complaints against five lawmakers.

The outside investigations are being conducted by Employers Council, a human resources firm with operations in Colorado that bills the state $11,000 for an annual retainer fee and $175 per hour for sexual harassment probes.

Ashley Jones, who works at Employers Council, said investigations can take as few as 10 hours or as many as 300 to 400 hours. Based on that estimate, the cost to Colorado taxpayers for eight investigations could range anywhere from $14,000 to more than $420,000.

“Because situations vary greatly, there really isn’t a ‘typical’ investigation,” Jones said. “As neutral investigators, we are often made aware of information and situations that were previously unreported; what started out as a small investigation has the potential to grow in size and scope.”

To cover the new expenses, lawmakers tapped a legislative cash account with $2 million that is typically earmarked for legislative construction projects and information technology expenses.

The investigations into at least three lawmakers — Democratic Rep. Paul Rosenthal, of Denver, and Republican Sens. Randy Baumgardner, of Hot Sulphur Springs, and Larry Crowder, of Alamosa, have been completed.

The results of an investigation into Republican Sen. Jack Tate, of Centennial,are still under review, and the inquiries into three complaints against Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, are ongoing.

Probes under fire

So far, the state has been billed $3,500 from Employers Council, but it’s unclear which investigations the bill covers.

“I cannot say for which investigations billing has been received due to confidentiality requirements,” said Sharon Eubanks, who directs the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services.

Employers Council said its investigation process often includes speaking with the complainant and the accused, as well as any relevant witnesses. Jones said investigators can also review any available physical evidence.

But the process is being questioned by Senate Republican leaders, who have alleged there was bias, inaccuracies and conflicts of interest in the Baumgardner investigation.

Employers Council declined to comment on the specific investigation but defended its work. “Our investigators are trained as neutral fact-finders and have a breadth of knowledge and experience in conducting investigations,” Jones said. “We are contracted to conduct third-party investigations, because we have no interest in the outcome. This enables us to provide neutral, unbiased findings.”

But Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City, has said he has recently been in conversations with Employers Council about its processes and encouraged about moving forward.

Democratic lawmakers defended investigators. “We paid a lot of money, we have a process,” said Senate Democratic leader Lucia Guzman of Denver. “These dollars were used to hire professionals, not elementary people.”

Major cost for review

The cost of the investigations, however, are not the only expensive item.

The state will pay $120,000 to Investigations Law Group in Denver for a review of the legislature’s work environment that includes an online survey, interviews with key stakeholders and a summit with experts on the sexual harassment.

The firm recently sent the confidential survey to elected officials, legislative staff, lobbyists, members of the media and others, asking dozens of questions about personal experiences involving harassment and opinions of the current policy.

A final public report to legislative leaders — due by March 21 — will include recommendations for changes to the legislature’s workplace harassment policies.

The decision to select Investigations Law Group became contentious earlier this year, after the firm’s founder, Liz Rita, made a comment that some saw as dismissive of the #MeToo movement.

In discussing public disclosure of substantiated complaints, Rita said the “off-with-their-head approach that’s happened since #MeToo is, in my view, not the right approach.”

House Majority Leader KC Becker, D-Boulder, acknowledged that the comment raised eyebrows, but she said it wasn’t the reason she voted for another finalist. Becker and House Speaker Crisanta Duran, the two dissenting votes against hiring the firm, said they felt the other finalist for the contract had more experience in employment law.

All legislative leaders agreed to spend another $90,000 to hire Ben FitzSimons to become the legislature’s first human-resources administrator. He came from Jefferson County government and has 18 years of experience working the field. His position is expected to play a role in fielding future complaints after lawmakers adjust the current workplace harassment policy.

Are costs worth it?

The additional workplace-harassment training this session is expected to cost $21,500 — which is being paid to Truhlar and Truhlar, a Denver-area employment law firm.

The lawmakers were strongly encouraged to attend a training session, but it was not required.

Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, said the training was “OK” but that he “didn’t really learn much that I didn’t already know.” In terms of the overall cost in response to sexual harassment at the Capitol, Liston compared it to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

“It’s kind of like the Mueller probe. They are spending beaucoup money probably for little or no results,” he said.

Rep. Chris Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat and former legislative aide, feels differently. He found the training this year was more valuable than sessions in prior years.

“I’m sure there’s some cost,” he said, “but it’s minimal compared to the magnitude of the problem we are trying to solve.”