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Finance and Taxation
*If the Town expands sales and use tax bases, then it would potentially have to self-collect. The State does not collect use tax, so if voters approved a use tax, the Town would need to self-collect. Self-collecting taxes could require expanding the Town’s Finance Department- and the extra staff will be paid for 3-5 times over with the proper collections.
2. Within limits, establish a tax base that is not uniform with the State of Colorado tax base (numerous home rule municipalities have a broader tax base, with fewer tax exemptions).
Examples:
3. Simplify or otherwise revise procedures for budget and appropriation adoption, amendment, and transfer of funds.
4. Establish maximum debt limitations.
5. Establish limitations for the repayment of municipal bonds.
Land Use
1. Have greater control over zoning issues.
2. Modify the composition and powers of the Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment.
Elections
1. Establish procedures and dates for municipal elections differing from those established by State statute, including such matters as regular and special election dates and the dates when elected officials will take office.
2. Modify local procedures for initiative, referendum, and recall.
3. Modify procedures for filling vacancies in elected offices.
4. Specify a minimum age for elected officials or other requirements.
Administration/Governance
1. Determine the form of government and administrative structure, including:
2. Establish procedures for adopting ordinances and resolutions; determining:
3. Can modify procedures for regular and special meetings and executive sessions.
4. Expand the jurisdiction of municipal courts (e.g. increased nuisance abatement authority).
5. Establish procedures for the sale or disposal of public property and the awarding of contracts.
6. Determine the qualifications of municipal officers and employees.
7. Establish maximum terms for public utility franchises.
An elected body of Charter Commissions would be responsible for creating the new Charter for the Town's governance. Often charter commissioners are able to use portions of or entire charters from other Home Rule communities to assist the drafting process.
This Commission is a group of residents elected by all Erie residents at large. They would be added to the November ballot and voted into this short-term Commission.
The Commission's sole role is to draft a Charter to be reviewed by and voted on by the people. Once the draft Charter is completed and added to the next ballot to be voted on, the Commission is disbanded.
The Charter as drafted will be voted on as an "all or nothing" governing document. When it is placed on the ballot, the document will either be accepted as a whole, or denied as a whole. There will not be an option to keep certain parts and not others. And the document will give future direction.For example, if the Charter contains a provision to change the size of the current Board of Trustees, that would not happen immediately after the Charter was approved. Instead, a new election would need to be planned and administered by the Town Clerk following that new Charter's approval.
Adopting a Home Rule Charter involves several steps:
Some critics have made the point that Home Rule 'greatly increases' the legal authority of the town to pass and enforce laws of significant local concern. While it does empower local governments to act and legislate on local matters, the town already has the ability to enact locally-focused ordinances right now. You may remember the odor ordinance that showed up on Erie's books around 2015 and caused Crestone to receive a court summons That ordinance was a veiled attempt to combat the nuisance of O&G operations. It was highly criticized, likely unenforceable, and the violation was ultimately dropped. It was not the statutory nature of Erie's government that caused the odor ordinance to fail, it was a result of the reactionary type of governing that was, thankfully nullified by reality and removed by the following BOT.
Unfortunately, that whipsaw type of governing that people worry about with added layers of government is already present. Municipalities are indeed a layer of government regardless of Statutory vs Home Rule.
Where Home Rule might help Erie in this area is the possibility of a more stable local government. Erie should have a higher bar for getting one's name on the ballot. It would also be good to see a longer term for the Mayor and higher pay for council. If we required more signatures (.5% of the population?) and required previous service to the town before a name is allowed on the ballot, would reactionary personalities get elected? If we gave the Mayor a full four years to set direction and course, would it be so easily reversed? If we offered $1200 or $2000 per month to our elected officials, we could open the pool of candidates beyond those that already have high-paying, time-consuming jobs and keep elected officials focused on their tasks. It is easy to realize that $300 a month does not engender the type of dedication to public engagement or meeting preparation that is needed.
Another possible stabilizing element here would be splitting the town into districts or wards. This would ensure that one side of the county line doesn't completely take over the reins and whipsaw Erie into policies that would need to be reversed the next time an election changed the nature of our representation.
There are a couple points to address for this question.
First, there is no hidden agenda for going Home Rule amongst any of the commissioner candidates that we've heard from. Home Rule is simply a maturation process that will allow our town the flexibility and autonomy it needs to grow properly. It may be hard to believe but there really are people out there that just want what is best for Erie.
Second, O&G has effectively been combatted already. In 2020 the UDC chapter 12 was altered as a result of the allowances given to municipalities by Senate Bill 181. The bar for getting a new O&G development application through the town's process was raised significantly; almost to the point that it is impossible.
Where Home Rule might help Erie in the realm of O&G nuisance is to provide guidance that annexation into town becomes simple and cheap. This would help many homes in the unincorporated areas of Erie to have a voice in local elections, to utilize the modern water treatment infrastructure, to take advantage of the protections of the UDC from heavy industry, and to further extend the buffer from current residents from O&G activity.
To answer this question, there are a few facts that need to be recognized.
Number one, this process was put in place by the current Board of Trustees, and that is where their involvement stops. None of the current leadership or staff are going to have a hand in writing the charter. Obviously all residents (including Trustees) are allowed to comment to the Home Rule commission and provide input, but none of them will be the actual writers.
Number two, Erie has grown the way it has because of the restrictions it governs under as a statutory town. The archipelago nature of the neighborhoods and the abundance of residential growth were all aided by Erie's inability to decline some applications or to add impact fees outside of standard infrastructure. This was exacerbated by Erie's poorly written comprehensive plan and the failure of leaders to annex as much as possible to keep Broomfield and Frederick at bay. Home Rule doesn't address every problem but it might be able to give the elected officials more flexibility in approving further development.
We keep saying "Home Rule might..." which is probably frustrating to read, but those words are intentional. Writing a charter is a huge undertaking. It could go well and set Erie up to handle even more growth or it could go poorly. The voters must get to know all of the commissioner candidates and choose the ones that have Erie's best interest in mind. This thing is on the ballot whether we like it or not, so we will all have to vote. If it fails, so be it. But if it succeeds and a charter is written, we need a commission that knows what they're doing. Otherwise the whole thing is a waste and Home Rule itself will lose credibility.
While Home Rule costs are not as “predictable” as the accountants in us would like, it traditionally not shown to be expensive.
In fact, Implementing Home Rule after it is accepted by the voters may have some costs, but they are highly dependent on what is written in the charter. For example, if the town decides to collect its own taxes it would need to hire people and purchase a software system. Many towns that collect their own taxes see an increase enough to pay for new employees 3-5 times over. This is because the insight and oversight of local business taxes is much better handled by local tax collection. No one can say exactly what Home Rule what it will cost because the charter hasn't been written yet. This process has two elements of cost: one for the expense of writing the charter, and another for implementing the charter if it is accepted by the voters.
The cost to write the Home Rule charter, while present, is negligible. Here's why: There is no cost to put the issue on the ballot in November because it's a combined election and Erie already has one issue going on it (TNAC re-authorization). The cost for consultants to advise the Home Rule commission is very little because CML advisors are subsidized by CML and the town's insurance provider: CIRSA. Town staff and attorneys will also spend some time with the Home Rule commission, so the cost there is minuscule too. The cost to implement it will depend on what is written in it.
As of the 2020 census 88% of municipalities with populations over 10,000 have moved to Home Rule.
As of the 2020 census 93% of Colorado's municipal population has moved to Home Rule
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