A well-written Home Rule Charter would give the Town flexibility and control to address foreseeable changes and resident desires as they come up.
Home Rule could make changes and impacts the following areas specifically in the Town of Erie:
By empowering local residents to design and write their own Charter, Home Rule enhances community control, interest, and involvement in municipal government.
As a Statutory Town, the state legislature sets the parameters by which the elected Board of Trustees has authority to develop local ordinances to address the needs of the residents of Erie. Moving to a Home Rule form of government creates better efficiencies in Town operations and improves the ability to protect and preserve the community.
Home Rule municipalities have the power to make relevant legislature and exercise control over issues of “local concern” with minimal state intervention.
The commission will be made up of nine Erie residents that are selected by the voters in November 2022. In order to become a candidate for the Home Rule Commission, each resident was required to submit a petition with 25 signatures of fellow Erie registered voters.
It is imperative that all voters get to know who these commission candidates are so they feel well represented by the people who will write the charter.
When venturing into new territory, one should look to those who have gone before in order to avoid pitfalls. It's a pretty good indicator that every municipality larger than Erie, and many smaller ones, have chosen Home Rule for ruling themselves. In fact, 93% of Colorado's municipal residents live under a Home Rule charter.
Check out this blog post by Erie resident Bob Braudes. He looked up all the neighboring counties and which form of government each of the towns/cities use. Here is an interesting fact from that article:
"Weld County itself is in fact one of two Counties in Colorado (in addition to Denver and Broomfield, which are both Cities and Counties) that have adopted Home Rule. If you look through these tables, it is hard to miss the fact that Erie is the largest Town in Colorado that has not yet gone to Home Rule."
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