SUBJECT:
Title
Erie Home Rule Charter: Recommendations on Self-Collection of Taxes, Council District Options, Campaign Finance Regulations, and Other Implementing Actions
Body
DEPARTMENT: Manager, Finance, Administration, and Town Attorney
Department
PRESENTER(S): Sara Hancock, Finance Director
Amy Teetzel, Administrative Services Director
Jennifer Flaherty, Magellan Strategies, Principal & Director of Redistricting Services
Hilary M. Graham, Assistant Town Attorney
Melissa Wiley, Deputy Town Manager
Patrick Hammer, Deputy Town Manager
Malcolm Fleming, Town Manager
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 150 minutes
only required for non-consent items
POLICY ISSUES:
• Whether to self-collect Town taxes instead of continuing to rely on the State for that service.
• What configuration of council districts will best reflect the Home Rule Charter requirements to “…recognize general election precincts and to establish contiguous and compact districts with due consideration given to equal representation and communities of interest.”
• What campaign finance regulations should the Council adopt to reflect the Home Rule Charter requirements to require timely disclosure of all campaign contributions and spending.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Consider presentations and recommendations and then give staff direction on which actions and options Council wants staff to finalize for Council consideration at a later meeting.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Self-Collection of Taxes
As a Home Rule municipality, Erie may now self-collect sales and use taxes. There are pros, cons, and other considerations with self-collection. Staff will review these issues, but at this time staff recommends revisiting the concept in the 2026 budget process to:
• Research actual costs of software and possible administrative overhead (either internally or with consultation)
• Consider if any news taxes are on the ballot and there is a business case for self-collection
• Conduct and analysis/audit of possible under-collection
• Continue to monitor sales tax trends as economic development efforts increase retailers and activity
Council Districts
Erie voters approved the Erie Home Rule Charter in the November 2023 election and Boulder and Weld Counties certified the election results that same month. The Charter either requires or permits numerous implementing actions. Among the required actions, Article 2.03 requires the Council to create Council Districts by adopting an ordinance dividing the Town into three (3) districts to “recognize general election precincts and to establish contiguous and compact districts with due consideration given to equal representation and communities of interest.” As provided in Charter Article 16.03.(3), the ordinance establishing the boundaries of the Council districts shall be effective on or before May 9, 2024, which is at least one-hundred eighty (180) days prior to the November 5, 2024, election.
To provide the Council with district options to consider, and to be consistent with the Charter requirement that changes to Council districts be “made after considering recommendations from an independent expert with experience in the field of redistricting who is unaffiliated with the Town of Erie”, the Town retained Magellan Strategies. Jennifer Flaherty, Magellan’s Principal & Director of Redistricting Services will review three options she developed after reviewing 2020 Census data for the Town and the Town’s election precincts, census tracts, neighborhoods, and projected development.
Campaign Finance
Erie Charter Article 5.04 Campaign Finance, requires the Town Council to adopt local campaign finance regulations. Currently, Section 1-5-6 of the Erie Municipal Code addresses campaign finance complaints only, and the Town defers to Article XXVIII of the Constitution of the State of Colorado and the Fair Campaign Practices Act, C.R.S. § 1-45-101, et seq., as amended (the “FCPA”), for any additional campaign finance related matters. This is standard practice for any statutory municipality, but it is common for home rule municipalities to adopt local campaign finance requirements as part of their charters, to regulate campaign finance in a way that aligns with the unique issues the municipality may face in terms of its local elections, and in an exercise of a municipality’s home rule authority.
Article 5.04 of the Charter provides that the Town Council shall adopt and maintain by ordinance local campaign finance regulations that address the matters covered by Article XXVIII of the Constitution of the State of Colorado and by the FCPA. Such ordinance shall control as to local election matters instead of Article XXVIII and the FCPA. The Charter requires the local campaign finance regulations to include timely disclosure requirements of all campaign contributions and spending.
The Town Attorney’s staff drafted a proposed ordinance that complies with Article 5.04 of the Charter and creates a more comprehensive campaign finance regulation scheme for the Town that also includes a complaint process, which is currently the only aspect of campaign finance addressed in the Code. Thus, the proposed ordinance incorporates what currently exists while more fully addressing all aspects of campaign finance, including reporting and public inspection procedures, committee regulations, contribution and expenditure rules, communications requirements, and a reorganized complaint process. The proposed ordinance would create a new chapter within Municipal Code Title 1 as the new regulations are more comprehensive than Section 1-5-6 and thus is needed to encompass a separate Chapter within the Code.
Hilary Graham, Assistant Town Attorney, who assisted the Erie Home Rule Commission with drafting the Charter, will review these requirements and other possible regulations the Council may be interested in.
Other Implementation Actions
Transition actions required by Charter must be complete by May 26, 2024 (180 days from certification of election results). To date, Council has approved the following actions:
• Change “Board” to “Council” and “Administrator” to “Manager” in Code
• Order of succession when Town Manager is temporarily unavailable
• Departments set by Ordinance
• Changed appointment of Town Clerk by Council to hired by Town Mgr.
In addition to adopting Council Districts and Campaign Finance regulations, staff will also prepare for Council consideration ordinances to:
• Update Title 1 Chapter 5 of Code to reflect Article 2 of Charter regarding Elections and Terms of Office
• Update the Code to amend title of Title 1 Chapter 7 to “Code of Conduct and Ethics”
• Update the Code to reflect distinct zoning or land use designation for open space
• Adopt Purchasing Policy by ordinance, including delegated signature authority
COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Effective Governance
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Presentation
2. Districting Options
3. Campaign Finance Draft Ordinance