SUBJECT: Regular Business
Title
Home Rule Action Plan & Options
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration Department
PRESENTER: Gabi Rae, Communications & Community Engagement Director, and Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
TIME ESTIMATE: 90 minutes
only required for non-consent items
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff is bringing forward three main recommendations:
1. Move forward toward a Nov. 2022 goal of adding Home Rule to the ballot.
2. Move forward with moving the Town to coordinated elections in even years.
3. Remove consideration of the county consolidation option at this time.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Board of Trustees expressed interest in exploring the option of a Home Rule Charter. The item was originally added to the Work Plan in 2020 and then moved forward to the 2021 Work Plan when the COVID-19 Pandemic occurred in early 2020.
After extensive research on the topic, discussions with other recent Home Rule municipalities, discussions with each individual Trustee, surveys of the public, and a review of staff capacity - staff recommends adding the Home Rule question to the ballot in November 2022. A successful Charter depends on a robust community education and outreach process with key stakeholders. A November 2022 goal allows more time and resources to be dedicated to outreach before the election.
Intertwined with the decision for timing the Home Rule Charter question (along with the associated Charter Commissioner elections) are two additional questions:
1. Should the Town of Erie move to Coordinated Elections?
2. Should the Town of Erie consider city/county consolidation?
After considering the implications to staff time, Town funds, Trustee term limits, and public access to elections and services, staff recommends that the Town present a ballot question to the voters to move to Coordinated Elections in even years, and that the Board does not consider county consolidation at this time. Staff further recommends that the ballot question to move to Coordinated Elections be presented to the voters at the November 2021 election.
Moving to Coordinated Elections would mean that residents vote in November and that Town elected officials would have terms that begin and end in November (rather than the current schedule of voting and starting terms in April). This would reduce the cost of holding an election as it would be overseen at the county level with other local, state, and federal elections. This would also allow for a larger number of potential voters to participate because more voters typically turn out for November elections. A potential downside to this option: local questions would be at the bottom of possibly long ballots.
If the ballot question passes in November 2021, Board members whose terms would otherwise end in April 2022 would be extended to November 2022, a term extension of roughly 6 months. Among other things, this would allow for the current sitting Board to adopt the ordinance setting the Home Rule Charter ballot question in June 2022.
County Consolidation would mean that Erie would no longer be split between the two counties of Boulder and Weld, but would instead provide its own services as both a municipality and a county. Though Broomfield took on this monumental task when they were roughly the same population as Erie is now, staff does not believe the Town is currently well positioned to successfully pursue this option. There are numerous steps in attempting to become a joint city/county. The process takes approximately 3-5 years, involves significant expense and staff/consultant time to research and advocate for the Town’s interests in the State Legislature and with Boulder and Weld counties, and the outcome is uncertain. For all of these reasons, staff recommends not pursuing this option at this time.
If the Board wants to move forward to pursue a Home Rule Charter with the first election in November 2022, staff recommends the following steps and timeline:
• July - August 2021: Hire a consultant to be the project manager and expert for the Home Rule process
• Sept. - Oct. 2021: Administer detailed baseline surveys with community members and stakeholders
• Nov. 2021 - Jan. 2022: Focus groups, conversations, and engagement with businesses, residents, HOAs, and other stakeholder groups
• Feb. - March 2022: Administer follow-up surveys to gauge any change in sentiment in community and stakeholder groups
• April - May 2022: Board of Trustees hold discussions and public forums with interested Charter Commission candidates to discuss key issues
• June 2022: Board of Trustees adopt an ordinance adding the first Home Rule Charter question to the ballot for November 2022.
• November 2022: If the first Home Rule Charter question (formation of a Charter Commission) passes, then the Charter Commission begins its work of drafting a Home Rule Charter
More details of this proposed timeline and the implications of the other relevant questions with elections and county consolidation are available in an interactive presentation <https://view.genial.ly/60ddf38a8112a00d63a0efae>.
Board Priority(s) Addressed: (Note: Delete all priorities that do not apply and this note.)
ü Engaged and Diverse Community
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Effective Governance
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENTS:
Interactive Presentation <https://view.genial.ly/60ddf38a8112a00d63a0efae>