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 furth...
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