A Resident's Guide to Changing the Broomfield Municipal Code

Transcription

1 A Resident's Guide to Changing the Broomfield Municipal Code 2017 Edition 1 Page

2 Read this First To place a statewide issue on the ballot, contact the Colorado Department of State Elections Division at (303) ext To amend the Broomfield Home Rule Charter, see our publication "A Resident's Guide to Amending the Home Rule Charter." This guide is a reference only. It is printed to assist Broomfield residents learn about the municipal initiative process. Please refer to the appropriate sections of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter and Colorado Revised Statutes as you begin your process. Although not required, many persons seek legal counsel before placing a question on the ballot. Introduction Is there a local issue that matters to you and your community? Do you have an idea to improve the quality of life in Broomfield? One way to achieve this is to place a proposed ordinance on the ballot. If you successfully petition to place a question on the ballot, and a majority of Broomfield voters support the ordinance at the next election, your ordinance will become part of the Broomfield Municipal Code. Overview of the Process 1. Identify an issue that affects your community. 2. Propose an ordinance that, if passed, would become part of the Broomfield Municipal Code. 3. Collect signatures of eligible voters who are in favor of your proposed ordinance. File your petition with the Elections Division. 4. City Council may adopt your ordinance or refer it to the ballot. 2 Page

3 Definitions and Key Concepts An amendment is a change to the Home Rule Charter. A ballot issue (also called a TABOR issue) is a proposal to increase taxes, debt or revenue in order to fund specific programs or public improvements. TABOR is an acronym for Taxpayers Bill of Rights. TABOR is a section of the Colorado Constitution that requires an election to be held before a jurisdiction can raise taxes, debt or revenue. A ballot question is a proposal to amend the Municipal Code or Home Rule Charter. City Council is the legislative and governing body of Broomfield. They have the authority to adopt such laws, ordinances, resolutions and rules as it shall deem proper. City Council is comprised of 10 elected members (2 from each of the 5 wards) and the Mayor. The City and County Clerk and Recorder oversees and is responsible for the following Broomfield divisions: Elections, Motor Vehicle, Recording, and City Clerk. The Broomfield Home Rule Charter establishes Broomfield as a city and county and defines the specific authorities of City Council and administrators. The Charter also sets forth guidelines and processes for legislation, financing, and providing specific services within Broomfield. An initiative is a ballot issue/question that is placed on the ballot by the public using the petition process. The Broomfield Municipal Code is the official set of rules and laws specific to the City and County of Broomfield. An ordinance is a change to the Municipal Code. A referendum is a ballot issue/question that is placed on the ballot by an act of City Council. 3 Page

4 The Home Rule Charter and the Municipal Code The Broomfield Home Rule Charter (Charter) and the Broomfield Municipal Code (Code) are two different documents that govern the City and County of Broomfield. The process to change either differs. Overview Changes by City Council Changes by the voters Charter Establishes the City and County of Broomfield Defines the city's authorities and role of elected officials. Council may only amend the Charter with voter approval. Residents may petition Council to place a question on the ballot. Code Establishes enforceable ordinances (curfews, building codes); Organizes the city's administration (establishes a sales tax, creates a library) Council may change the Code with or without voter approval. Residents may petition Council to adopt an ordinance or place a question on the ballot. The main difference between changing the Charter versus the Code is that changes to the Charter must be approved through a ballot question. Council may change the Code without going to the voters. 4 Page

5 Changing the Municipal Code As a resident of Broomfield, there are two methods to change the Municipal Code. 5 Page

6 City Council Action City Council does not simply change the Municipal Code by majority vote. If you propose an ordinance and City Council wants to adopt it, several actions will occur at regularly scheduled, public City Council meetings. Council s regular meetings are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. A Councilmember will introduce the ordinance. If City Council votes to consider the ordinance, it will be placed on a future agenda for a public hearing and a final vote. The Petition Process Preliminary Research Identify an issue in your community that could be improved and would be enforceable by the City and County of Broomfield. The City enforces local ordinances (laws) regarding retail marijuana, noise levels, leashes for pets, garbage disposal, etc. Your first task is to write down your idea in the form of a proposed ordinance. This will require some research on your part. Talk with your neighbors, community groups, a Councilmember, or Broomfield staff. Although not required, it is recommended you seek legal counsel. You should also become familiar with the Broomfield Municipal Code. The Code is available at and then selecting Government. Reviewing the Code will help you become familiar with how ordinances are written and what ordinances already exist. Proposing an Ordinance Propose your ordinance in written form. Write your proposed ordinance exactly as you intend it to read if adopted. A change to the Code may address any city issue except : The City budget, appropriation of funds or levy of taxes; Salaries and tenure of city officials or employees; Zoning or rezoning of property; and Acquisition or disposition of municipal properties. 6 Page

7 Your proposed ordinance must also be "single subject," meaning it may not address unrelated topics. This is intended to prevent voters from being misled, and also to ensure that each proposal passes or fails on its own merits. You must submit your proposed ordinance to the Elections Division for approval. The City Attorney will confirm that your ordinance is "legislative" as required by Colorado law. If there are problems with the wording of the proposed ordinance, you will be informed so you have an opportunity to remedy them before beginning the petition process. Create a Petition If your proposed ordinance language is approved, you will prepare a petition to circulate amongst Broomfield voters. Petitions are more than just lists of signatures: they must meet specific legal requirements, which can be found in Title 31, Article 11, Section 106 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The full text of those requirements are available at the end of this guide. A sample petition is also included at the end of this guide. Upon request, the Election Division can provide you an electronic copy. Once you format your petition, you must bring it to the Election Division for approval before you begin collecting signatures. The City and County Clerk and Recorder will approve or disapprove your petition format within five (5) business days. Collecting Signatures Once your petition has been approved you may begin collecting signatures. The number of signatures needed is equal to 15% of the total voters who cast ballots in the last general municipal election [Municipal Code 7.1]. There were 15,425 votes cast in the November 3, 2015 Coordinated Election. You will need to collect 2,314 valid signatures to place an issue/question on the ballot in Some signatures will be rejected for a number of reasons (e.g. the signer was not a registered Broomfield voter). The Elections Division recommends getting an additional 20% of the required signatures to cover potential rejected signatures. During the petition verification process in 2013, 15% of the petition signatures were rejected. If you need 2,314 valid signatures, staff recommends obtaining ~2,800 signatures. 7 Page

8 Who may sign my petition? Persons are eligible to sign the petition if he/she is a registered voter in the City and County of Broomfield. When petitions are turned in, Elections Division staff will verify: The signer is a registered Broomfield voter; He/she provided his/her printed name, signature, and the address at which he/she resides (including street information and city); and The address provided on the petition matches the address in the statewide voter registration system. If the Elections Division cannot verify any of the above, or if any information is missing or illegible, the signature will be rejected. Once you turn in your signed petition to the Elections Division, they have ten (10) days to verify it. If there are enough valid signatures, you will be issued a statement of sufficiency. If there are not enough signatures, you will have ten (10) days to collect additional signatures. Once you turn in your amended petition, the Elections Division will have five (5) days to verify it. If the petition is still insufficient, it will be returned to you and may be filed again in one (1) year. Any person other than the circulator may assist a voter who needs assistance signing the 1 petition due to a disability or illiteracy. Can someone challenge my petition? Within 40 days after your petition is filed, any registered Broomfield voter may protest a statement of sufficiency on the following grounds (although not limited to these reasons): The petition form or circulator affidavit do not meet the requirements set forth by law; or A signature that was accepted should have been rejected (individual signatures must be identified by petition section and line number) C.R.S. 8 Page

9 You will be notified in writing, and a hearing will be scheduled for between five and ten days. A final statement of sufficiency or insufficiency will be given no later than five days after the 2 hearing. Rejecting petition sections The Elections Division must reject any petition section that does not have attached thereto the required notarized affidavit. This includes disassembling any section of the petition from the 3 affidavit. Do not make any alterations to your petition, including removing staples, once it has been approved to form. City Council Action and the Election The City and County Clerk and Recorder will file a statement of sufficiency with City Council. City Council has thirty (30) days to review your proposed ordinance and either: Adopt your proposed ordinance "as is"; or Adopt a resolution to place your proposed ordinance on the ballot. If Council decides to adopt your proposed ordinance "as is", it must then proceed through a first reading, public hearing and second hearing at regularly scheduled City Council meetings prior to becoming part of the Municipal Code. If Council decides to refer the ordinance to the ballot, and it is within 90 days of the November 7, 2017 election, the proposed ordinance will appear on that election's ballot. Otherwise, Council may call a special election. If a majority of electors vote in favor of the proposed ordinance, it 4 will be adopted into the Municipal Code and enforceable by law C.R.S (3)(e)(II) C.R.S. 4 Because a majority of voters is required, any tie vote means the proposed ordinance will not be adopted. 9 Page

10 Sample Timeline Placing a proposed ordinance on the ballot takes advanced planning. Consider this sample timeline for the November 7, 2017 Coordinated Election ballot. Depending how long you need to collect signatures, staff recommends beginning the process as early as possible so you can turn notarized petitions into our office by mid-late June. Date (2017) May 19 Event Turn your blank petition into staff to seek approval of the petition form. Staff has up to 5 days to review. May 24 Staff approves your petition format. May 25 May 26 June 30 July 25 August 22 Make copies of your blank petitions using the approved format and begin distributing them to circulators. Begin collecting signatures. While there is no maximum number of days to circulate your petition, assume you want to begin circulating by Memorial Day weekend. Suggested last day to turn in your petitions. Staff has 10 days to review the petition. If insufficient, you have 10 days to cure any deficiencies. Staff has 5 more days to review the cured petition and issue a statement of sufficiency. Staff will present the statement of sufficiency to Council at their regular meeting. Council then has 30 days to determine whether to adopt the ordinance or place it on the ballot. Final regular Council meeting prior to ballot certification. This is the final day for Council to take formal action to place a question on the ballot. September 8 Ballot certification. Last day to make any changes to the official ballot before printing begins. October 16 Mail ballots delivered to active voters November 7 Election Day 10 Page

11 Contact For more information, you may contact the Elections Division at (303) or us at Visit our website References Broomfield Home Rule Charter (click Government and then "City Charter") Broomfield Municipal Code (click Government and then "Municipal Code") Colorado Revised Statutes - Title 31 - Government - Municipal Article 2, Sections 210, 211, and 219 through 225 Article 11 - Municipal Initiatives, Referenda and Referred Measures Colorado Constitution - Article V - Legislative Department Section 1(9) - General Assembly - Initiative and Referendum 11 Page

12 Appendix a - legal requirements for petition forms Title 31, Article 11 Colorado Revised Statutes (includes any changes made during the 2016 legislative session) Form of petition sections (1) Each petition section shall be printed in a form consistent with the requirements of this article. No petition section shall be printed or circulated unless the form and the first printer's proof of the petition section have first been approved by the clerk. The clerk shall approve or reject the form and the first printer's proof of the petition no later than five business days following the date on which the clerk received such material. The clerk shall assure that the petition section contains only those elements required by this article and contains no extraneous material. The clerk may reject a petition or a section of a petition on the grounds that the petition or a section of the petition does not propose municipal legislation pursuant to section 1 (9) of article V of the state constitution. (2) Each petition section shall designate by name and mailing address two persons who shall represent the proponents thereof in all matters affecting the petition and to whom all notices or information concerning the petition shall be mailed. (3) (a) At the top of each page of every initiative or referendum petition section, the following shall be printed, in a form as prescribed by the clerk: WARNING: IT IS AGAINST THE LAW: For anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or her name more than once for the same measure or to knowingly sign a petition when not a registered elector who is eligible to vote on the measure. DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ON THIS MEASURE. TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF COLORADO AND REGISTERED TO VOTE. Do not sign this petition unless you have read or have had read to you the proposed initiative or referred measure or the summary in its entirety and understand its meaning. (b) A summary of the proposed initiative or ordinance that is the subject of a referendum petition shall be printed following the warning on each page of a petition section. The summary shall be true and impartial and shall not be an argument, or likely to create prejudice, either for or against the measure. The summary shall be prepared by the clerk. (c) The full text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance that is the subject of a referendum petition shall be printed following the summary on the first page or pages of the 12 Page

13 petition section that precede the signature page. Notwithstanding the requirement of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), if the text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance requires more than one page of a petition section, the warning and summary need not appear at the top of other than the initial text page. (d) The signature pages shall consist of the warning and the summary, followed by ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors' signatures. If a petition section contains multiple signature pages, all signature lines shall be numbered consecutively, from the first signature page through the last. The signature pages shall follow the page or pages on which the full text of the proposed initiated measure or ordinance that is the subject of the referendum petition is printed. (e) (I) Following the signature pages of each petition section, there shall be attached a signed, notarized, and dated affidavit executed by the person who circulated the petition section, which shall include the following: (A) The affiant's printed name, the address at which the affiant resides, including the street name and number, the municipality, the county, and the date the affiant signed the affidavit; (B) That the affiant has read and understands the laws governing the circulation of petition; (C) That the affiant was eighteen years of age or older at the time the section of the petition was circulated and signed by the listed electors; (D) That the affiant circulated the section of the petition; (E) That each signature thereon was affixed in the affiant's presence; (F) That each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; (G) That, to the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief, each of the persons signing the petition section was, at the time of signing, a registered elector; and (H) That the affiant has not paid or will not in the future pay and that the affiant believes that no other person has paid or will pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing such signer to affix the signer's signature to the petition. (II) The clerk shall not accept for filing any section of a petition that does not have attached thereto the notarized affidavit required by subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (e). Any disassembly of a section of the petition that has the effect of separating the affidavit from the signature page or pages shall render that section of the petition invalid and of no force and effect. (III) Any signature added to a section of a petition after the affidavit has been executed shall be invalid. 13 Page

14 (4) All sections of any petition shall be prenumbered serially. (5) Any petition section that fails to conform to the requirements of this article or that is circulated in a manner other than that permitted by this article shall be invalid. HISTORY: Source: L. 95: Entire article added, p. 424, 1, effective May 8.L. 2000: (1) and (3)(e)(I) amended, p. 800, 24, effective August Page

15 appendix B - sample petition The following pages are a sample petition. Contact the Elections Division for an electronic version. 15 Page

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