City and County of Broomfield, Colorado CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MEMORANDUM To: From: Prepared by: Mayor and City Council Charles Ozaki, City and County Manager Kevin Standbridge, Deputy City and County Manager Meeting Date Agenda Item # August 11, 2015 1 Agenda Title Governance Issues Summary At its January, 2015, Focus Session, the City Council identified City and County Governance as a priority for 2015. In discussing the priority, the City Council identified the following objectives to be reviewed and discussed: o Review the City and County s governance structure to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of Broomfield government; o Review and discuss roles for City Councilmembers in county matters; o Review City Council and Mayor s salary; o Review length of term for Mayor; and o Update assessment process for City and County Manager and Attorney. This memorandum provides a starting point for City Council discussions regarding these issues. Each of the identified objectives noted above is discussed in general terms in this memorandum. Staff is prepared to gather any additional information requested by the City Council. N/A Prior Council Action Financial Considerations Will be reviewed and identified as general direction is established. N/A Alternatives Proposed Actions/Recommendations Direction from the City Council regarding the stated objectives. Item 1 - Page 1
Governance Page 2 BACKGROUND During the City Council s discussion at its Focus Session regarding governance issues, the following objectives were identified: o Review the City and County s governance structure to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of Broomfield government; o Review and discuss role for City Councilmembers in county matters; o Review City Council and Mayor s salary; o Review length of term for Mayor; and o Update assessment process for City and County Manager and Attorney. The remainder of this memorandum provides general information regarding each of the objectives. Staff is prepared to perform any additional research requested by the City Council. Review the City and County s governance structure to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of Broomfield government - Review and discuss roles for City Councilmembers in county matters City Councilmembers have at times discussed their unique roles of serving as county commissioners and city councilmembers. The discussion has included observations that county related activities are typically scheduled throughout the state and are conducted during the day rather than in the early evening when city councilmembers are more likely available. Because of this, some Broomfield City Councilmembers have expressed that it is challenging to fully represent Broomfield with the State, Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI), and other county focused organizations. Councilmembers have attempted to serve Broomfield with these statewide interests. It has proven difficult at times for part-time City Councilmembers who have full-time employment. As a result of this, Broomfield is often represented by staff rather than elected officials. Councilmembers have previously made their appointments to the county related entities based on which Councilmember is available to attend the meetings. This has sometimes resulted in a small number of Councilmembers carrying large burdens. Some measures to address the issue have been suggested, including: 1. In concert with a following discussion on salaries, the City Council could provide differential salaries based upon the committees in which they serve. 2. Have staff fill in for elected officials in some of the meetings. 3. Do not participate in selected county gatherings. Item 1 - Page 2
Governance Page 3 4. Request that Broomfield voters modify the form of representation by amending the Municipal Charter to provide for full-time City Council/County Commission members. To modify the Broomfield Municipal Charter to re-form Broomfield s representatives from part-time City Councilmembers to full-time County Commissioners a charter amendment would have to be approved by Broomfield voters. Governance of the City and County of Broomfield is established under Article XX, Section 10 of the Colorado Constitution (included as Attachment 1). It provides the following. On and after November 15, 2001, the constitutional provisions creating and governing the city and county of Broomfield, the city and county charter adopted in accordance with these constitutional provisions, and the ordinances existing and adopted from time to time shall govern all local and municipal matters of the city and county of Broomfield. The Broomfield Charter provides that: Section 4.1 - City Council and Mayor. (a) The City Council shall consist of ten (10) Councilmembers, one (1) of whom shall serve as Mayor Pro-Tem. Two (2) of the Councilmembers shall be elected from each of the five (5) wards; the Mayor Pro-Tem shall be elected from within and by the Council, as hereinafter provided. Hereinafter, the words "entire Council" means those Councilmembers in office at the time a vote is taken. (b) The Mayor shall be elected at large from the entire City. Regarding municipal charter amendments, the charter provides that: Section 18.6 - Charter Amendments. This Charter may be amended at any time in the manner provided by statute. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the submission to the people of more than one Charter amendment at any one election. If provisions of two or more proposed amendments adopted or approved at the same election conflict, the amendment receiving the highest affirmative vote shall become effective. The City Council may place a proposed municipal charter amendment on the ballot with the approval of an ordinance prescribing the change and providing a ballot title for the question. Residents may also place municipal charter amendments on the ballot through a prescribed petition process. Item 1 - Page 3
Governance Page 4 Review City Council and Mayor s salary The salaries of the City Council and Mayor were last adjusted in 2001, by Ordinance No. 1535. The salaries, in place since 2001, are as follows: Monthly Salary Annual Salary Mayor $800 $9,600 Mayor-Pro-tem $600 $7,200 City Councilmembers $600 $7,200 The Municipal code also provides that, regarding expenses incurred by elected officials: 2-02-040 - Expenses. (A)Pursuant to Section 4.8 of the Charter, the council hereby orders that the mayor and councilmembers be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office upon submitting evidence of such expenses to the finance department. The Colorado Municipal League annually surveys the salaries paid to elected officials. The most recent 2015 survey results are presented below. Salary history from 2007 to present is included as Attachment 2. City Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Councilmembers Broomfield $ 9,600 $ 7,200 $ 7,200 Englewood $ 8,400 $ 7,800 $ 7,200 Boulder $ 10,762 $ 10,762 $ 10,762 Northglenn $ 11,688 $ 9,602 $ 8,349 Littleton $ 13,800 $ 12,300 $ 10,800 Thornton $ 15,000 $ 12,000 $ 10,800 Westminster $ 16,800 $ 14,400 $ 12,000 Arvada $ 18,000 $ 15,000 $ 13,800 Longmont $ 18,000 $ 12,000 $ 12,000 Lakewood $ 38,800 $ 12,873 $ 12,873 Aurora $ 58,014 $ 15,382 $ 13,451 The survey highlights that Broomfield elected officials are at the bottom, or second from the bottom for salaries paid. Attachment 2 illustrates that two cities provide insurance for the mayor and councilmembers. The majority of other communities allow the mayor and councilmembers to participate in the employee health system at the cost of the elected official. Salaries for County Commissioners in the 62 counties that are not cities and counties are established by statute and based on population. Salaries in 2016, for Item 1 - Page 4
Governance Page 5 commissioners in similarly populated counties to Broomfield, will range from $72,500 to $94,250. Broomfield s constitutional amendment provides that salaries are established by municipal ordinance and not by statute as with the other 62 counties. A copy of that section of the constitutional amendment is provided as Attachment 3. If the City Council were inclined to propose an increase in annual salaries, the Municipal Charter provides the following: Section 4.8 - Compensation. The members of the Council shall receive such compensation, and the Mayor such additional compensation, as the Council shall prescribe by ordinance; provided, however, that the compensation of any member during his term of office shall not be increased or decreased. The Mayor and Council may, upon order of the Council, be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office. If the City Council wishes to increase salaries for incoming members following the November 2015 election, the Council would have to approve an ordinance establishing updated salaries by October 13, 2015. Review length of term for Mayor The Municipal Charter provides that the Mayor shall be elected for a two-year term. The election for Mayor is conducted every two years to coincide with each election for City Councilmembers. By providing two-year terms for the Mayor, the authors of the Municipal Charter assured that the Mayor would have to run and be elected with each incoming round of new City Councilmembers. The Charter language is as follows: Section 4.3 - Terms of Office Mayor and Councilmembers. (b) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in the year 1977, the first regular municipal election shall be held under the provisions of this Charter amendment, at which time a Mayor shall be elected from the City at large for a two (2) year term and shall be elected every two years thereafter; and two (2) councilmembers shall be elected from each of the five (5) wards of the City as follows: the candidate receiving the highest number of votes within each ward shall be elected for a four (4) year term and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes within said ward shall be elected for two (2) year term. Thereafter, each councilmember shall be elected for a four year term. (Amendment passed 11/2/76). To modify the term of the Mayor, a Municipal Charter Amendment will have to be approved by Broomfield voters. As previously noted, the City Council may place a proposed municipal charter amendment on the ballot with the approval of an ordinance prescribing the change and providing a ballot title for the question. Residents may also Item 1 - Page 5
Governance Page 6 place municipal charter amendments on the ballot through a prescribed petition process. Given the timeframe for placing a question on the ballot by ordinance, it is too late to place a charter amendment on the November 2015 ballot. Term limits are imposed in the Colorado Constitution. They limit City Councilmembers to two-terms (eight years) and the Mayor to three-terms (six-years). There are provisions for municipalities to remove these term limits by an affirmative vote within the community. The following is from the Colorado Constitution: Colo. Const. Art. XVIII, Section 11 (2014) Section 11. ELECTED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS - LIMITATION ON TERMS (1) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to assure that elected officials of governments are responsive to the citizens of those governments, no nonjudicial elected official of any county, city and county, city, town, school district, service authority, or any other political subdivision of the State of Colorado, no member of the state board of education, and no elected member of the governing board of a state institution of higher education shall serve more than two consecutive terms in office, except that with respect to terms of office which are two years or shorter in duration, no such elected official shall serve more than three consecutive terms in office. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1995. For purposes of this Section 11, terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart. (2) The voters of any such political subdivision may lengthen, shorten or eliminate the limitations on terms of office imposed by this Section 11. The voters of the state may lengthen, shorten, or eliminate the limitations on terms of office for the state board of education or the governing board of a state institution of higher education imposed by this Section 11. (3) The provisions of this Section 11 shall apply to every home rule county, home rule city and county, home rule city and home rule town, notwithstanding any provision of Article XX, or Sections 16 and 17 of Article XIV, of the Colorado Constitution. Update assessment process for City and County Manager and Attorney The City Council has addressed, and is implementing, its updated evaluation process. Next Steps Staff is prepared to provide any additional information as may be requested by the City Council. Item 1 - Page 6
ATTACHMENT 1 Colo. Const. Art. XX, Section 10 COLORADO REVISED STATUTES * This document reflects changes current through all laws passed at the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-Ninth General Assembly of the State of Colorado (2014) and changes approved by the electorate at the November 2014 election * CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO ARTICLE XX HOME RULE CITIES AND TOWNS Colo. Const. Art. XX, Section 10 (2014) Section 10. CITY AND COUNTY OF BROOMFIELD - CREATED The city of Broomfield is a preexisting municipal corporation and home rule city of the state of Colorado, physically situated in parts of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties. On and after November 15, 2001, all territory in the municipal boundaries of the city of Broomfield shall be detached from the counties of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld and shall be consolidated into a single county and municipal corporation with the name "The City and County of Broomfield". Prior to November 15, 2001, the city of Broomfield shall not extend its boundaries beyond the annexation boundary map approved by the Broomfield city council on April 28, 1998, as an amendment to the city of Broomfield 1995 master plan. The existing charter of the said city of Broomfield shall become the charter of the city and county of Broomfield. The city and county of Broomfield shall have perpetual succession; shall own, possess, and hold all real and personal property, including water rights, the right to use water, and contracts for water, currently owned, possessed, or held by the said city of Broomfield; shall assume, manage, and dispose of all trusts in any way connected therewith; shall succeed to all the rights and liabilities of, shall acquire all benefits of, and shall assume and pay all bonds, obligations, and indebtedness of said city of Broomfield and its proportionate share of the general obligation indebtedness and, as provided by intergovernmental agreement, its proportionate share of revenue bond obligations of the counties of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld on and after November 15, 2001. The city and county of Broomfield may sue and defend, plead, and be impleaded in all courts and in all matters and proceedings; may have and use a common seal and alter the same at pleasure; may grant franchises; may purchase, receive, hold, and enjoy, or sell and dispose of real and personal property; may receive bequests, gifts, and donations of real and personal property, or real and personal property in trust for public, charitable, or other purposes, and do all things and acts necessary to carry out the purposes of such gifts, bequests, donations, and trusts with power to manage, sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same in accordance with the terms of the gift, bequest, donation, or trust. Item 1 - Page 7
The city and county of Broomfield shall have the power within and without its territorial limits to construct, condemn, purchase, acquire, lease, add to, maintain, conduct, and operate water works, water supplies, sanitary sewer facilities, storm water facilities, parks, recreation facilities, open space lands, light plants, power plants, heating plants, electric and other energy facilities and systems, gas facilities and systems, transportation systems, cable television systems, telecommunication systems, and other public utilities or works or ways local in use and extent, in whole or in part, and everything required therefor, for the use of said city and county and the inhabitants thereof; to purchase in whole or in part any such systems, plants, works, facilities, or ways, or any contracts in relation or connection thereto that may exist, and may enforce such purchase by proceedings at law as in taking land for public use by right of eminent domain; and to issue bonds in accordance with its charter in any amount necessary to carry out any said powers or purposes, as the charter may provide and limit. The city and county of Broomfield shall have all of the powers of its charter and shall have all of the powers set out in section 6 of this article, including the power to make, amend, add to, or replace its charter as set forth in section 9 of this article. The charter provisions and procedures shall supersede any constitutional or statutory limitations and procedures regarding financial obligations. The city and county of Broomfield shall have all powers conferred to home rule municipalities and to home rule counties by the constitution and general laws of the state of Colorado that are not inconsistent with the constitutional provisions creating the city and county of Broomfield. Prior to November 15, 2001, the charter and ordinances of the city of Broomfield shall govern all local and municipal matters of the city. On and after November 15, 2001, the constitutional provisions creating and governing the city and county of Broomfield, the city and county charter adopted in accordance with these constitutional provisions, and the ordinances existing and adopted from time to time shall govern all local and municipal matters of the city and county of Broomfield. On and after November 15, 2001, the requirements of section 3 of article XIV of this constitution and the general annexation and consolidation statutes of the state relating to counties shall apply to the city and county of Broomfield. On and after November 15, 2001, any contiguous territory, together with all property belonging thereto, hereafter annexed to or consolidated with the city and county of Broomfield under any laws of this state, in whatsoever county the same may be at the time, shall be detached from such other county and become a municipal and territorial part of the city and county of Broomfield. On and after November 15, 2001, no annexation or consolidation proceeding shall be initiated pursuant to the general annexation and consolidation statutes of the state to annex lands to or consolidate lands with the city and county of Broomfield until such proposed annexation or consolidation is first approved by a majority vote of a sevenmember boundary control commission. The boundary control commission shall be composed of one commissioner from each of the boards of commissioners of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties, respectively, and three elected officials of the city and county of Broomfield. The commissioners from each of the said counties shall be Item 1 - Page 8
appointed by resolution of the respective county boards of commissioners. The three elected officials from the city and county of Broomfield shall be appointed by the mayor of the city and county of Broomfield. The boundary control commission shall adopt all actions, including actions regarding procedural rules, by majority vote. Each member of the boundary control commission shall have one vote, including the commissioner who acts as chairperson of the commission. The commission shall file all procedural rules adopted by the commission with the secretary of state. HISTORY: SOURCE: L. 98: Entire section added, p. 2225, effective upon proclamation of the Governor, L. 99, p. 2269, December 30, 1998. View Custom Full Item 1 - Page 9
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