HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 Ordinance No. 014•
ORDINANCE 0. Ji.
SERIES OF 2009
BY AUTHORITY
COUNC IL BILL NO . 15
INfRODUCED BY COUNCIL
MEMBER McCASLIN
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TffLE I, CHAPTER 8, OF THE ENGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL
CODE 2000, ENTITLED "MUNJr!PAL ELECTIONS" WITH THE ADDITION OF ,1. NEW
SECTIO N 8.
WHEREAS, Colorado Revised Statute §3 1-11-111(4) controls a protesl concerning, ballot
title; and
WHEREAS, that Statute provides that such protest s be conducted "as provided by i)cal charter,
ordinance or resolution"; and
WHEREAS , the Englewood Municipal Code does not currentlv arld!ess this issue and must be
amended 10 do so.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COlJNCIL OF THE CITY OF
• ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO , AS FOLLOWS:
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Section I. The Cily Council of the Cily of Englewood, Colorado hereby authorizes amending
Title I , Chapter 8, oflhe Englewood Municipal Code 2000 with the addition of a new Section 8,
entitled "Protests of Proposed Ballol Ti1les and/or Submission Clause for Initiative , Referenda
and Referred Measures" to read as follows :
' . . .
~= Protcu, of Pronoacd Ballot IitlH end/or 511hmi11ion Cleu,c for Ioitietivc Befercode
end Referred MGHUCCI
Anv Gitv of Englewood weistered el ec tor desiring to nrotest a orooosecl ballot title and/or
submi1s ion clause for aux bitiated or refeqed measure max file a written nrntest in the of¾i
~{the Citv Clerk Said notice ofnrotestshall be ('"1cd no later than s·oo nm on the Fri~
immediatelv urecedinc 'he date uoon whi ch the Cit t Cou ncil will consider the ordinanc~
final reading setting th e ballot title and/or submission clause The notice oforotest shall set
foob with narticularitv th e wunds of th e nrntest Such nrotest shall be heard cgnsidered
and resolved bv the Citv Council ncim to the adootion of said ordiounce
Section 2. Safety Clauses. "lbe Cily Council hereby finds , dc1ermines, and declares that thi s
Ordinance is promulgated under the general police power of the City of Englewood, that it is
promulgated for the hea lth, safety, and welfare of the publi c, and that this Ordinance is necessary
for the preservation of health and safety and for the protecti on of public convenience and
welfare. "lbe City Council further de1emiines lhal the Ordinance bears a rational rela1ion to the
proper legi sla1i ve obj eel sough ! to be ob 1ai ned .
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Secti on 3. Scvera bi lity . If any clause, sentr:ncc, paragraph, or part of 1hi s Ordi nance or the •
app li ca ti on thereof to any perso n or circumstances shall fo r any reaso n be adjud ged by a cou rt of
competent jurisd icti on inva lid, such jud gment •Jhall not affect., impair or in va li date the rema inder
of thi s Ordin ance or it app li ca ti on to other per mns or circumstances.
Section 4. Inconsistent Orrl 'nan ces. Al l ,1her Ordin:::ices or porti ns thereof inco nsistent or
confli cting with thi s Ordi nanct or any porti on hereo f are he, eby repea led 10 th e ex tent of such
in co nsistency or confli ct.
Sectio n 5. Effe ct of rep ea l or mod ifi cati on. 11,e re pea l or modifi ca ti on of any prov ision of
th e Co de of th e City of Englewood by thi s Ordin ance sha ll not rel ea se , extingu ish, alter, modi fy,
or change in whole or in part any pen alt y, forfe iture, or liability, either civi l or crimin al, whi ch
shall have been incurred und er such provis ion, and each prov ision shall be treated and held as
still remai ning in force fo r the purposes of su:,~a in ing an y an d all proper actions, suits,
proceedin gs, and prosec utions fo r the enforcement of the enalt y, forfei ture , or liability, as well
as fo r th e purpose of sustaining any judgment, decree, or ord er which can or nmy be rendered,
entered, or made in such actions, suits, proc:cedings, or prosecu tions .
In troduced , read in fu ll , and passed on fir st reading on the 4th day of May, 200 9.
Publi shed as a Bill fo r an Ordinance in the City's offic ial news paper on the 8"' dty of May, 2009.
Published as a Bill fo r an Ordinance on the Cit y's official webs ite begi nnin g on •.oe 6th day of
May, 200 9 for thirt y (30) days .
Rea d by tit le and passed on fin al readi ng on th e I 8'' day of May, 200 9. •
Publi shed by titl e in th e City's offi cial newspaper as Ordin ance No d_, Seri e, o f 2009, on
the 22 nd da y o f May , 2:)09.
l, Lo ucri shia A. Elli s, Cit y Cle rk of the Ci ty of Englewood, Co lora do, hereby cert ify that th e
above and fore goin g isJ ,"f:t e co py of th e Ordin ance passed on fi na adin g and publi shed hy
titl e as Ordi nan ce No. Cl-, Se ries of 2009.
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Loucrishia A. Ell is •
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COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
Date : Agenda Item : Subject:
Ma\' 4, 2009 11 a ii Ad opt a Pro cedure fo r Pro tests of Proposed
Ba ll ot Title and/or Subm ission Clause for
In iti ative , Referenda and Referred Measures
Initiated By: Staff Sources:
Fi nance an d Adminis trative Se rvices Fra nk Gryglewicz, Director ot 1/11.tn Ce and
Elec ti o n Commiss ion/City Clerk's Office Administ rati ve Se rvices and LJ uc rlsh ,. A. Ellis
City Clerk/El ec ti on Com· , ,1(1 !•1':'~.:.,'-'f
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COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
Council has not di sc usse d thi s prev iou sly.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Th e El ecti on Commiss ion dis cusse d th is iss ue at its March 4, 2009 m eeting.
Th e City Clerk 's Office and th e El ecti on Comm ission see k Coun ci l approva l of a bill for an
ordinance to am end th e En glewood M unicipa l Code 2000, by adding Titl e 1, Chapter 8, Secti on 8:
Protests of Proposed Ballot Titles and/or Submission Clause for Initiative, Referenda and
Referred Measures .
A ny registe red elector desir ing to p rotest a prop osed ball ot ti tl e and/or submiss ion cla us e for an y
initiated or refe rr ed meas ure ma y fil e a w ritt en protest in th e office of th e City Clerk. Said n oti ce of
p ro test shall be fi led no later th an S:00 p .m . on th e Frid av immedi ately p rece din g th e date upon
w hi ch the Ci ty Coun cil will consi der th e o rdi nan ce, on fina l rea ding, se tting th e b all ot titl e and/or
submi ssio n cl au se. Th e noti c e of p ro tes t shall set forth with p arti cularity the grounds of th e protest .
Such p rotes t shall b e hea rd, cons id ered, an d reso lve d by th e Ci ty Council pri or to the adoption of
sa id ordin ance.
BACKGROUND
Colorad o Revise d Statutes § 3 1-11 -111 (4) ... ln itia ti ve s, refe renda and referred m eas ures -ball ot
titl es , sta tes th at "any p rotes t conce rn ing a ba ll ot titl e shall b e co nducted as p rovided by local
c hart er, ordin an ce or resoluti on." We c urrently do not ha ve anythin g in pl ace to address a ba ll ot
titl e protest.
Fl \NCIALIMPACT
None
UST OF ATTACHMENTS
Englewood El ec tic,n Commi ssi on Minu tes of March 4, 2009
Pro pose d Bil l for an O rdina nce
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1. Call t o Order
Cit y of Englewo od
ELE CTION CO MMIS ~iO N
March 4, 200 9
City Manager's Conferen ce Roo m • Third Fl oo r
Engl ewood Civic Genie r
1000 Eng le wood Parkway
Englewood , CO
The meelin g · 'he Englew ood Elec lion Comm ission was celle d to order by Chairperson La y at 5·30 p.m
2. Roll Call
Pres en t:
Abse nt:
A quorum was prese nt.
Memb ers Lay , Bronso n, Jensen , Ell is
Member Nabho lz
Also presenl Oeputy City Clerk Bush
!C le rk's note : Mem ber Nabh ol z was unabl e to attend du e to her work schedule . She me t with City Cle rk
Ellis and Dep uty City Clerk Bu sh , earlier in the day, on March 4, 2009 lo disc uss the items on thi s Agenda
and was irr agreemen t with the suggested recommendatio ns .)
3. Citizen Forum
There were no visitors presen t.
4. Consideration
(a) Protests of proposed ballot titles for In itiative, refe re nda and referred measures
Cit y Clerk Ell is explained that in re searc hing specifics of the ini tiative pro ce ss , she ca me across CRS §
31-11-111 (4 ) ... In itiatives , referenda and re ferred measures • ba llot titles, which sta tes that "any protest
co ncerning a ballot title shall be con du cted as provided by local charte r, ordinance or resolulion ·. As we
curre ntl y do not have anything in place to address a ballot title protest , she said , I am asking the Election
Com mis sion to reco mm end a protest procedure . Kerry pu t the qu estion out on our clerk's li stserve and
we foun d so me language that we th ink is appropriate. CRS § 31-11-103 (4 ) Defin itio n: ·s ubmission
cla use" means the language that is attached to the titl e to form a qu est ion that can be ans wered by "ye s·
or ",10·. Based on this definition , Ms . Ellis suggest ed the proced ure inclu de th e term "subm issi on clause·.
Ms Ellis also wanted to be certain that th e Comm ission understand s tha t th is is for protests for initiative ,
refere nda aod referred measures only , not recall We will be reques ting that the prol :t deadl ine be
included in th e ordina nce Itse lf. Att er Council approve s an ordin an ce , sell ing a ba ll ot question , on first
reading , the ord inance will be published in full in the Engl ewood He rald and on the City of Englewood's
website . Th is will provide notifi cati on of the deadline to the citiz ens .
Dis cuss ion ensued .
MEMBER LA Y MOV ED, A'ID MEMBER JENSEN SECONDED , TO RECO MM END T C' CIT Y COUN CIL
THAT TH E BAL LOT TIT LE PR OTEST PROC EDUR E READ AS FOLLOWS :
Engle wood Electi on Co mmi ssi on
Ma rch 4, 2009
Pag e 2
PROTESTS OF PROPOSED BALLOT TiTL E AND/OR SUBMISSION CLAUSE FOR INITIATIVE,
REFERENDA AND REFERR ED MEA SURES .
ANY REGISTERED ELECTOR DESIRING TO PROTEST A PROPOSED BALLOT TITLE AND /OR
SUBMISSION CLAUSE FOR ANY INITIATED OR REF ERRED MEASURE MA Y FILE A WRITTEN
PROTEST IN THE OFFIC E OF THE CITY CLERK. SAID NOTICE OF PROTEST SHALL BE FILED NO
LATER THAN 5:00 P.M . ON THE FRIDAY IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE UPON WHICH
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER THE ORDINANCE, ON FINAL READING , SETTING THE
BALLOT TITLE AND/OR SUBMISS 'l)N CLAUSE. THE NOTICE OF PROTEST SHALL SET FORTH
WITH PARTICULARITY THE GROUNDS OF THE PROTEST. SUCH PROTEST SHALL BE HEARD ,
CONSID ERED , AND RESOLVED BY TH E CI TY COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION OF SAID
ORDINANCE .
Chairperson Lay asked if there was any discuss io n.
Member Bronson sa id I think we covere d ii all. It is fair, it has a cut-off poinl and if City Coun cil wants to
e•tend , lhen lhey can do that.
Vote results :
Ayes :
Nays :
Alisent:
Motion carrie d.
Discussion
Members Lay , Bronson , Jensen , Ellis
None
Member Nabholz
(a) Recall Effort -Procedures
City Clerk Ellis stated the memo to th e Elec tion Co mm iss ion, dated February 26, 2009, provide s some
basic, initial infomnation regarding the recal l. That information will becom e a part of the record of lhis
meeti ng. Ke rry and I have been doing research, reviewing the Colorado Constitution, the Col ora do
Revised Statutes -Title 1 and Title 31 . I hav e also co nfe rred with City Attorney Dan Brotz man and
Colorado Municipal Lea gue Gen~ral Counsel Geoff Wils on. Pu rsu ant to our Cha rt er , we would cond uct a
Recall Election and if it was successful, we would then conduct a Vacancy Electio n, she said . In th e
Fe bru ary 26 , 2009 memo I stated : "If the petiti on is file d withi n lhe time fram o specifi ed and is deeme d to
be sufficie nt, City Cou ncil must set a date for th e Recall Electi on , to be held not les s than 60 da " nor
more than 120 days after th e fili ng of the recall pe lilio ns ". Depe ndi ng on when the petition s are ,rn ed in ,
we would be looking al a special election In July or August. In sche duling a Recall or Vaca ncy Election
we have lo re member that our Charter§ 14 prohibits ho ld ing a special election within 45 days before or
after a gen eral mun icipal or st ate election .
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However , she said, there is another timeline is sue we need to consider . Colo rado Revised Statutes§ 31 -
4-503 (4) stat es lhat... "if a regu lar election is to be he ld within 1 BO days afte, the date of sub mission of
lhe petitior , lhe recal l election shall be held an a part al said regular electio ,1: e:·cept thal , if th e officer
sough! lo IJe recalle d is seeking reelection al said regular electi on , onl y lhe qwstion of su ch officer's
reelection shall ap pe ar on the ballot". And CRS § 31-4-5G3 (4 .5) states that ·a rec all election purs uan t to
this part 5 may only be con ducted as part of a coordinated election if the conte nt of the re call electio n
ballot is finally determ ined by the date for certification of th e ballot co ntent for the coordinate d election tc
the cou nty clerk pursuant to section 1-5-203 (3)". It has bee n detemnined th at we "'3n suomit a recall
question on a coordinated ballot and given the tim efra mes we are looking at , the co nt ent of the recall
election ballot would definitely be detemnined by the dale I am required to certify my ballot content to the •
Arapahoe County Clerk, wh ich is 60 days prior to the electi on ... Sept ,mber 4, 2009 . The statement of
def~nse must be submitted to ihe City Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on Ma rc'1 1 Cth We hope to fin ali>e the peti tions
bv Fnday 1 March 13th
• Ms . Bartn ick has 60 days to circulate the petit ions . If we issue the ~•titians on
March 13 ", they would be due back in tne Cle rk's Office by 5 :00 p.m on May 12th• Ma y 7 1s 180 da ys
pri or lL the November 3, 2009 Gene ial Mun icipal Elect ion . So , if she were to tu m in the pet illona
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Englewood Election Commission
March 4 , 2009
Page 3
between Ma y 7'" an d Ma y 12'". and the y are deem ed to be sufficien t, we wou ld have 10 submit lhe reca ll
questions to the November ballo t and Mayor Wo odward wou ld onl 1• ap pe ar as an office r up for re-
ele ction .
Ms Ellis said I have asked Ms . Bannick to provide me with lhe name and address of three to five persons
wh o will comprise the "committee ". They must be registered electo rs of the City of Englewood and for
Counc il Membe r Jefferson's ~atition the y must be registered electors in Dist rict 1. CRS § 31--4-502 (1 ) (a)
(I). "Each petition shall designate by ,1 am e and addres s not less than three nor more than five persons ,
referred to in this section as the "committee ", who shall represent the signers thereof in all matters
affecti ng the same ." I will ne ed this information prior to finalizing the petitions .
Chai rperson Lay asked did you call her. Ms , Ell is responded tha t I emailed her last week . As of this date ,
I have not heard l:ack from he r with this infonmation . I will be contacting her again to let her know that I
need this infonmat1on
Because of the various possibilit ies , I am asking the Election Commission to auth orize me to follow CRS
Hie 31 and the "Colorado Muni cipa l Election Code of 1965" as I admin ister the first segment of th is recall
effon . If it becomes clea r th at we are working within the limefram e of 180 days prior to the No vember
election , I would like the Co mm ission to authorize me to follow the "Unifonm Election Cod e of 1992", as
that is th e Elect io n Code Arapaho e County wil l be following ,
If we end up con du ctin g our own election, I would like approva l to co nduct a Mai l Ballot Election in
acco ~an ce wi th the "Colorado Muni cip al Election Code of 1965" and the "Uniform Election Code of 1992"
Article 7.5 "Mail Ballo t Election s",
Ms . Ellis stated we have rec eived a Co unci l Request asking fo r ele ction costs associated with the recall
process (i.e. the recall election , the po ssible subsequent election to fill vaca ncies , and any other
associated costs). She stated that I think we are the only mun ic ipa lity that conducts separate recall and
vac anc y elections . We have been surveyin s various municipalllies regard ing costs associate d with
special elections . Based on the information they have shared with us , it aepears we would be looking at
a minimum between S35 ,000.00 and S50 ,000 .00 for each el ection . If we were ab le to coordina te the
reca ll election with the County 's November 3. 2009 election , the costs would be minima l. Our recall in
1997 was con ducted by mail ballot , as the Comm ission determi ned that was app ropriate as the Co uncil
member the citizens were attempting to recall had been elect ed by mail ball o In tod ay's wo rld , we have
another considerat ion . Reg istered electors now have the cho ice of signi ng up as a pe rmane nt ma il ballot
recipient. If we were to cond uct a pol ling place election , we would st ill have to honor the requests for a
penmane nl mail ballo t. We would end up conducting a polling place and a mail ba llot election at th e same
time and the costs would increase substantially , We could have the possibility of having three elections
this yea r. the recal l elect ion, the vacan cy election and the November general election . It is a very
comp licated process .
MEMBER JENSEN MOVED , AND M~MBER BRONSON SECONDED , TO AUTHORIZE THE
ENGLEWOOD CITY CLERK TO FOLLOW THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES (CRS) TITLE 31
AND TH E "COLORADO MUNICIPAL ELECTION CODE OF 1965" DURING THE INITIAL PHASE OF
THE 2009 RECALL EFFORT ; TO CONC.UCT A MAIL BALLOT ELECTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE "COLORADO MUNICIPAL ELECTION CODE OF 1965 " AND TliE "UNIFORM ELECTION CODE
OF 1992" ARTICLE 7.5 "M AIL BALLOT ELECTIONS " IF IT IS DETERMINED THE CITY WILL BE
CON DUCTING A SPECIAL ELECTION ; AND IF IT IS DETERMINED THAT WE WOULD MEET THE
TIMEFRAME OF 180 DAYS PRIOR TO THE NOVEMBER ELECTION , THAT AT THAT POINT THE
CITY CLERK WILL BEGIN FOLLO 'ING THE "UNIFORM ELECTION CODE OF 1992" AND BE
ALLOW ED TO COORDINATE Wll ~RAPAHOE COUNTY IN l'lOVEMBER .
Ayes : Members La y, Bronson , Je nse n Ellis
Na ys None
Absent Me mber Na bholz
Motion earn ed.
Englewood Election Commission
March 4, 2009
Page 4
Ms Ellis said I would like to addre ss three other issues that have come up . I have received questions
regarding th e truthfuln ess of the charges , If a Council member is reca lled can th ey run to fi ll the vacan cy
and can additional recall efforts be launched aga inst them? Ms . Ellis passed out copies of the following
cites : CRS 31-4-502 (1) (a) (I) .... the "electors shall be the sol e and exclus iv e j udge.; of the legality ,
reasonabl en ess , and sufficiency of the grounds assigned fo r re call and said grounds sha!I not be open to
review"; Colorado Co nstitution, Article XX I, Section 3 -Case law: "Rec alled officer may not succeed
himself . Home-rule cities ma y pro vi de for an election system in which candidates may be elected by a
pluralit~ vote . They may not , however , make it possible to frustrate the will of the majo rity by allowing a
recalled officer to succee d himself. Bernzen v. Cit y of Boulder , 186 Colo . 81, 525 P.2d 416 (1974)"; and ,
Colorado Cons t itution, Article XXI, Section 4 -" ... After one recall petition and election , no further petition
shall be filed against the same officer during th e term for which he was elected , unless the petitioners
sig nin g said petition shall equal fifty percent of the votes casl at the las: preceding genera l election for all
of the candidates for the offi ce held by such officer as herein above defined ". She said I wanted to be
certain that yo u all received these cites . Ms . Ellis said anything to do with elections is not bla ck and white
and you just try to do the very best tha t you can . We just try to be fair , everyone is treated the same and
given th e same information .
(b) November 3, 2009 General Municipal Election
City Clerk Ellis said we are asking that you recommend to City Council that we coordinate with Arapahoe
County for ou r Gene · Municipal Ele cti on . We anticipate it will be a ma il ballot election held in
accordance with the 't ,!fo rm Election Code of 1992". The Election Comm ission has , since the inception
of the Coordinated El,"·:ron, made this recommendat ion to Council based upon the beliel that thi s is in the
bes i interest of our citi.:. · ns.
Ms . Ellis noted that we anticipate Council will refe r a Charter qu es tion to the ballot concerni ng term lim its
and we have had one inquiry regarding the initiative proces s. We have 3 Council seats up fo r election in
Nove mber: At-Large (one vaca ncy), District 2 and Distric t 4. In addition, the Municipal Judge seat is up .
We have two candidates declared at this point in time : Jerry Furman, At-Large and Richard Gilli!, District
4. Council !~ember John Moore , Distr ic t 2 is term li mited . Candidate pac ke ts will be available July 1"
and copies will be mailed to the Commission members .
Ms . Ellis passed out some information regarding Amendment 54 , as provided on th e Colorado
Department of Personnel & Administra tio n website http ://www .colorado .gov/dpa ldfp/sco/contracts .htm .
She explained that this amendment to the State Constitut ion concerns restrictions on campaign
contributions from sole source contracts awarded by state or local governments wi thout competitive
bidding . Because of the broad scope of the Amend ment and the diffic ulties associated with preparing a
complete list of sole source contracts, she said , the onl y thing we can do is provide the informat io n to
candidates and is sue committees to make them aware of th e restrictions . She also provided a copy of a
Rocky Mountain News article dated January 29 , 2009 entitled "Amendment 54 challenged ". The purpo se
of inc lud ir,g this article , she said , is to provide ins ight into some of the iss ues involved with this
Amen dmen t.
MEMBER LAY MOVED, AND MEMBER BRONSON SECONDED , TO RECOMMEND TO CITY
COUNCIL THAT THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PARTICIPATE IN A MAIL BALLOT COORDINATED
ELECTION WITH ARAPAHOE COUNTY ON NOVEMBER 3, 2009 .
Ayes : Members La y, Bronson , Jensen , Ellis
Nays : None
Absent: Member Nabholz
Mot ion ca rri ed .
6. Member1s Choice
(a) Chairperson La y sa id I hav e spent 30 years putting on elections . I no lon ger do that , and
so I'm not as up to date , and electlons laws chang e constant ly. Unless you are on top of it , it is very ha rd
to do th is. It can be very frustrating .
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Englewood El ec tion Commiss ion
March 4, 2009
Page 5
7. Transmittal of Miscellaneous Item s
There were none .
8. Adjournment
Th e meeting a~Journed at 6 :30 p.m.
ifzuL
Depu ty City Clerk