HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 Ordinance No. 011
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ORDINANCE COUNCIL BILL NO. 12
NO. 11 INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL
SERIES OF 2026 MEMBER WARD
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ENGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE
REGARDING EMERGENCY RESPONSE, IN THE EVENT OF
CITY EMERGENCY OR DISASTER.
WHEREAS, Englewood Municipal Code (EMC) § 7-7-4 requires the City to
establish a comprehensive emergency management program; and
WHEREAS, as part of that program and to meet the City Strategic Plan Safety
Goals, Disaster Preparedness Key Project Emergency Operations Training, the Englewood
City Manager’s Office, in conjunction with Arapahoe County Emergency Management,
has held two mock emergency response events to ensure City departments are prepared
for, and have the tools they need, to provide emergency response services to the City and
its citizens during a time of disaster; and
WHEREAS, those mock events have demonstrated the lack of clear authority
provided to City staff to authorize a comprehensive emergency response when City
Council may be unable to meet as a result of a city-wide disaster to grant specific authority;
and
WHEREAS, City Council desires to amend Englewood Municipal Code to
establish clear guidelines and authority in emergencies as authorized by the Englewood
Home Rule Charter, to authorize City staff to protect and assist the community in times of
emergency affecting public property, health, peace or safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Amendment of Title 7, Chapter 7 Regarding Emergency Response.
Englewood Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows (new provisions
underlined; repealed provisions crossed-through):
7-7-1: - Reserved Authority to Act During Declared Emergencies or Disaster.
A. In the case of a declared local emergency disaster pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-33.5-
709, if City Council is unable to achieve a quorum for a meeting within four (4) hours of
the issuance of a declaration:
1. As provided in Charter 118, and despite any limitation on contracting
authority in EMC § 4-1-3-1, the City Manager may authorize all contracts necessary
to respond to the emergency in the open market at not more than commercial prices,
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despite any otherwise-applicable competitive bidding or City Council contract
authorization requirements; and
2. As provided in Charter 80, City Council authorizes the City Manager to
accept gifts or donations needed for immediate response to the emergency.
3. The City Manager shall notify all members of City Council as soon as
practicable of such contracts awarded and donations accepted under the authority
granted by this section, and if City Council approval is otherwise required under
Municipal Code or City Charter, they shall be reviewed by City Council at its next
public meeting.
B. The City Council may exercise such powers and functions as it deems necessary
and appropriate to enable the timely and effective use of all available City resources to
prepare for, respond to, and/or recover from a declared emergency or disaster. This may
include delegation of specific authority to the City Manager to address exigencies arising
out of the declared emergency or disaster and waiving compliance with time-consuming
procedures and formalities prescribed by local law to address specifically-identified harms
arising out of a publicly declared emergency or disaster.
1. This waiver authority applies only to procedures required by EMC or City
policies, and does not authorize waiving requirements mandated by City Charter,
state or federal law.
2. Any intergovernmental or mutual aid agreement executed by the City
Manager under delegated emergency authority shall be subject to Council review
and ratification as soon as practicable, in accordance with Charter 79.
C. If, due to the emergency, it is not feasible to provide advance public notice of a
Council meeting, the meeting may be conveyed without the usual notice. In such cases, the
City shall give notice to the public by any practicable means at the time of the meeting (if
possible), and shall promptly record minutes of actions taken. Any action taken under these
emergency conditions shall be reported and ratified by City Council at a later public
meeting noticed under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, C.R.S. § 24-6-402.
D. Authority to Act. For purposes of declaration of a local disaster emergency under
C.R.S. § 24-33.5-709, the City’s principal executive officer shall be the City Manager, or
if applicable, a designated acting City Manager under Charter 50. If neither is available or
otherwise able to act, the acting principal executive officer shall be the first that is available
and able to act in the following order: Deputy City Manager, Chief of Police, Finance
Director, Public Works Director, or any other City department director. The principal
executive officer also shall have all authority granted to the City Manager under this
section.
7-7-3: - Mutual Aid and Automatic Aid Agreements.
A. The City Council may enter into such reciprocal aid, mutual aid, joint powers
agreements, automatic aid, intergovernmental assistance agreements or other compacts or
plans with other governmental entities for the protection of life and property all in
accordance with § 79 of the Home Rule Charter. Such agreements may include the
furnishing or exchange of supplies, equipment, facilities, personnel and/or services.
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B. The City Council may exercise such powers and functions as they deem necessary and
appropriate to enable the timely and effective use of all available City resources to prepare
for, respond to, and recover from a declared local public health emergency, including
delegation of specific authority to the City Manager to address exigencies arising out of a
declared emergency or disaster, or waiving compliance with time-consuming procedures
and formalities prescribed by local law to address specifically identified harms arising out
of a publicly declared emergency or disaster.
Section 2. Amendment of EMC § 4-1-3-1 to Refer to Code Regarding Emergency
Response. Englewood Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows (new
provisions underlined):
4-1-3-1: - Contracts for Services, Materials, Equipment.
A. The City Manager is authorized to purchase, and execute contracts for,
commodities, equipment, devices, machinery, materials and parts, supplies, and services,
including capital purchases of equipment and services less than $125,000 without sealed,
competitive bids.
1. In amounts over ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), the City Manager shall
obtain two written quotes, an optimal source justification, or, if the lowest and best
bid available to the City in the City Manager's opinion,
2. A general bid or purchase contract of a governmental jurisdiction, or
governmental/not-for-profit cooperative purchasing organization, at the prices,
terms and conditions contained therein (hereafter "Cooperative Purchase
Agreement").
B. If the project and/or contract has been budgeted by City Council and the contract
amount is equal to or less than the budgeted authority, the City Manager is authorized to
purchase and execute such contracts over $125,000 but less than $250,000 with sealed
competitive bids, an optimal source justification, or a Cooperative Purchase Agreement.
C. City Council shall approve all such contracts over $125,000 if unbudgeted, or over
$250,000 if budgeted, after a sealed, competitive bid, except City Council may:
1. Approve such contracts by motion without competitive bid for professional
or technical services, a Cooperative Purchase Agreement, or services of/on behalf
of the City's regulated public utilities if in the best interests of the City; and
2. By Resolution, approve such contracts with an optimal source, if the
Resolution describes the specific benefits to the City for utilizing the optimal source.
D. Calculating Dollar Thresholds.
1. The annual aggregated amount of a contract calculated by fiscal year will
be used to calculate the total amount of the contract for authorization requirements.
For a multi-year contract which the City may terminate at or within one year, the
amount of the first year of the contract will determine authorization requirements.
2. City Council shall approve all contract amendments increasing the total
contract amount by twenty-five (25) percent, if the total amended amount exceeds
the thresholds requiring City Council approval under (C) above.
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E. The City Manager shall establish effective and efficient purchasing policies in
accordance with the Home Rule Charter and Englewood Municipal Code. Such policies,
as updated, shall be provided to City Council for informational purposes.
F. The provisions of this section shall be amended during emergencies, as provided in
EMC § 7-7-1.
Section 3. General Provisions Applicable to this Ordinance
The following general provisions and findings are applicable to the interpretation and
application of this Ordinance:
A. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this Ordinance or the
application thereof to any person or circumstances shall for any reason be adjudged by a
court of competent jurisdiction invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate
the remainder of this Ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
B. Inconsistent Ordinances. All other Ordinances or portions thereof inconsistent or
conflicting with this Ordinance or any portion hereof are hereby repealed to the extent of
such inconsistency or conflict.
C. Effect of repeal or modification. The repeal or modification of any provision of the
Code of the City of Englewood by this Ordinance shall not release, extinguish, alter,
modify, or change in whole or in part any penalty, forfeiture, or liability, either civil or
criminal, which shall have been incurred under such provision, and each provision shall be
treated and held as still remaining in force for the purposes of sustaining any and all proper
actions, suits, proceedings, and prosecutions for the enforcement of the penalty, forfeiture,
or liability, as well as for the purpose of sustaining any judgment, decree, or order which
can or may be rendered, entered, or made in such actions, suits, proceedings, or
prosecutions.
D. Safety Clauses. The City Council hereby finds, determines, and declares that this
Ordinance is promulgated under the general police power of the City of Englewood, that it
is promulgated for the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and that this Ordinance is
necessary for the preservation of health and safety and for the protection of public
convenience and welfare. The City Council further determines that the Ordinance bears a
rational relation to the proper legislative object sought to be obtained. This Safety Clause
is not intended to affect a Citizen right to challenge this Ordinance through referendum
pursuant to City of Englewood Charter 47.
E. Publication. Publication of this Ordinance may be in the City’s official newspaper,
the City’s official website, or both. Publication shall be effective upon the first publication
by either authorized method.
F. Actions Authorized to Effectuate this Ordinance. The Mayor is hereby authorized
and directed to execute all documents necessary to effectuate the approval authorized by
this Ordinance, and the City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to attest to such
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execution by the Mayor where necessary. In the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem
is hereby authorized to execute the above-referenced documents. The execution of any
documents by said officials shall be conclusive evidence of the approval by the City of
such documents in accordance with the terms thereof and this Ordinance. City staff is
further authorized to take additional actions as may be necessary to implement the
provisions of this Ordinance, and has authority to correct formatting and/or typographical
errors discovered during codification.
G. Enforcement. To the extent this ordinance establishes a required or prohibited
action punishable by law, unless otherwise specifically provided in Englewood Municipal
Code or applicable law, violations shall be subject to the General Penalty provisions
contained within EMC § 1-4-1.
Introduced and passed on first reading on the 2nd day of February, 2026; and on second
reading, in identical form to the first reading, on the 17th day of February, 2026.
Othoniel Sierra, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Stephanie Carlile, City Clerk
I, Stephanie Carlile, City Clerk of the City of Englewood, Colorado, hereby certify
that the above and foregoing is a true copy of an Ordinance, introduced and passed in
identical form on first and second reading on the dates indicated above; and published
two days after each passage on the City’s official website for at least thirty (30) days
thereafter. The Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after first publication
on the City’s official website.
Stephanie Carlile
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