HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/06/2001 - ITEMS RELATING TO AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 19 A-B
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL DATE: February 6, 2001STAFF:
John F. Fischbach
SUBJECT:
Items Relating to Amendments to the City Charter.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on First Reading.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 21, 2001, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors
of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article IV of the City Charter,
Pertaining to Residency Requirements.
B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 22, 2001, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors
of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article IV of the City Charter,
Pertaining to the Definition of Terms.
These two Ordinances would present separate but related Charter amendments to the voters as part
of the regular city election in April. The first proposed amendment would change the residency
requirement for division heads of the City so as to permit division heads to live outside of the Fort
Collins Urban Growth,as long as they live within five miles of the city limits. The second proposed
amendment would change certain terminology in the Charter that is confusing,since it is inconsistent
with the City's current organizational structure.
BACKGROUND:
The City Charter presently requires that all directors of City "departments" (today's service area
directors),all deputy city managers and assistant city managers,and those "division heads" (today's
department heads) who were appointed after March 5, 1985, reside within the Fort Collins Urban
Growth Area during their tenure in office. Staff is recommending two proposed amendments to the
City Charter relating to these provisions.
DATE: February 6, 2001 2 ITEM NUMBER: 19 A-B
Proposed Change in Division Head Residency Requirement
The first proposed amendment is that the residency requirement for division heads be modified so
that division heads may live outside the Urban Growth Area so long as they live within five miles
of the City limits. Under the revised language, the following residency requirements for other,
higher levels of management would still apply: the City Manager would still be required to live
within the City limits and deputy city managers, assistant city managers, and service area directors
would still be required to live within the Urban Growth Area.
The rationale for this proposed Charter amendment is outlined below:
1. A residency requirement for division heads(today's department heads)unnecessarily restricts
the pool of applicants for this level of management. There have been several occasions
where the City's ability to promote from within the organization has been limited by the
Urban Growth Area residency requirement. In these examples,the City risks missing out on
promoting the most qualified person for the job.
2. The City has as a stated objective the recruitment of a more diverse workforce. Because the
population of Fort Collins is over 90%white,a residency requirement significantly hampers
the City's ability to recruit and promote non-whites into the department head level of
management. And,because many upper level management positions are filled from within
the organization,the residency requirement may have the unintended effect of impeding the
promotion of minorities to that level of management when vacancies occur.
3. In today's society, many families have dual incomes with both spouses working outside the
home. Residency requirements inhibit the ability of spouses to work in different cities.
In order to provide for the most diverse and qualified applicant pool possible,staff recommends that
the Charter residency requirement be modified as indicated in the proposed ordinance.
Proposed Change in Terminology
The second Charter amendment deals with outdated terms contained in the Charter. There are two
definitions contained in Article X1II of the Charter that are inconsistent with the current
organizational structure of the City. The words in question are "department" and "division." The
Charter definition of these are as follows:
"Department" means a major city administrative unit headed by a director.
"Division" means a primary subdivision of a department headed by a person who is
directly responsible to the director of the department.
Under the current organizational structure,the major administrative units are called"service areas,"
and the major subdivisions of these service areas are referred to as "departments." Therefore, in
order to make the Charter terminology consistent with today's organizational structure, the term
"department" in the Charter should be changed to "service area" and the term "division" should be
changed to "department." A number of other companion changes should also be made to those
sections of the Charter where the terms are used.
ORDINANCE NO. 21, 2001
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
SUBMITTING TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IV OF THE
CITY CHARTER, PERTAINING TO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS,Article IV,Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the
Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado; and
WHEREAS, Section 31-2-210, C.R.S.,provides that Charter amendments may be initiated
by the adoption of an ordinance by the Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the
registered electors of the City of Fort Collins; and
WHEREAS,Article IV, Section 3 of the Charter presently provides that directors of a City
department or a group of City departments (who are actually "service area directors" under the
present organizational structure of the City),deputy city managers,assistant city managers and those
City division heads(today's"department heads") appointed after March 5, 1985,shall reside within
the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area("UGA") during their tenure in office; and
WHEREAS, Article III, Section 1 of the Charter states that the City Manager must reside
within the City during his or her tenure in office; and
• WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended that the UGA residency requirement
contained in Article IV,Section 3 of the Charter be modified for division heads(today's "department
heads"), so that such employees may live outside the UGA so long as they live within five miles of
the city limits; and
WHEREAS,the City Council believes that while residency requirements serve an important
public purpose at certain levels of management, they also tend to restrict the pool of qualified
applicants for employment with the City and adversely affect the possibility of internal promotions;
and
WHEREAS, for the foregoing, the City Council believes that the proposed amendment to
the above-referenced residency requirement should be submitted to the registered electors of the
City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the following proposed change to Article IV, Section 3 of the City
Charter shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment
No 1" at a regular municipal election to be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2000:
Section 3. Residency requirement.
Directors of a city department or a group of city departments,city di ision
deputy city managers, and assistant city
managers shall reside within the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area during their tenure
in office, but need not reside within the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area rior to
their appointment.
Section 2. That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed
Charter Amendment No. 2 to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 1
Shall Article IV Section 3 of the City Charter be amended to change the residency
requirement for division heads of the City so that division heads will be permitted to
live outside the Urban Growth Area so long as their places of residence are within five
miles of the City limits, with the understanding that the following residency
requirements will still apply to other, higher levels of management in the City
organization: the City Manager will still be required to live within the city limits and
the City Clerk, deputy and assistant city managers, and the directors of all major
administrative units who are directly responsible to the City Manager (those who
directly supervise the division heads) will still be required to live within the Urban
Growth Area?
_YES
NO
Introduced and considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of
February,A.D. 2001, and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of February,A.D. 2001.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
-2-
Passed and adopted on final reading this 20th day of February, A.D. 2001.-
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
-3-
• ORDINANCE NO. 22, 2001
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
SUBMITTING TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XIII OF THE
CITY CHARTER, PERTAINING TO THE DEFINITION OF TERMS
WHEREAS,Article IV,Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the
Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado; and
WHEREAS, Section 31-2-210,C.R.S.,provides that Charter amendments may be initiated
by the adoption of an ordinance by the Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the
registered electors of the City of Fort Collins; and
WHEREAS,the terms"department"and"division"appear in various provisions throughout
the City Charter and those terms are defined in Article XIII of the Charter in a manner that is
inconsistent with the present organizational structure of the City; and
WHEREAS, the term "department" as used in the Charter refers to a major city
administrative unit headed by a director,which unit,in the current organizational structure of the city
is actually a "service area"; and
. WHEREAS, the term "division" as used in the Charter refers to admistrative units that, in
the City's current organizational structure, are referred to as a "department"; and
WHEREAS,the City Council believes that the terms "department"and"division"should be
redefined in the Charter so as to be consistent with the current organizational structure of the City;
and
WHEREAS, for the foregoing, the City Council believes that the proposed amendment to
the above-referenced definitions should be submitted to the registered electors of the City.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the following proposed change to Article XIII of the City Charter shall
be submitted to the registered electors of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No 2" at a
regular municipal election to be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2000:
ARTICLE XIII. DEFINITIONS
Department means a
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Section 2. That the following proposed changes to Articles II, III, IV and V of the City
Charter, where the terms "department" or "division" are used, shall also be submitted to the
registered electors of the City at said election as part of"Proposed Charter Amendment No. 2":
ARTICLE 1I. CITY COUNCIL
Section 5. Powers.
All powers of the city and the determination of all matters of policy shall be
vested in the Council except as otherwise provided by this Charter.Without limita-
tion of the foregoing, the Council shall have power to:
(b) establish, cha�ngme, consolidate or abolish administrative offices,
f* � "or agencies by ordinance, upon report and
recommendation of the City Manager, so long as the administrative
functions and public services established by this Charter are not
abolished in any such reorganization. The city shall provide for all
essential administrative functions and public services,including,but
not limited to the following:
(e) inquire into and investigate any office, dcpartmentseryice sreti, or
agency of the city and the official acts of any officer or employee
thereof, and to compel by subpoena attendance and testimony of
witnesses and production of books and documents;
ARTICLE III. CITY MANAGER
Section 2. Powers,duties.
The City Manager shall be responsible to the Council for the proper
administration of all affairs of the city and to that end shall have power and be
required to:
(a) appoint and, when necessary for the good of the service, remove all
heads of depat MIMI ser ce as and employees of the city except as
otherwise provided by this Charter;
. ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 2. Administrative branch.
The administrative branch of the city government shall be composed of the
offices, io�and agencies established by ordinance upon report
and recommendation of the City Manager.Administrative functions and duties may
be assi tied and distributed among offices, depart d�`ment or
dinisrotr , ► S thereof,or agencies of the administrative branch by regulations
issued by the City Manager. The City Manager shall have power, whenever the
interest of the city requir
es,,to assign an to ee of one 1 4 g Y em� � ( )�� � ��?stna
to perform duties in anotherdepartilm
Section 3. Residency requirement.
Directors of a city department or a group of city
" city division heads appointed after March 5,
1985,deputy city managers,and assistant city managers shall reside within the Fort
Collins Urban Growth Area during their tenure in office,but need not reside within
the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area prior to their appointment.
Section 4. Oath of office.
Before entering upon the duties of the office, each member of Council, the
City Manager, the City Attorney, the City Clerk, the Judge of the Municipal Court,
and each director of a departmentserviC"shall take, subscribe before, and file
with the City Clerk an oath or affirmation that he or she will support the Constitution
of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Colorado,this Charter, and the
ordinances of the City of Fort Collins, and that he or she will faithfully perform the
duties of the office or position. The City Clerk shall take and subscribe the oath
before a notary public.
Section 9. Conflicts of interest.
Public body means the Council or any authority, board, committee,
commission, departmen service area,divistandepartment or office of the city.
ARTICLE V. FINANCE ADMINISTRATION
Section 8. Appropriations not to exceed revenue; appropriation required
for expenditures and obligations.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any-departmerrtservice?area, officer or agent
of the city to incur or contract any expense or liability or make any expenditure for
• or on behalf of the city unless an appropriation therefor shall have been made by the
Council. Any authorization of an expenditure or incurring of an obligation by any
officer or employee of the city in violation of this provision shall be null and void
from its inception.
Section 14. Audit and payments.
No demand for money against the city shall be approved, allowed, audited,
or paid unless it is in writing, dated and sufficiently itemized to identify the
expenditure, andpayment thereof approved by the Financial Officer and the person
or departure, creating the obligation.
Section 22. Powers and duties.
The Financial Officer shall have charge of the financial records and general
and special funds of the city, and shall collect, receive, and disburse all money be-
longing to the city,and shall have all other duties required to administer properly the
financial affairs of the city;to that end the Financial Officer shall have authority and
shall be required to:
(a) maintain a general accounting system for the city government and
each of its offices, departumnO0y;_W, and agencies; exercise
budgetary control over the same in accordance with the budget and
annual appropriation ordinance; prescribe the form of receipts,
requisitions, warrants, and other evidence of income and
disbursements;audit before payment all bills,invoices,payrolls,and
other claims and charges against the city government; and with the
advice of the City Attorney, determine the regularity, legality, and
correctness of such claims, demands, or charges;
(b) advise the City Manager of the budget requirements of the Financial
Administration Unit and furnish estimates and information
concerning other departmentService areas,agencies,and boards as re-
quested by the City Manager;
(c) advise dzpartmentservice;areas of remaining allotments;
Q) advise the City Manager of any financial irregularity in any
dspartmcrttSetviceerea.
Section 23. Separate utilities accounts.
The accounts of each utility owned and operated by the city shall be
maintained in a separate fund and kept separate and distinct from all other accounts
of the city. Each utility fund shall be accounted for utilizing the basis of accounting
• appropriate for an enterprise fund, and shall contain a reasonable allowance for
depreciation and obsolescence.All expenses incurred b
P Y deFartnlcn in
rendering services to any utility owned and operated by the city shall be fully paid
by such utility on a"cost of service"basis as determined by the City Manager.Each
utility shall be full aid for all services rendered by such utility to other city
�� If the utility is subject to a payment to the general fund in
lieu of taxes and franchise fees,an estimate shall be made of the amount of taxes and
franchise fees that would be chargeable against such utility if privately owned, and
the amount of such payment,as determined by the Council under Article XII,Section
6 of this Charter, shall be charged against the utility fund.
Section 26. Powers and duties.
The City Manager or designee shall appoint a Purchasing Agent who shall contract
for all supplies, materials,and equipment required or used by all departure
and agencies of the city, including businesses and enterprises operated by the
city.
Section 3. That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed
Charter Amendment No. 2 to the voters at said election:
CITY INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 2
Without changing the City's organizational structure, shall Article XIII of the City
Charter, as well as other terminology contained in other provisions of the Charter
where those defined terms are used, be amended so as to make the Charter language
consistent with the current organizational structure of the City in the following
respects:
(1) each major City administrative unit headed by a director who is
directly responsible to the City Manager would be called a "service
area" rather than a "department," and (2)each primary subdivision of
a service area headed by a person who is directly responsible to the
director of the service area would be called a"department"rather than
a "division"?
YES
NO
Introduced and considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of
February,A.D. 2001,and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of February, A.D. 2001.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading this 20th day of February, A.D. 2001.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk