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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/16/2005 - ITEMS RELATING TO PLACING PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDME ITEM NUMBER: 23 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: August 16, 2005 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Wanda Krajicek SUBJECT Items Relating to Placing Proposed Charter Amendments on the November 1, 2005 Ballot. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on First Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 093,2005, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article II of the City Charter, Pertaining to Publication of Ordinances. B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 094,2005, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article VIII of the City Charter, Pertaining to the Board of Elections. These Ordinances place individual Charter amendments on the November 1,2005 Special Election ballot. BACKGROUND The City Council has adopted ordinance No. 081, 2005, calling a special election to be held on November 1,2005 in conjunction with the Larimer County Coordinated Election. If adopted,these two Ordinances will submit Charter amendments, described below, to the voters at the November 1 election. Publication of Ordinances Article II, Section 7 of the City Charter presently provides that every proposed ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, must be published once in full at least seven days before its final passage in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city. Article II, Section 7 also provides for publication of a notice of final passage of an ordinance. Staff believes it would be more cost effective to publish ordinances, prior to final passage, in full on the City's web site, and by number and title only in the newspaper, which is estimated to result August 16, 2005 -2- Item No. 23 A-B in a 63%reduction in advertising costs($10,000 savings annually). Any publication by number and title only will include a statement that the full text of each ordinance is available for public inspection and acquisition in the office of the City Clerk and on the internet web site. Board of Elections The Election Board was created in 1954. The purpose of the Election Board is to assist with the conduct of elections and to certify the election results. The Election Board consists of two citizens appointed by the City Council, and the City Clerk. Prior to the age of technology and mail ballot elections,the Election Board was very involved in the conduct of elections. Election Board members recruited individuals to serve as polling place judges, often relying on friends, relatives and church members. This was truly a function benefitted by community networking. However, as technology developed to manage lists of volunteers using databases, it became more efficient for staff to assume the role of recruiting and managing polling place judges. Certification of election results has also become effortless through the use of technology. In the past, verification of the results was an exercise in calculation and recalculation until the Board was satisfied that the numbers were accurate. In 1995, when the City conducted its first mail ballot election, the need for polling place judges became obsolete. Since 1995,the role of the Election Board has continually declined. In 2005,with only one citizen member in place on the Board, the role was limited to certifying the results of the election. Sophisticated election equipment and tabulation software now handle the tabulation process with proven accuracy. Procedures for testing election machines and tabulation software prior to counting ballots ensure accurate results. There is no need to manually recalculate results. It is still important to have a body of authority certify election results. This proposed Charter amendment recommends that the sole remaining function of the Election Board with regard to certification be transferred to a"canvass board"consisting of the City Clerk,the Chief Deputy City Clerk, and the Municipal Judge, all of whom are sworn to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Colorado and the Charter and Ordinances of Fort Collins. If this Charter amendment is approved by the voters on November 1, staff will bring an ordinance to Council before the end of the year to amend Chapter 7 of the City Code which contains references to the Board of Elections,and Section 2-493 of the City Code relating to the duties of the Municipal Judge. ORDINANCE NO, 093 , 2005 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 II OF THE CITY CHARTER, PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION OF ORDINANCES 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 II, Section 7 of the Charter presently provides that every proposed ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, must be published once in full at least seven days before its final passage in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, which publication shall contain a notice giving the date when said proposed ordinance will be presented for final passage; and WHEREAS , Article II, Section 7 of the Charter also provides for publication of a notice of final passage of an ordinance, which notice must contain the number and title of such ordinance ; and WHEREAS , the City Clerk and City Manager believe it would be more cost effective to publish ordinances, prior to final passage, in full on the City ' s web site, and by number and title only in a newspaper of general circulation, which will result in a significant reduction in advertising costs; and WHEREAS , in recognition of increased technology and in an effort to reduce expenditures, the City Council believes that the proposed amendment to the above-referenced publication 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 II, Section 7 of the City Charter shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No 1 " at a special municipal election to be held in conjunction with the Larimer County Coordinated Election on Tuesday, November 1 , 2005 : Section 7. Ordinances, publication and effective date. Every proposed ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall be published once in full at least seven (7) days before its final passage in a newspaper of general circulation published in the ci on the city' s official internet web site . In addition, each such ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city by number and title only, together with a statement that the full text is available for public inspection and acquisition in the office of the City Clerk and on the city's internet web site . ,whic Both publications shall contain a notice giving of the date when said proposed ordinance will be presented for final passage. if on final passage such ordinance is passed in the same form as pubfished, no further publication of such ordinance shall be required; except that The City Clerk shall, within seven (7) days after final passage of any such ordinance, publish a notice-off such final passage which shall contain the rrmnber mid title o such ordinance in the same method as is required for the first publication. All ordinances, except emergency ordinances, shall take effect on the tenth day following their passage. An emergency ordinance shall take effect upon passage and shall be published as provided above within seven (7) days thereof. When the eouncil deems it appropriate, publication of the title of ain ordinance, or the title of an amendment thereto, together with a comprehensivC. surmnary of the substmice of the ordinmice or atnendment thereto mid with statement that the text is available for publie inspection and acquisition in the office of the eity elerk, shall be sufficient publication. However, when the eouncil deems it appropriate, ordinances authorizing the issuance of municipal bonds, other securities or evidences of municipal borrowing a�5 authorized in Article V, Section 18 of this ellilarter may be published by title only with a statement that the text i0s available for public inspection and acqtfisition in the office of the eity elerk. Standard codes and codifications of ordinances of the city may be published by title and reference in whole or in part. Ordinances shall be signed by the Mayor, attested by the City Clerk and published without further certification. The Council may enact any ordinance which adopts any code by reference in whole or in part provided that before adoption of such ordinance the Council shall hold a public hearing thereon and notice of the hearing shall be published twice in the newspaper of general circulation, published in the city, one ( 1 ) of such publications to be at least eight (8) days preceding the hearing and the other at least fifteen ( 15 ) days preceding the hearing . Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and shall also state that copies of the code to be adopted are on file with the City Clerk and open to public inspection. The notice shall also contain a description which the Council deems sufficient to give notice to persons interested as to the subject matter of such code and the name and address of the agency by which it has been promulgated. The ordinance adopting any such code shall set forth in full any penalty clause in connection with such code. Section 2 . That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No. 1 to the voters at said election: CITY OF FORT COLLINS 2_ CITY-INITIATED PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 1 Shall Article II Section 7 of the City Charter be amended to change the publication requirement for ordinances of the City Council so as to permit publication in a local newspaper by number and title only, and to require publication of the full text of any ordinance on the City ' s official internet web site? YES NO Introduced and considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of August, A.D . 2005 , and to be presented for final passage on the 6th day of September, A.D . 2005 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 6th day of September, A.D . 2005 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk ORDINANCE NO, 094, 2005 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 VIII OF THE CITY CHARTER, PERTAINING TO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS 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 VIII, Section 5 of the Charter provides for a Board of Elections consisting of the City Clerk and two registered electors appointed by the City Council; and WHEREAS , the Board of Elections is responsible for any election duties specified in the City Charter and for such additional duties related to the conduct of elections as may be established by the Council by ordinance ; and WHEREAS , due to the increased use of technology and the conduct of elections by mail ballot, the role of the Board of Elections has declined, and in 2005 was limited to certifying the results of the election; and WHEREAS, upon recommendation of the City Clerk, the City Council believes that certification of the results of an election can be done by a three-person panel consisting of the City Clerk, the Chief Deputy City Clerk, and the Municipal Judge, all of whom are sworn to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Colorado and the Charter and Ordinances of Fort Collins. 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 VIII, Sections 5 and 7 of the City Charter shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No . 2" at a special municipal election to be held in conjunction with the Larimer County Coordinated Election on Tuesday, November 1 , 2005 : Section 5. Canvass Boardof Elections. There is hereby created a Canvass Board of Elections consisting of the City Clerk, Chief Deputy City Clerk, and Municipal Judge . mid two (2) rcgistcrcd electors appointed by the . The Board shall be responsible for certifying the results of any election not held in conjunction with a Larimer County Coordinated or General Election. any election dnties specified in tiIis eiiarter and for such additional duties related to the eonduet of elections as may be established by eottneii byordinance . Board members may r%.Tt.' 1V %.' C "111pensation as n1lay be determined by the eouncil . Section 7. Certification of election results. The Board of Elections shall me On the third day after every city election and, after verifying the total number of legal votes cast for each candidate and measure voted upon, the Canvass Board shall file complete a certificate with the eity Clerk declaring the results of the election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for a particular office shall be declared elected to that office. In event of a tie, the selection shall be made by the Board of Elections Canvass Board by lot after notice to the candidates affected. In case the candidate elected fails to qualify within sixty (60) days after the date of issuance of the certificate of election, the candidate with the next highest vote shall be elected, and the candidate failing to qualify shall forfeit his or her office whether or not such candidate has taken the oath of office . If there is no other elected successor who qualifies, the office shall be deemed vacant, and shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Council, as provided in Article II, Section 18 . Section 2 . That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No . 2 to the voters at said election: CITY OF FORT COLLINS 2_ CITY-INITIATED PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 2 Shall Article VIII, Sections 5 and 7 of the City Charter be amended to eliminate the Board of Elections and replace it with a Canvass Board which shall be responsible for certifying the results of certain elections? YES NO Introduced and considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of August, A.D. 2005 , and to be presented for final passage on the 6th day of September, A.D . 2005 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 6th day of September, A.D . 2005 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk