HomeMy WebLinkAboutNews Release - Mail Packet - 11/15/2016 - News Release From Darin Atteberry Re: Colorado Municipal League Municipal Election ResultsGET THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE
Media Contact:
Mark Radtke, Municipal Research Analyst
1144 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203
(p) 303-831-6411 (f) 303-860-8175
mradtke@cml.org
www.cml.org
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS
November 9, 2016, Denver, CO – The promise of better broadband service in 19 cities and towns, a tax on
sweetened beverages in Boulder, and chickens in Lochbuie backyards are among the results of municipal ballot
issues decided in the November 8 election. City council members and town trustees were selected in 16 cities
and towns, and voters in Rocky Ford retained two of five city councilmembers facing a recall election.
Broadband
19 cities and towns voted to allow municipal government to provide broadband service or partner with the private
sector to provide service; they are Arvada, Aspen, Basalt, Black Hawk, Breckenridge, Carbondale, Cripple Creek,
Dolores, Golden, Green Mountain Falls, Hudson, Lafayette, New Castle, Palisade, Parachute, Silt, Superior,
Victor, and Woodland Park. (Colorado law requires a vote for local governments to provide broadband service
and now 65 municipalities have been given the green light by their residents.)
Marijuana
Permission for marijuana sales was approved in Englewood and Palisade.
Voters rejected sales or grow operations in Del Norte, Federal Heights, Florence, Lochbuie, Palmer Lake,
Pueblo and Simla.
Marijuana tax measures passed in Central City, Englewood, Nunn, Palisade, Palmer Lake, Parachute,
Pueblo, Silt, and Thornton.
Marijuana taxes failed in Del Norte, Florence, Sheridan, and Yuma.
Term Limits
Boulder voters passed a measure setting council term limits at three terms in a lifetime.
Parachute voters passed a measure setting council term limits at three consecutive terms.
Tax and Bond issues
Voters approved five of eight municipal bond issues across the state - among them:
o Basalt - rejected a $3.1 million park project
o Louisville - said yes to a $28.6 million Recreation/Senior Center
o Glenwood Springs - approved $54 million for streets and bridges
o Hayden - said no to $4 million for streets
o Telluride - passed $4.2 million for parking improvements/parking garage
All five TABOR over-ride ballot questions passed: Castle Rock, Fort Collins, Georgetown, Palmer Lake,
and Williamsburg.
One or more non-marijuana tax proposals were on the ballot in 33 cities and towns with 18 passing, 17
losing. A sampling:
o Boulder - approved a two-cent per ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages
o Dacono - said yes to a lodging tax to support economic development program
o Glenwood Springs - voted to extend an existing one cent sales tax
o Grand Lake - approved a one cent sales tax increase for streets and sidewalks
o Louisville - said yes to a mill levy increase to operate a recreation/senior center
o Lafayette - rejected a property tax increase to finance free ride RTD bus passes for residents
o Pueblo - approved a sales tax for crime prevention and youth programs
o Sterling - said no to a lodging tax to finance a convention center
o Telluride - gave a green light for a sales tax to support San Miguel Authority for Regional
Transportation
Among other issues:
Lochbuie - will now allow backyard chickens, ducks, pigeons, and doves.
Edgewater - okayed the use of existing park land for the site of a new civic center complex
Morrison - voted to allow future rooftop patios in the Commercial Transition District with limitations
Palmer Lake - now will allow publication of ordinances by title only
Thornton - approved police officer collective bargaining
Westminster - approved firefighter collective bargaining
Walsenburg - switched law enforcement from city police to the sheriff’s department
CML is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1923 and represents the interests of 269 cities and
towns out of 272 municipalities. For more information on the Colorado Municipal League, please visit
www.cml.org or call 303-831-6411.
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