HomeMy WebLinkAbout108 - 07/01/2025 - SUBMITTING TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS A PROPOSED CHARTERORDINANCE NO.108,2025
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 CHARTER
AMENDMENT AMENDING SECTIONS 1 AND 18 OF ARTICLE II
OF THE CITY CHARTER RELATED TO VACANCIES AND
APPLICATION OF TERM LIMITS TO PARTIAL TERMS
A.The City of Fort Collins Charter is the governing document that defines the
City organization and the powers and functions of the City.The Charter was first created
by a vote of the people of Fort Collins in 1954 and can only be amended by a vote of the
people.
B.Over time,Charter provisions may become obsolete,contradictory,or
warrant change to address current needs or trends.
C.Article IV,Section 8 of the Charter provides the Charter may be amended
as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado.Colorado Revised Statutes Section 31-
2-210 provides that charter amendments may be initiated by the adoption of an ordinance
by the City Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors
of the City.
D.On February 27,2024,the City Council adopted Resolution 2024-024,
which adopted a Council priority to modemize and update the City Charter.Resolution
2024-24 noted that although small parts of the Charter are reviewed and updated on a
regular basis,there is a need to modernize and update the City Charter,which has not
been done in over 25 years.
E.At its May14,2024,work session,the Council provided positive feedback to
staff in support of conducting a comprehensive review of the City Charter to align with
state law and legal developments;update language in the Charter to be inclusive;focus
on cleanup and modernization rather than policy changes and to make changes for ease
of reading and clarity.
F.At its December 10,2024,and January 28,2025,and June 3,2025,work
sessions,the Council provided positive feedback to staff in support of addressing the
Charter provisions about filling vacancies on Council.
G.In the past,questions have arisen about the process for filling a Council
office vacancy and Council wishes to revise the Charter to clarify and update that process.
H.Questions also have arisen about whether a partial term of a person who is
either appointed or elected to fill a vacant Council seat will be considered to have served
a term in that office.The proposed amendment to Section 1 of Article II clarifies that any
person,whether appointed or elected to fill a vacancy on the Council,is considered to
have served a term in that office for purposes of applying the term limit if they serve in
total more than one-half of the term of office,unless the partial term was served before
2026.
The proposed amendments to Section 18 update the process for filling
vacancies in the office of the Mayor and district Councilmember in light of state and
related local law changes to election processes and timing,and provide that:
a.If a district Councilmember office becomes vacant,the vacancy will be
publicly and promptly announced on the City’s website;and
b.If a district Councilmember office becomes vacant,Council then has 35
business days to choose a new member;and
c.The office that has been vacated will appear on the next regular
municipal election ballot for which the process requirements can be met.
d.If that office is already set for an upcoming ballot it will proceed
regardless of the vacancy.
e.If the office of Mayor becomes vacant,the Mayor Pro Tem will become
the acting Mayor upon the date of vacancy and the Council will elect a
new Mayor Pro Tem at their next meeting;and
f.The Council will fill the district Council seat temporarily open due to the
assumption of the office of Acting Mayor by the Mayor Pro Tem;and
g.The term of the appointed replacement district Councilmember will
continue through the earlier of the return of the Acting Mayor to their
original district Councilmember office or the end of the original term of
office.
J.The Council finds that these proposed revisions to Article II of the City
Charter,regarding filling vacancies in a City Council or Mayor office and the application
of a term limit to a partial term,are for the benefit of the people of Fort Collins,and the
Council desires to present the amendments to Article II set forth below to the voters for
approval at the November 4,2025,municipal election.
In light of the foregoing recitals,which the Council hereby makes and adopts as
determinations and findings,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1.The following proposed changes to Article II,of the Charter of the
City of Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed
Charter Amendment at the municipal election to be held on Tuesday,November 4,2025:
ARTICLE II.City Council
Section 1.Membership,Terms.
(e)Application of term limit to partial term.
Any person appointed or e ected to fill a vacancy on the Cit C uncil and who
serves a total of at east one-half of the term of office shall be conside ed to have
served that term in that office for the purposes of applying the appFcable term limit
This prov sion shal not apply to part al terms served before 2026.
Section 18.Vacancies.
(a)Vacancy.A vacancy exists when a Councilmember:
(b)Vacancy announcement.The City Clerk w II promptly annou ce a vacancy to the
public on the City’s website upon receipt of notice of the vacancy.
(c)Qualifications.Any person appointed to office must have all qua ificatons for that
office described in Section 2 of this Article.In the case of a person appo n ed to fi I a
vacant district Councilmember seat,they must be from the same Dis r c ,as uch Dist ict
is constituted at the time of the appointment.In order to be considered for appo n ment
an applicant must subm t all application materials as may be required.
(d)Appointment assistance.At City Council’s direction,the City Clerk will solicit and
rece ye appointment applications any time after the vacancy announcement..
(e)Filling a district Councilmember vacancy.
~(1)In the event of a vacancy,the seated City Council wi I make dil gent efforts
to appoint within thirty-five (35)business days of announcement a qualified
candidate to serve in the vacated office un ii a successor is elected.
‘(2)The Council’s appointment will àon nue until the swearing in of a qualified1
elected candidate for the vacate,office.
(3)The vacated office w I appear on the first regular municipal e ect on for
which the requirements for cand dacy can be met,either to elect an officeholder to
complete the original term of office or to elect a new officeholder to begin a new
term of office pursuant to he regularalternating schedule pursuant to Section 1 (~
(f)Lack of candidate.If there is no qualified candidate for an elected office on a
municipal elect on bal ot,the Council organized after such election will then appoint a
~ualified person to serve unt I the next regular election.
(g)Mayoral vacancy.If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor:
(1)The Mayor Pro Tern will become Acting Mayor when the vacancy is
~ff~ctive.
$2)Council will elect an Interim Mayor Pro Tern at the next regular or special
Counc I meeting afterthe vacancy is effective.
(3)The Council will fill the distr ct Councilrnernber seat temporarily open due to
the assumption of Acting Mayor by the Mayor Pro Tern by appointment using the
process set forth in th s Section.The term of such appointed distric
Counc Imember replacernent will continue through the ear ier of the return of the
Acting Mayor to their orig nal off ce,or the end of thei original term of office.
~4)Nothing herein sha I preclude the Mayor Pro Tern or any Councilmember
frorn standing for election to the office of Mayor.
.
9 -.~.9.
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(2)If tho position of Mayor becomes vacant within tho forty fivo (15)days prior to
any regular oloction,the duties of the Mayor shall be immediately assumed by
the Mayor Pro Tom,who shall serve as Acting Mayor until said rogular olootion,
at which timo tho offico of Mayor shall bo filled by the electors for a new term.
Pending the election and the commencement of the term of the newly elected
Mayor,the Council shall consist of cix (6)members,and the Council shall elect
an intorim Mayor Pro Tom.After the election,the Acting Mayor and lntorim
Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder
of thoir unexpirod torms of offico,if any.
(3)Nothing herein shall proclude the Mayor Pro Tom or any Councilmombor from
standing for oloction to the office of Mnvor.
Section 2.The following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted
for submitting a Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO.
Shall the Charter of the City of Fort Collins be amended to revise Section 1 and
Section 18 of Article II to update the process for filling a vacant district Councilmember
or Mayoral office and to clarify how existing term limits apply to partial terms to fill a
vacancy,by:
•Adding a new subsection (e)to Section 1 of Article II providing that if a person
serves a total of more than one-half a term in office,this will count as a term
when determining term limits,unless the partial term was served before
2026;and
•Revising Section 18 of Article II to:
Add procedural steps including public announcement of a vacancy
and acceptance of applications to the process for filling vacancies;
Require Council to appoint a replacement to fill a District
Councilmember vacancy within 35 business days;
Retain the provision that if the Mayor office is vacated,the Mayor Pro
Tem becomes the Acting Mayor and Council selects a new Mayor
Pro Tern during the time there is an Acting Mayor;
Require the Council to fill the district Councilmember seat that is
vacant for the time the Mayor Pro Tem serves as Acting Mayor using
the vacancy filling process;
Provide that any vacated office will appear on the next regular
municipal election ballot for which process requirements can be met;
and
-5-
State that if there is no qualified candidate for an elected office on a
municipal election ballot,the Council organized after the election will
then appoint a qualified person to fill the resulting vacancy?
Yes/For
No/Against
Introduced,considered favorably on first reading on June 17,2025,and approved
on second reading for final passage on July 1,2025.
M~m
ATTEST:
/
CityCI:f
Effective Date:July 11,2025
Approving Attorney:Carrie Daggett
Exhibit:None