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HomeMy WebLinkAbout100 - 09/04/1990 - CALLING A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION FOR NOVEMBER 9, 1990 AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMEN ORDINANCE NO. 100, 1990 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS CALLING A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION FOR NOVEMBER 6, 1990 AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT CONCERNING DIRECT ELECTION OF THE MAYOR AND DISTRICT REPRESENTATION TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS 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 City Council wishes to call a special municipal election on November 6, 1990 in conjunction with the General Election; and WHEREAS, the Council desires to submit a proposed Charter amendment to the registered voters of the City at said special municipal election. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS: Section 1 . That a special municipal election in the City of Fort Collins is hereby called for Tuesday, November 6, 1990, which shall be held in conjunction with the Larimer County, State of Colorado, General Election, at such polls as are regularly established and announced for such elections. Section 2. The following proposed Charter amendment shall be submitted to the registered voters of the City at said special municipal election: PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT Section 1 of Article II of the City Charter is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 1. Membership; terms. (a) The council shall consist of seven (7) members, including a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, elected as provided in this Article. (b) The Mayor shall be nominated and elected from the city at large. The remaining six (6) members shall be nominated and elected by Districts. (c) Initially, no later than January 1, 1991, and thereafter at least six (6) months before the regular city election in every second year following 1991, the city shall be divided, by ordinance , into six (6) Districts , each consisting of approximately the same number of registered electors, and each District representing one (1) contiguous, reasonably compact unit. The Districts shall be numbered consecutively in a clockwise fashion beginning with the northeast District, which shall be District 1 . District Councilmembers elected at the regular city election in 1989 shall serve for the remainder of their four (4) year terms as representatives of the Districts from which elected. At the regular city election in 1991 and at every biennial regular city election thereafter, the Mayor shall be nominated and elected at large for a two (2) year term. At the regular city election in 1991, two (2) Councilmembers representing Districts 2 and 4 shall be elected for four (4) year terms. At the regular city election in 1993, three (3) Councilmembers representing Districts 1, 3 and 5 shall be elected for four (4) year terms, and one (1) Councilmember representing District 6 shall be elected for a two (2) year term. Commencing with the regular city election of 1995, the election of District Councilmembers shall alternate between the election of representatives for Council Districts 2, 4 and 6 and the election of representatives for Council Districts 1, 3, and 5. (d) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the term of office of all members of the City Council shall be four (4) years each, or until their successors have been elected and have taken office as provided in this Charter, and the term of office of the Mayor shall be two (2) years. The term of the Mayor and members of the Council shall begin, and an organization meeting of City Council shall be held, at 10:00 o'clock a.m. on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in April of the year in which they are elected. Section 2 of Article II of the City Charter is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 2. Qualifications of members. No person shall be eligible to serve as a member of Council unless at the time of the election he or she is a citizen of the United States, at least twenty-one (21) years of age and has been for one (1) year immediately preceding such election an elector of the city. No person shall be eligible to stand for election to more than one (1) elective office at any single municipal election. No -2- member of the Council shall hold any other public office, or employment for which compensation is paid from municipal funds. No person shall be elected or appointed to any city office, position or employment for which the compensation was increased or fixed by the Council while such person was a member thereof until after expiration of one (1) year from the date when such person ceased to be a member of the Council . Section 3 of Article II of the City Charter is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 3. Compensation of members. The compensation for Councilmembers shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250. ) per month, except in the case of the Mayor, whose compensation shall be five hundred dollars (E500.) per month. Section 4 of Article II of the City Charter is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 4. Organization. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council and shall be recognized as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor of the state for purposes of military law. The Mayor shall execute and authenticate legal instruments requiring the signature of the Mayor. The Mayor shall also perform such other duties as may be provided by ordinance which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter. At the biennial organization meeting to be held as provided in Section 1(d) above, the Council shall elect a Mayor Pro Tem who shall act as Mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor and who, if a vacancy occurs in the position of Mayor, shall become Mayor as provided in Section 18(b) below. The Mayor Pro Tem shall be elected from among the members of Council for terms of two (2) years. Section 18 of Article II of the City Charter is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 18. Vacancies. (a) All elected Officers shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. Except for the office of Mayor, any vacancy in an elective office shall be filled within forty-five (45) days by appointment of the Council until the next regular election, when the vacancy shall be filled by the electors for the remainder of the term, if any, with the following exception. If the time for filling the vacancy falls within forty-five (45) days prior to any regular election, and if the remaining unexpired term of the Councilmember to be replaced -3- is more than two (2) years, the vacancy shall be filled by the newly constituted Council within the forty-five (45) day period after the terms of office begin for Councilmembers elected at the ensuing regular election. The term of office of the appointed Councilmember shall run for the remainder of the unexpired term of the Councilmember replaced. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in an elective office shall have the qualifications required of persons to be regularly elected. In the case of a vacancy representing a member elected from a District, any person appointed or elected to fill such vacancy shall be from the same District. A vacancy exists when a member of the Council fails to qualify within thirty (30) days after the commencement of such member's term or if he or she dies, resigns, moves from the city or the District from which elected, assumes another elective office, fails to attend meetings of the Council for sixty (60) days unless excused by resolution of the Council , is convicted of a felony or is judicially declared a mental incompetent. (b) If a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor prior to the direct election of the Mayor in 1991, the Mayor Pro Tem shall become Acting Mayor for the unexpired term and the Council shall elect a new Mayor Pro Tem. After the election of a Mayor at the regular City election in 1991, the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. If such a vacancy occurs after the direct election of the Mayor commences in 1991, the following shall apply: (1) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant more than forty-five (45) days prior to the next regular election, the Mayor Pro Tem shall become Acting Mayor, and the Council shall elect a new Mayor Pro Tem. Both the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall serve until the next regular election, at which time the office of Mayor shall be filled by the electors for a new term, and the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. The vacancy on the Council created by the Mayor Pro Tem assuming the office of Mayor shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of Section 18(a) above. (2) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant within the forty-five (45) days prior to any regular election, the duties of the Mayor shall be immediately assumed by the Mayor Pro Tem, who shall serve as Acting Mayor until said regular election, at which time the Office of Mayor shall be 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 six (6) members, and the Council shall elect an interim Mayor Pro Tem. After the election, the Acting Mayor and Interim Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired -4- terms of office, if any. (3) Nothing herein shall preclude the Mayor Pro Tem or any Councilmember from standing for election to the Office of Mayor. Section 3. That the polls for said special election shall be open at the hour of 7:00 a.m. , shall remain open continuously until and shall be closed at 7:00 p.m. Section 4. That the use of an electronic system to record the votes at said election is hereby authorized. Section 5. That said special election shall be held and conducted, as nearly as may be in the manner prescribed by law, as in the case of regular city elections, conducted pursuant to the Charter of the City of Fort Collins and the C.R.S. Section 6. That no vote, either for or against the Charter amendment submitted, shall be received by the election judges unless the person offering to vote shall be a duly registered voter in the precinct in which he or she offers to vote, and in addition thereto, said person is an elector of the City of Fort Collins as defined in the applicable election laws. Section 7. The following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting the Proposed Charter Amendment to the registered electors at said election: PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT Amendments to Article II of the City Charter providing for the at-large election of the Mayor by city voters; providing for the nomination and election of six (6) Councilmembers by district; providing for redistricting every second year beginning with the 1991 city election; establishing a two-year term and compensation of $500 per month for the Mayor; lowering the age of eligibility for Councilmembers from 25 to 21 years of age; prohibiting any person from standing for election to more than one (1) municipal office at any election; establishing a transition process for implementation; and providing a method for filling vacancies in the office of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT _ -5- Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21st day of August, A.D. 1990, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of September, A.D. 1990. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 4th day of September, A.D. 1990. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -6-