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HomeMy WebLinkAbout023 - 02/17/1981 - CALLING FOR AND PROVIDING FOR A REGULAR CITY ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 1981, AND FURT ORDINANCE NO 23 1981 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE C Tir6F FORT COLLINS BEING AN ORDINANCE CALLING FOR AND PROVIDING FOR A REGULAR CITY ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, ON TUESDAY, THE 7TH DAY OF APRIL, 1981, AND FURTHER PROVIDING FOR SPECIFIED CHARTER AMENDMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO A VOTE OF THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY AT SAID ELECTION WHEREAS, Article XVI, Section 2, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the Council shall provide by ordinance for the manner of holding elections and such additional regulations in respect thereto as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of the Charter, and WHEREAS, the Charter further provides that where the Charter Code and State Constitution are silent with regard to an election issue, that the laws of the State of Colorado shall govern said issue, and WHEREAS, Article X, Title 31, C R S , 1973, being the Municipal Election Code, contains various provisions relating to the holding of a regular election NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS Section 1 That a regular City election be, and the same hereby is, called as provided by law to be held in the several precincts of the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, on Tuesday, the 7th day of April , 1981 At such election, four (4) members of the City Council (nominated from the dis- tricts) shall be elected to hold office for four (4) years, or at such time as their successors shall have been elected, the term of such district Councilmembers to commence on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in April , 1981 Section 2 That the City Council has reviewed the City Charter and desires to submit certain Charter Amendments to the qualified electors of the City at said election The following proposed Charter Amendments shall be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the City at said election PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 1 Amend Section 2 of Article XVI of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins and further amend Article XVI by the addition thereto of new Sections 2 1 and 2 2 and amend Article II, Section 1 (d) of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, said amended and new sections to read as follows Article XVI "Section 2 City elections A general City election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March 1983, and biennially thereafter Special City elections and run-off elections shall be held in accordance with the provisions of this Charter and any ordinances adopted pursuant thereto " "Section 2 1 Votes required Subject to the provisions of Section 2 2 of this Article, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected " "Section 2 2 Run-off elections (a) After a general municipal election for Council- members at-large at which at least three candi- dates do not each receive votes equal to forty percent (40%) of the total number of voters who cast ballots at such election, a run-off election shall be required for those candidates not receiving such forty percent (40%) (b) In the event a run-off election is required for at-large Councilmembers, two candidates for every at-large position not filled by a candidate receiving at least forty percent (40%) of the ballots cast shall appear on the ballot The candidates appearing on the ballot shall be those candidates who received the highest number of votes in the general municipal election The candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the run-off election so far as there are positions to be filled shall be elected (c) Any run-off election required herein shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April after the last preceding general munici- pal election and shall substantially conform as provided in this Charter for general elections with such modifications as may reasonably be required -2- r (d) The Board of Elections shall meet as a canvassing board on the third day after every run-off election and canvass the vote The board shall determine the total number of legal votes cast for each candidate and file a certificate with the City Clerk declaring the results of the elections in accordance with this Section 2 2 of Article XVI of this Charter In the event of a tie, the selection shall be made by the Board of Elections by lot after notice to the candidates affected (e) A run-off election shall not be considered to be a special election for purpose of Article XVII of this Charter (f) Each candidate in a run-off election shall be allowed to spend for campaign purposes the maximum amount authorized by ordinance of the City Council for campaign expenditures by Council candidates in a regular election Article II, Section 1 (d) 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 Each regular bi-annual City election shall alternate between selecting "at-large" members of the Council and members nominated from districts The term of members of the Council shall begin at 10 00 o'clock a m on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in March of the year in which they shall have been elected, provided that in the event a run-off election is required pursuant to Article XVI, Section 2 2 of this Charter, the term of all members of the City Council shall begin on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in April of the year in which they shall have been elected At said election, this issue shall be submitted in the following language -3- PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 1 I I Amendments to Article XVI (Section 2, new Sections 2 1 and 2 2) and Article II, Section 1 of the Charter providing that after a general municipal election for Councilmembers at large at which at least three Council candidates do not each receive votes equal to forty percent (40%) of the total ballots cast, a run-off election shall be required for those candi- dates not receiving such forty percent (40%) , provid- ing that if a run-off election is required, two candidates for every at-large position not filled by a candidate receiving such forty percent (40%) shall appear on the ballot, changing the date of the general election from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March, providing that any required run-off election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April, providing that the term of office for members of the City Council shall begin on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in March unless a run-off election is required in which case said terms shall commence on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in April , and providing that each candidate in a run-off election may spend the maximum amount authorized by the Council for campaign expenditures by candidates in a regular election FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 2 Amend Article IX , Section 3 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins to read as follows "Section 3 Restriction on sale of water and electric property The City shall not sell , lease, or in any manner dispose of the water or electric utility system as a -4- whole unless and except the proposition for such purpose shall first have been approved by a vote of the electors The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sale, lease or exchange of any part of the water or electric utility systems, which the Council , by ordinance, determines does not materi- ally impair the viability of the particular utility system as a whole and further determines is for the benefit of the citizens of Fort Collins The pro- visions of this section shall also not apply to the sale of water rights no longer useful to the City of Fort Collins nor to the exchange of certain water rights for other water rights which would be more useful to the City of Fort Collins " At said election, this issue shall be submitte in the following language PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 2 An Amendment to Article IX, Section 3 of the Charter enabling the City Council to approve by ordinance and without an election, the sale, lease or exchange of parts of the water or electric utility systems if the Council determines that the sale, lease or exchange will not materially impair the viability of the particular utility system and will benefit the citizens of the City of Fort Collins FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 3 Amend Article IV of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins by delet- ing therefrom Section 10 thereof and renumbering the remaining sections accordingly At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language -5- PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 3 An Amendment to Article IV of the Charter eliminating the requirement that the City Council must approve the discharge of any person who has been employed full time with the City for ten consecutive years and who is within five years of qualifying for retirement FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 4 Amend Sections 2, 5, and 6 of Article V of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins to read as follows Article V °Section 2 Annual budget estimates On or before the first Monday in September of each year, the City Manager shall submit to the Council a proposed budget for the next ensuing budget year with an explanatory message The proposed budget shall provide a complete financial plan for each fund of the City and shall include appropriate financial state- ments for each type of fund showing comparative figures for the last completed fiscal year, compara- tive figures for the current year, and the City Manager's recommendations for the ensuing year ° °Section 5 Annual appropriations Upon said budget as adopted, the Council shall, not later than the last day of October in each year, pass the 'Annual Appropriation Ordinance' in which shall be appropriated such sums of money as the Council deems necessary to defray all expenses and liabilities of the City during the ensuing budget year The annual -6- i appropriation ordinance shall be based upon the budget as adopted but need not be itemized further than by fund with the exception of capital projects and federal or state grants which shall be summarized by individual project or grant " "Section 6 Levy The 'Annual Appropriation Ordinance' shall include the proper levy in mills upon each dollar of the assessed valuation of all taxable property within the City, such levy representing the amount of taxes for City purposes necessary to provide for payment during the ensuing budget year of all properly authorized demands against the City, including interest and principal of general obligation bonds The Council shall thereupon cause the total levy to be certified by the City Clerk to the County consistent with applicable State statutes, which shall extend the same upon the tax list of the current year in a separate column entitled "City of Fort Collins Taxes" , and shall include said City taxes in his general warrant to the county treasurer for collection If the Council fails in any year to make said tax levy as above provided, then the rate last fixed shall be the levy fixed for the ensuing budget year and the direc- tor of finance shall so certify " At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language -7- PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 4 An Amendment to Article V, Sections 2, 5 and 6 of the Charter changing the time when the City Manager is required to submit a proposed budget to the Council from the first Monday in October to the first Monday in September and eliminating specific items required to be shown on the annual proposed budget and provid- ing that such budget contain a complete financial plan for each fund of the City, changing the time when the Council must adopt the annual appropriation ordinance from the last day of November to the last day of October and eliminating the requirement that the annual appropriation ordinance be itemized by depart- ments, major divisions, independent office, and agency and providing that such appropriation ordinance be itemized by fund except that capital projects and grants shall be summarized by individual project or grant, and providing that the certification of the annual tax levy shall be made by the City Clerk to the County consistent with applicable state sta- tutes FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 5 Amend Article V, Section 10 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins to read as follows "Section 10 Lapsed appropriations All appropriations unexpended or unencumbered at the end of the budget year shall lapse to the applicable general or special fund, with the exception of appropriations for capital projects and federal or state grants which appropriations shall not lapse until the completion of the capital project or until the expiration of the federal or state grant, provided -8- i that nothing herein shall limit the ability of the City Council to terminate a capital project or a federal or state grant at any time prior to completion of a project or expiration of a grant " At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 5 An Amendment to Article V, Section 10 of the Charter providing that appropriations for capital projects and federal or state grants shall not lapse to the applic- able general or special fund until the completion of the capital project or the expiration of the particular grant FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 6 Amend Article V, Section 15 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins to read as follows Article V "Section 15 Appropriation of excess revenue and transfers of appropriations At the expiration of eight months of the budget year or thereafter within the budget year, if the actual revenue realized exceeds the budget estimates, the Council may, by ordinance, appropriate the excess to any purpose recommended by the City Manager for expenditure during the budget year During the budget year, the City Manager may transfer any unused budget- ed amount or portion thereof from one budget category to any other budget category within the same fund -9- During the budget year, the Council may, by ordinance, upon the recommendation of the City Manager, transfer any unexpended appropriated amount or portion thereof from one fund to another provided that the purpose for the initial expenditure no longer exists At any time during the budget year, the Council, by ordinance, may appropriate revenues which were not anticipated at the time of adoption of the annual budget and which are a result of rate or fee increases or new revenue sources " At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 6 An Amendment to Article V, Section 15 of the Charter enabling the City Manager during the budget year to transfer unused budgeted amounts from one budget category to another within the same fund, authorizing the City Council during the budget year to transfer by ordinance any unexpended, appropriated amount from one fund to another, and providing that unanticipated revenues which are the result of rate or fee increases or new revenue sources may be appropriated by Council by ordinance at any time during the budget year for expenditure in the appropriate fund FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 7 Amend Article V of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins by deleting therefrom Section 18 thereof and renumbering the remaining sections ac- cordingly At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language /-10- PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 7 An Amendment to Article V of the Charter deleting Section 18 thereof which requires that the Council, at the close of each fiscal year, prepare a report of the financial transactions of the City for the preceding year FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 8 Amend Article V of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins by the addition thereto of a new Section 20 9, said section to read as follows "Article V Section 20 9 Tax increment securities The City, by Council action and without an election, may issue tax increment securities payable from ad valorem tax revenues derived from the increased valua- tion for assessment of taxable property within a plan of development or other similar area as defined by applicable state statutes Such securities shall be issued in accordance with such statutes or any ordin- ance adopted by the Council not inconsistent with this Charter Any securities issued pursuant to this Section 20 9 shall not be included in the determination of the debt limitation contained in Section 20 3 of this Charter " At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language -11- PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 8 An Amendment to Article V of the Charter adding a new section thereto which authorizes the City, by Council action and without an election, to issue tax increment securities without limitation to principal amount in accordance with applicable state statutes payable from ad valorem tax revenues derived from the increased valuation of assessment of taxable property within a plan of development or other similar area FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 9 Amend Article V of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins by the addition thereto of a new Section 20 10, said section to read as follows Article V "Section 20 10 Lease-Purchase and Installment Purchase Agreement The Council may enter into lease-purchase and install- ment-purchase agreements as a means of acquiring any real or personal property for public purposes Such agreements may include an option or options to purchase and acquire title to such property No such agreement shall be made for a term exceeding the useful life of the property or thirty (30) years, whichever is the lesser The Council , by ordinance and without an election, may pledge the full faith and credit and general taxes of the -City to the payment of its obliga- tions under any such agreement and may enter into such covenants regarding the rights of the lessor - vendor in the property upon default as the Council may deem necessary or appropriate The Council may also provide for any limited source of payment it may determine -12- Nothing herein shall be construed to alter the require- ments of this Charter with respect to the levy or imposition of any tax pledged to the payment of such agreements as herein provided Any property acquired or used by the city under the provisions of this Section shall be considered municipal property and shall be exempt from general property taxes during the term of such agreement Any agreement entered into pursuant to this Section 20 10 payable in whole or in part from the proceeds of ad valorem taxes of the city, shall not be included in the determination of the debt limitation provisions contained in Section 20 3 of this Charter " At said election, this issue will be submitted in the following language PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 9 An Amendment to Article V of the Charter adding a new section thereto which authorizes the City to enter into lease-purchase or installment purchase agreements without limitation as to amount for the purpose of acquiring real and personal property for public purposes and providing that the term of such agreement shall not exceed the lesser of the useful life of the property or 30 years, that the Council, by ordinance and without an election, may pledge the full faith and credit and general taxes of the City as payment for its obligation under such an agreement and enter into such default covenants as the Council may deem neces- sary or appropriate and further that any property so acquired shall be exempt from general property taxes during the term of the agreement FOR THE AMENDMENT '� AGAINST THE AMENDMENT -13- PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO 10 Amend Section 1 of Article XX of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins by deleting therefrom in the first sentence thereof, the term "five members" and substituting the term "seven members" therefor At said election, this issue shall be submitted in the following language PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO 10 An Amendment to Article XX, Section 1 of the Charter increasing the number of members of the Library Board from five to seven FOR THE AMENDMENT AGAINST THE AMENDMENT Section 3 That said election shall be held and conducted as nearly as may be practicable in the manner prescribed by the Municipal Election Code (Article X, Title 31, C R S , 1973) Each person offering to vote in said election must be a qualified elector registered to vote in the City of Fort Collins Voting machines shall be used at the election Section 4 The City Clerk shall publish such notices of the election and of the issues to be voted upon as may be required by law Section 5 That the Board of Elections shall provide for a canvass of returns of said election and for issuance of appropriate certificates as provided in Section 6 and 12 of Article XVI of the City Charter Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered pub- lished this 3rd day of Fgbruary 1981, and to be presented for final passage 65 the 17 h day of 1981 r ATTEST 1, City Clerk -14- Passed and adopted on final reading this 17th day of February , 1981 r ATTEST i y Clerk -15-