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Home My WebLink About2017-103-11/21/2017-ADOPTING THE CITY'S 2018 LEGISLATIVE POLICY AGENDA2018 Legislative Policy Agenda Adopted November 21, 2017 EXHIBIT A 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................... 2 Home Rule and Local Control .................................................................. 5 Affordable Housing .............................................................................. 5 Air Quality ........................................................................................ 6 Beer and Liquor .................................................................................. 6 Broadband and Cable ........................................................................... 7 Climate ............................................................................................ 7 Development Review and Land Use Planning ............................................... 8 Elections .......................................................................................... 8 Energy ............................................................................................. 9 Finance ............................................................................................ 9 Hazardous Materials Management ........................................................... 10 Human Resources ............................................................................... 10 Marijuana ........................................................................................ 11 Municipal Court ................................................................................. 11 Oil and Gas ...................................................................................... 12 Open Records and Data Management ....................................................... 13 Parks and Natural Areas ....................................................................... 13 Public Health .................................................................................... 14 Public Safety .................................................................................... 14 Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction ....................................................... 15 Risk Management and Liability ............................................................... 16 Transportation .................................................................................. 16 Urban Renewal and Downtown Development .............................................. 17 Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater ....................................................... 18 City of Fort Collins Legislative Contacts .................................................... 19 3 INTRODUCTION Fort Collins is a community of 161,000 residents. Incorporated in 1873, the City has grown to become the commercial, educational and cultural hub of Northern Colorado. The City adopted a home rule charter in 1954 and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City is a data-driven municipal organization that strives to fulfill its mission, “Exceptional service for an exceptional community”, through a vision of providing world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation. City leaders seek innovative solutions to issues facing the community and are often willing to leverage emerging technologies. The Fort Collins City Council annually adopts a Legislative Priorities and Policy Agenda ahead of the upcoming Colorado general Assembly session for the purpose of guiding legislators and staff in supporting community goals.  The Legislative Priorities are broad issues Fort Collins is focused on during the Colorado General Assembly and United States Congress sessions. The Priorities may carry over year to year since they are larger, more challenging issues that may take multi-year work to influence.  The Policy Agenda is broad set of policy statements meant to convey positions on issues that affect the quality of life and the governance of our community. It is structured to address areas of local concern and to also reflect the strategic planning that guides City of Fort Collins organizational resource allocation and decision making. Fort Collins welcomes opportunities to work in partnership to leverage additional resources and participate in regional dialogue to achieve shared outcomes. The City has identified seven outcome areas to ensure appropriate and effective resource allocation supporting the community’s priorities. Outcome areas include Culture and Recreation; Economic Health; Environmental Health; High Performing Government; Neighborhood Livability and Social Health; Safe Community; and Transportation and Mobility. The Policy Agenda identifies this alignment as it is important for City staff to ensure that advocacy supports specific desired outcomes. 4 CITY OF FORT COLLINS LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) is a representative group of Council members that reviews and reacts to proposed legislation on behalf of City Council and the City. In taking a position on particular bills, the LRC interprets and applies the various policies that are included in the Legislative Policy Agenda. Council Members presently serving on the Legislative Review Committee are:  Councilmember Ken Summers, Chair  Councilmember Ray Martinez  Councilmember Bob Overbeck LEGISLATIVE REVIEW PROCESS Bills introduced in the Colorado General Assembly, United States Congress and federal, state or county regulations or rulemakings are reviewed by City staff or the City’s contract lobbyist. Bills, regulations and rules that are identified as having a potential impact on the City will be brought to the LRC for discussion. If LRC adopts a position, staff and/or lobbyists will convey that information to the appropriate state or federal representative and advocate for the adopted position. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the General Assembly, if a bill’s subject matter is explicitly addressed in this Policy Agenda, staff will proactively work with state and federal representatives to advance the City’s position as expressed in this legislative policy agenda and other Council-adopted plans and policies, while updating the LRC until such time that LRC may take a position. Staff liaisons support the LRC by contributing expertise in various areas of municipal service. The City Attorney’s Office also reviews selected bills and may provide confidential legal analysis. The input offered by staff and the City’s attorneys is invaluable in analyzing impacts of legislative, regulatory and rulemaking proposals to Fort Collins operations and the community. Fort Collins also works with community partners to support local projects and staff collaborates with representatives of other municipalities on mutually-held priorities. Fort Collins actively seeks innovative partnerships to leverage positive outcomes for residents. The City works closely with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) and the National League of Cities (NLC) on many legislative items facing cities. Fort Collins maintains membership with Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities (CAMU) which represents 29 municipal utilities throughout the state on utility issues, Colorado Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA) which represents municipalities on climate issues. In addition, Fort Collins actively participates in various trade organizations which represent specific areas of interest to City operations. In 2018, Fort Collins will partner again with the lobbying firm Bowditch and Cassell to maintain a fulltime presence at the state capitol. 5 2018 LEGISLATIVE POLICY STATEMENTS HOME RULE AND LOCAL CONTROL In order to consider and manage local conditions and desires, community issues and needs should be addressed locally. For this reason, home rule authority is of utmost importance to the City of Fort Collins. The City must be free to regulate local activities that primarily impact the area within the City's boundaries, such as the speed of local traffic or the effects of particular land use developments. The City also understands the accumulative effect of these and other activities have statewide ramifications that may call for statewide regulation, to effectively manage such things as overall growth and development in the state, traffic congestion in major transportation corridors and environmental quality. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports strengthening and preserving home rule authority of municipal governments. 2. Opposes State or Federal intervention in matters of local concern or matters that unnecessarily or adversely affect the City’s ability to manage and operate pursuant to its home rule authority. 3. Opposes changes that increase (and support changes that lessen) the burdens on municipalities associated with public or other government records, establishment of ethics standards and procedures, operation of municipal courts, and other matters of municipal operations or authority. 4. Supports enabling cities to choose the provision of services through private enterprise in a manner that fosters cost effective, sustainable, quality services. 5. Supports local control of the awarding of contracts and the accountability of local officials for those actions. 6. Opposes mandates that increase the complexity and cost of services without improving those services. AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY AND SOCIAL HEALTH The City recognizes that the affordability and availability of decent housing is critical to a vibrant and diverse community. Therefore, the City: 6 1. Supports maintaining or enhancing current levels of funding for affordable housing throughout Colorado, including expanding the State Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. 2. Supports increasing local government’s ability to regulate, manage or generate alternative sources of funding for affordable housing, including public-private partnerships. 3. Supports stronger amendments to construction defect laws to promote the construction of owner occupied-attached housing. 4. Supports creating an adequate supply of housing for all income levels and continued public and private sector support for these efforts. AIR QUALITY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The City’s Air Quality Plan establishes a strong overall goal to “continually improve Fort Collins air quality.” Therefore, the City: 1. Supports programs and policies that improve public health and air quality, and support rapid attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, including ozone. 2. Supports local government authority to improve air quality beyond minimum State or Federal requirements. 3. Supports adequate authority and resource at all levels of government to enforce air quality regulations. 4. Supports economic incentives, disincentives and other market approaches that promote lower emissions, and fewer carbon-based fuels. 5. Supports strengthening standards for tailpipe emissions, aggregate vehicle emissions and/or fuel economy for all vehicles. Supports programs and policies that promote the use of electric vehicles and the development of infrastructure needed to support the use of those vehicles. BEER AND LIQUOR SAFE COMMUNITY The City issues and renews liquor licenses, enforces license rules, and holds hearings for liquor license violations. Therefore, the City: 7 1. Supports clarifying the qualifications for what types and purposes a business may obtain and use a state liquor license. 2. Supports definition of a “meal” when calculating the percentage of meals served for a liquor license. BROADBAND AND CABLE ECONOMIC HEALTH Reliable, high-speed, and affordable access to broadband and cable programming throughout the community remains a priority and a long-term goal for the City to ensure our economic vitality and allow for equal access for all residents and businesses. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports maintaining local franchising authority to preserve local governments’ ability to negotiate in the public interest for cable channel space, institutional networks and public education and government programming. 2. Supports allowing communities to offer and/or partner to offer high speed internet, Wi-Fi and other enhanced telecommunication services to residents, schools, academic institutions and businesses. 3. Opposes restrictions on providing telecommunication services within City-owned facilities and on City property. 4. Opposes infringement on municipalities’ ability to compete in the broadband marketplace. 5. Opposes right of way use contrary to existing aesthetic policies and practices, including the addition of any above ground cabling. CLIMATE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Making communities more resilient to disaster and the effects of a changing climate has become more important to Colorado communities over the last several years as natural disasters have caused significant human and property loss. Fort Collins has adopted aggressive emission reduction goals and supports policies and legislation helping communities and the state to achieve these goals and enhance the environment as detailed in the Climate Action Plan. Therefore the City: 1. Supports greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, planning, and implementation at all levels of government. 8 2. Supports market-based mechanisms to reduce emissions, including incentives, enabling legislation, and other mechanisms to achieve emissions reductions and increase resiliency in energy, waste reduction, transportation, and water sectors. 3. Supports protection of the Colorado self-audit law. 4. Supports reducing the emission of criteria pollutants. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND LAND USE PLANNING ECONOMIC HEALTH, NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY AND SOCIAL HEALTH Fort Collins has a well-established development review process, land use and building code; all of which align with local priorities. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports financially compensation for additional work of inspectors through fees or other means. 2. Supports funding for any state mandated inspection requirements. 3. Supports local governments’ authority to determine development review and inspection timelines. 4. Encourages regional cooperation in land use and transportation planning, and foster sustainable development. 5. Supports prohibition to the annexation of land that is located within the boundaries of a Growth Management Area that was legally established by an intergovernmental agreement between a municipality and a county by any municipality not a party to the agreement. 6. Supports municipal discretion concerning the imposition of development fees and requirements. ELECTIONS HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT The City of Fort Collins conducts municipal elections in April of odd years and special elections upon initiative referrals. The City is committed to conducting a clear, legal, and trustworthy elections process. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports all efforts to ensure fair and transparent election processes. 2. Supports process improvements that encourage voter participation. 9 ENERGY ECONOMIC HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH As a municipally-owned electric utility, the City is committed to providing affordable, reliable, and clean energy services to residents and businesses, as detailed in the Energy Policy. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports all efforts that promote energy affordability, safety, and reductions in fossil-fuel generated consumption for residents, businesses and institutions 2. Supports reductions in environmental damage caused by energy extraction and production. 3. Supports opportunities for energy efficiency, production, and operation in local economies. 4. Opposes barriers to coordinating integrated planning for energy supply and demands. 5. Supports state and federal funding for resilience efforts to mitigate potential energy and climate related disruptions. 6. Supports federal and state incentives for renewable energy production, including wind power, and provide for “State Implementation Plan” credits for renewable energy (excluding residential wood burning and corn-based ethanol) and energy efficiency. 7. Opposes attempts to prevent or inhibit provision of municipal electric service in newly annexed areas. 8. Supports smart grid technology adoption and grid modernization. FINANCE HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT Strong fiscal planning, prudent debt management and investment policies, and preservation of the City’s revenue base are vital in maintaining and improving the City’s financial health. Considering the known impacts of legislation on the City’s business community can help foster a stronger tax base and retain a strong quality of life. Therefore, the City: 10 1. Supports expanding municipal authority to establish alternative funding mechanisms, including financing tools such as public improvement fees (PIF) and certificates of participation (COP). 2. Supports increased funding for K-12 and higher education, specifically Colorado State University and Front Range Community College. 3. Encourages the equitable treatment of sales and use taxes to residents and corporations residing or doing business in Colorado by limiting exemptions. 4. Supports the equitable distribution sales tax collections on e-commerce transactions. 5. Opposes efforts that inhibit the City’s ability to increase its revenue base (sales, use and property taxes). 6. Supports protections that do not unnecessarily restrict the investments of government entities. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT SAFE COMMUNITY; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH It is an important concern of the City to safeguard Fort Collins’ health and environmental safety by reducing risks from the unauthorized release of hazardous materials or hazardous waste. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports strengthening the enforcement of hazardous materials regulations. 2. Supports increasing diversion of hazardous waste from landfills. 3. Supports greater flexibility and more options for local government in the management of publicly-owned areas thought to have asbestos-containing soils while maintaining responsible site management practices. 4. Support City’s ability to review and approve locations of facilities that use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste. HUMAN RESOURCES HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT The City of Fort Collins is committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees. The City works diligently to be efficient and responsible stewards of tax dollars ensuring that employee compensation and benefits are fair, market-based, and competitive. The City believes that its citizens, through their elected representatives on City Council, are in the best position to determine appropriate City employee compensation, benefits, appeal rights related to disciplinary action and policies. 11 Therefore, the City: 1. Supports the City’s ability to make decisions on employment issues, including collective bargaining, arbitration, compensation, appeal rights related to disciplinary action and benefits to further an equitable work environment. 2. Supports expansion to the City’s ability to determine how best to manage health, welfare and wellness services for employees. 3. Supports current state funding levels for police officer death and disability benefits. 4. Opposes proposals that would allow employees and/or retirees with defined contribution plans to move into defined benefit plans if there is a cost to local government. 5. Opposes proposals that would limit the City’s ability to test job applicants or employees at work for impairment due to consumption of alcohol, marijuana, or other controlled substances or to set limits related to such testing. MARIJUANA SAFE COMMUNITY In 2012, Colorado voters approved legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. During the same election, Fort Collins residents voted to approve a citizen referred ballot measure to approve the use of medical marijuana within the city. The City of Fort Collins has a licensing program that supports the state dual-licensing system for medical and recreational marijuana businesses. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports communities’ ability to raise necessary funds to maintain public safety and enforce marijuana possession laws. 2. Supports additional state marijuana enforcement resources, especially for field enforcement. 3. Opposes under-21 access to marijuana. 4. Supports aligning federal marijuana laws with the Colorado constitution. MUNICIPAL COURT SAFE COMMUNITY; HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT The Fort Collins Municipal Court is responsible for administering the operations of the judicial branch of City government according to the City Charter and ordinances adopted by City Council. Cases adjudicated in Municipal Court include traffic violations, misdemeanors, civil infractions, and civil cases. Generally, cases are 12 brought to Municipal Court by Fort Collins Police Services, Colorado State University Police Department, Animal Control, other City departments, and private citizens. Therefore, the City: 1. Opposes limitations on the authority of municipalities to enforce their own ordinances in municipal courts. 2. Opposes the imposition of state surcharges on municipal court fines for the purpose of funding state programs. 3. Opposes the unfunded mandate imposed by CRS Section 13-10-114.5, currently effective 07/01/2018, of having private defense counsel present for first advisements of in-custody defendants rather than continuing to have the Court appoint counsel after advisement if such a request is made by an indigent defendant. OIL AND GAS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Oil and gas extraction activity and associated health and environmental impacts are a concern for Fort Collins. . Fort Collins residents have expressed continuing concern about the human and environmental health impacts from oil and gas operations, particularly from the hydraulic fracturing treatment used on most Colorado wells. In November 2013, voters approved a five-year moratorium on oil and gas extraction in order to study its property value and human health impacts but this was overturned by the State Supreme Court in 2016. Additionally, transported emissions from oil and gas operations outside of City limits have been demonstrated to contribute to ozone formation. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports greater local authority to regulate oil and gas exploration activities within municipal boundaries, including ability to inspect sites, ensure operator compliance, and regulate location of extraction, storage and transmission activities. 2. Supports state, federal, and academic studies evaluating impacts of oil and gas operations on human health and property values. 3. Supports air pollution monitoring, emission characterization and modeling studies to better understand the contributions of the oil and gas industry to air pollution. 4. Supports the current formula allocation of severance tax to impacted jurisdictions so that they might address impacts from resource extraction. 5. Supports industry information sharing and collaboration with local governments on the planned development of resources within communities’ Growth Management Areas. 13 6. Supports legislation that better balances the rights of surface landowners and mineral rights owners. OPEN RECORDS AND DATA MANAGEMENT HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT The City is the collector and keeper of hundreds of datasets and recorded information and is legally bound and responsible for responding to Open Record requests. The City supports transparency and open data initiatives. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports reasonable requests and timeframes for providing information that is legally available. 2. Opposes mandates that include unrealistic timeframes and requests that require additional staff time with no means to recuperate costs. 3. Supports cybersecurity efforts that protect the City, consumers, and infrastructure. PARKS AND NATURAL AREAS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH; CULTURE AND RECREATION The City is committed to providing the community with excellent parks and recreation services and facilities. Our citizens enjoy a better quality of life, improved health, less crime and a greater sense of community because of our quality parks and recreation programs. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports maintaining or enhancing funding for parks, trails, forestry, horticulture and recreation services and facilities. 2. Supports local discretion to use Great Outdoors Colorado and other sources for funding municipal government projects addressing local needs and priorities. 3. Supports equal or greater funding levels of Great Outdoors Colorado grants awarded to municipalities 4. Supports maintaining or enhancing tax incentives to private landowners for voluntary land conservation. 5. Supports additional funding for conservation programs, including reinstating Colorado Parks and Wildlife license fees to at least 2005 levels. 6. Supports protection of the Cache la Poudre River and local urban streams. 14 PUBLIC HEALTH SAFE COMMUNITY; NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY AND SOCIAL HEALTH The City of Fort Collins strives to be a welcoming and inclusive community for all, including residents who may be experiencing the challenges of homelessness, mental health issues, addiction, depression, and other challenging life situations. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports maintaining or increasing the funds available through the state and federal government for community-focused non-profits to provide human services and housing support. 2. Supports providing communities with resources to address chronic homelessness, supportive housing, mental health, and substance abuse, including tobacco prevention programs. 3. Supports a standardized statewide approach to addressing homelessness. 4. Supports statewide efforts to enforce retail tobacco sales compliance. PUBLIC SAFETY SAFE COMMUNITY The Fort Collins City Council recognizes the critical importance of maintaining public safety, providing a safe environment, and protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Fort Collins on a daily basis as well as through preparedness and resiliency planning efforts. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports greater protections to victims of crime. 2. Supports the City’s right to use camera enforcement of traffic laws, reduce operational restrictions on the use of camera enforcement, and increases the fines associated with violations. 3. Supports protocols and funding for shared, statewide emergency response communications, including supporting Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA) and other efforts to resolve the 911 redundancy issue. 4. Opposes initiatives that have the potential to compromise officer safety. 5. Supports minimum training criteria and professional mediator certification that formally legitimizes the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). 6. Supports maintenance of a statewide database of concealed weapons permits. 15 7. Opposes municipal liability for prisoners’ self-inflicted wounds while in police custody or detention facilities. 8. Opposes efforts to undermine local control or enforcement of activities on public property. 9. Supports a state fire code, the code of choice being the International Building and Fire Code, and allowing municipalities to adopt their own amendments. 10. Opposes limits to local enforcement of the International Fire Code as adopted with local amendments, imposing inspection requirements or preventing collection of permit or inspection fees as required by the local jurisdiction. 11. Opposes restricting any local jurisdiction from requiring the installation of fire sprinklers. 12. Supports the City’s ability to prohibit the use and sale of fireworks and allow counties and fire districts to prohibit and otherwise control fireworks within City boundaries. 13. Supports efforts to reduce abuse and improper disposal of prescription drugs. 14. Supports exclusive digital communication networks for public safety personnel during emergencies. RECYCLING AND SOLID WASTE REDUCTION ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH The City of Fort Collins endorses a multi-pronged approach to waste minimization that includes recycling, re-use, composting, and source reduction, and which also applies Sustainable Materials Management principles such as redesigning systems to reduce pollution and waste. Additionally, the City has adopted a goal of diverting 75 percent of community waste by 2020; 90 percent by 2025, and 100 percent by 2030. Therefore, the City: 1. Encourages integrated waste management planning and implementation, including but not limited to the creation of a state waste diversion goal. 2. Supports a regulatory authority role for local government to ensure the efficient management of recyclable material and solid waste. 3. Encourages “buy recycled” or “environmentally preferable purchasing” policies for government agency procurement. 4. Supports incentives and funding for programs that promote waste reduction, reuse and recycling, and development of related infrastructure. 16 5. Supports continued or increased funding for programs to collect and monitor data on trash volumes, rates of diversion from landfill disposal and economic impacts of recycling. 6. Supports greater producer responsibility initiatives, such as “take back” regulations that assist consumers to appropriately recycle packaging materials or certain products (e.g., electronic equipment or mattresses). 7. Opposes CRS Section 25-17-104, which currently limits local authority to regulate packaging materials (e.g., single-use plastic bags). 8. Supports establishing deposit fee on beverage containers and that would be used to pay for recycling programs. RISK MANAGEMENT AND LIABILITY HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT The City of Fort Collins recognizes the dual purpose of the workers’ compensation system – providing benefits promptly to injured employees in a cost-effective manner and minimizing costly litigation. Council also recognizes that the City’s self-insurance program is a cost-efficient method to insure workers’ compensation and that government intervention or taxation can negatively impact the City. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports improving administrative efficiency of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. 2. Opposes increased insurance premium costs to employers. 3. Opposes administrative burdens or taxes to self-insurance programs. 4. Supports limits to insurance claim litigation. 5. Opposes limiting the City’s options and ability to manage workers’ compensation claims; including actions like removing existing off-sets to workers’ compensation benefits or limiting the City’s ability to designate treating physicians. 6. Opposes efforts to presumptively expand workers’ compensation coverage to illnesses or injuries that are not work related. TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY The City actively promotes the safety and ease of traveling to, from and throughout the community using a variety of modes of transportation. Additionally, the City’s policy is to encourage the use of alternative transportation whenever appropriate. 17 Therefore, the City: 1. Opposes reductions to the present allocation formula of 60 percent state, 22 percent counties, and 18 percent municipalities for Highway User Tax Fund (HUTF) or any appropriations from the state using the same formula. 2. Supports alternative methods of funding transportation infrastructure needs. 3. Support funding the analysis and implementation of inter- and intra-regional transit linkages, including future commuter rail connectivity. 4. Encourages flexibility in federal funding and regulations in order to better meet the needs of small to medium-size communities. 5. Supports guaranteed levels of federal funding for transportation and allocation of all federal motor fuel taxes and other federal transportation trust funds for their intended transportation purposes. 6. Supports broadening the definition of the gasoline tax to a “fuel tax” that encompasses other fuel options as they become more prevalent. 7. Supports enhanced ability to implement railroad quiet zones in municipalities and a reduction in train horn decibel and duration requirements. 8. Opposes divesting highway roads in urban areas from the state and making them the sole responsibility of local jurisdictions. 9. Supports safe operation of railroads through timely track inspections, joint training and communication between railroad and emergency personnel, and the use of safe equipment. 10. Supports funding for the build out of Interstate 25 improvements, which may include a ballot measure. 11. Opposes reductions in federal dollars for alternate travel modes. URBAN RENEWAL AND DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC HEALTH The state of Colorado has empowered local authorities to use Urban Renewal Authorities to encourage revitalization and the elimination of blight. The main funding tool for URA is Tax Increment Financing (TIF) generated through property taxes. In its best intention, urban renewal restores economic vitality and improves the safety of a designated area, with limited financial impact to other government jurisdictions. Therefore, the City: 18 1. Opposes limitations on municipalities’ ability to utilize financing mechanisms such as TIF or Metro Districts. 2. Opposes efforts to allow non-City jurisdictions to have influence over the use of TIF within City limits. 3. Supports maintaining the ability of downtown development authorities to utilize urban renewal tools. WATER, WASTEWATER, AND STORMWATER ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH; SAFE COMMUNITY The City operates a water, wastewater, and stormwater utility in a financially sound, reliable, safe, and environmentally acceptable manner. The availability of water supplies is critical to this mission and is managed by both the Water Demand and Supply Policy, and the Water Efficiency Plan. Therefore, the City: 1. Supports expanding the authority delegated to the state to administer federally mandated water, stormwater and wastewater environmental regulatory programs. 2. Supports reasonable water quality regulations that are cost effective and can show identifiable benefits. 3. Supports municipal flexibility to manage in-stream flows to preserve or improve the natural environment of the stream while protecting the integrity of Colorado’s appropriation doctrine and City water supply. 4. Opposes unfunded mandates. 5. Opposes barriers to financing for water conservation projects. 6. Supports funding for the recovery and treatment of the Cache la Poudre and other waterways impacted by natural disasters. 7. Supports enhanced municipal authority to protect and increase the flexibility and resiliency of its water supply under Colorado’s appropriation doctrine without adversely affecting in-stream flows or the natural environment of the stream. 8. Supports streamlining federal and state permitting requirements for water development projects that increase coordination between permitting agencies, reduces administrative and financial burdens on permit applicants, and ensures robust and enforceable environmental protections. 9. Supports the enlargement of Halligan Reservoir as a common-sense, cost-effective, and environmentally beneficial approach to meet Fort Collins’ future water supply needs. 19 CITY OF FORT COLLINS LEGISLATIVE CONTACTS Legislative Review Committee Name District/Title Email Phone Councilmember Ken Summers, Chair District 3 ksummers@fcgov.com (970) 221-6878 Councilmember Ray Martinez District 2 raymartinez@fcgov.com (970) 690 3686 Councilmember Bob Overbeck District 1 boverbeck@fcgov.com (970) 221-6917 Jeff Mihelich Deputy City Manager jmihelich@fcgov.com (970) 416-2899 Carrie Daggett City Attorney cdaggett@fcgov.com (970) 416-2463 Ginny Sawyer Tyler Marr Legislative Staff gsawyer@fcgov.com tmarr@fcgov.com (970) 224-6094 (970) 416-4205 Legislative Staff Liaison Members Topic Area Name Title Email Phone Affordable Housing and Social Sustainability Beth Sowder Social Sustainability Director bsowder@fcgov.com (970) 221-6752 Air Quality Cassie Archuleta Environmental Program Manager carchuleta@fcgov.com Cable Television Franchise Carson Hamlin Cable Television Manager chamlin@fcgov.com (970) 221-6510 Climate Lindsay Ex Environmental Program Manager lex@fcgov.com (970)224-6143 Environmental Protection Lucinda Smith Environmental Services Director lsmith@fcgov.com (970) 224-6085 Elections, Liquor and Marijuana Licensing Delynn Coldiron City Clerk dcoldiron@fcgov.com (970) 416-2995 Cultural Services, Parks and Recreation Mike Calhoon Director of Parks mcalhoon@fcgov.com (970) 416-2079 Energy Tim McCollough John Phelan Light and Power Operations Manager 20 Legislative Staff Liaison Members Human Resources Janet Miller Assistant Human Resources Director jamiller@fcgov.com (970) 221-6826 Natural Areas, Open Lands and Cache la Poudre River Issues John Stokes Natural Areas Director jstokes@fcgov.com (970) 221-6263 Building Services Russ Hovland Chief Building Official rhovland@fcgov.com (970) 416-2341 Planning and Land Use Tom Leeson Community Development and Neighborhood Services Director tleeson@fcgov.com (970) 221-6287 Public Safety Greg Yeager Deputy Chief of Police gyeager@fcgov.com (970) 416-2185 Recycling and Solid Waste Susie Gordon Environmental Program Manager sgordon@fcgov.com (970) 221-6265 Risk Management Kelly Bernish Safety, Security, and Risk Management Director kbernish@fcgov.com (970) 221-6774 Stormwater Matt Fater Interim Water Engineering Field Operations Manager mfater@fcgov.com (970) 221-6671 Transportation Mark Jackson Planning, Development and Transportation Deputy Director mjackson@fcgov.com (970) 416-2029 Utilities Customer Service Lisa Rosintoski Utility Customer Connections Manager lrosintoski@fcgov.com (970) 416-2432 Water Supply and Quality Carol Webb Water Resource and Treatment Operations Manager cwebb@fcgov.com (970) 221-6231 City of Fort Collins 2018 State Legislative Priorities Fort Collins Legislative Representation United States Senate • Cory Gardner 354 Russell Senate Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20510 P: 202-224-5941 • Michael Bennet 458 Russell Senate Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20510 P: 202-224-5852 United States House of Representatives • Jared Polis 1433 Longworth House Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20515 P: 202-225-2161 Colorado Governor • John Hickenlooper 136 State Capitol Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2471 Colorado State Senate • John Kefalas Senate District 14 200 East Colfax, Room 338 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4841 Colorado House of Representatives • Jeni Arndt District 53 200 East Colfax, Room 622 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2917 • Joann Ginal District 52 200 East Colfax, Room 301 Rm 626 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4569 Larimer County Commissioners • Lew Gaiter III, District 1 • Steve Johnson, District 2 • Tom Donnelly, District 3 200 W. Oak Street, Second Floor PO Box 1190 Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 P: 970.498.7010 &YIJCJU# 2 Introduction and Legislative Review Process Fort Collins is a community of 167,000 residents located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains along Colorado’s Front Range. Incorporated in 1873, the City has grown to become the commercial, educational and cultural hub of Northern Colorado. The City adopted a home rule charter in 1954 and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City is a data-driven municipal organization that strives to fulﬁll its mission, “Exceptional service for an exceptional community,” through a vision of providing world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation. City leaders seek innovative solutions to issues facing the community and are often willing to leverage emerging technologies. The Fort Collins City Council annually adopts Legislative Priorities and a Legislative Policy Agenda the purpose of guiding legislators and staff in supporting community goals. The City’s Legislative Priorities are broad issues Fort Collins is focused on and they may carry over year to year since they are more challenging issues that may take multi-year work to inﬂuence. The City works closely with the Colorado Municipal League and other regional partners to leverage resources and participate in regional dialogue to achieve shared outcomes. The Policy Agenda and Priorities identify speciﬁc City Council-adopted goals associated with the policy objectives and statements. This alignment is important for City staff to ensure that advocacy supports speciﬁc desired outcomes. City of Fort Collins Legislative Review Committee The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) is a representative group of Council members that reviews and reacts to proposed legislation on behalf of City Council and the City. In taking a position on particular bills, the LRC interprets and applies the various policies that are included in the Legislative Policy Agenda. Council Members presently serving on the Legislative Review Committee are: • Councilmember Ken Summers, Chair • Councilmember Ray Martinez • Councilmember Bob Overbeck Wade Troxell Mayor 970-416-2154 wtroxell@fcgov.com Gerry Horak Mayor Pro Tem, District 6 970-217-2993 ghorak@fcgov.com Bob Overbeck District 1 970-817-1411 boverbeck@fcgov.com Ray Martinez District 2 970-690-3686 raymartinez@fcgov.com Ken Summers District 3 970-221-6878 ksummers@fcgov.com Kristin Stephens District 4 970-217-5817 kstephens@fcgov.com Ross Cunniff District 5 970-420-7398 3 Legislative Priorities Objective: Support local control and home rule Issue: The City of Fort Collins fundamentally supports and encourages local control and home rule which allows maximum ﬂexibility and discretion in the implementation of local policy, delivery of service, and municipal ﬁnance. The City will support all efforts and measures to preserve the authority of local municipalities while opposing efforts that unnecessarily or adversely affect the City’s ability to manage and operate pursuant to its home rule authority or that increase burdens upon the City Objective: Support transportation infrastructure connectivity with an emphasis on funding an integrated, multi-modal system Issue: Funding for vital transportation infrastructure will continue to be a high priority for the City of Fort Collins. Transportation infrastructure is a critical element to supporting community and regional economic health, safety and quality of life. Actions that may expedite the continued improvement and expansion of northern sections of I-25 include: • A Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANS) bond II ballot initiative (TRANS) bonds were previously used to help fund the $1.67 billion T-REX I-25 improvements in the south Denver Metro area) • State of Colorado General Fund dollars going to transportation (maintenance & capital construction) • Tax credit legislation for speciﬁc highway projects A key transportation funding priority for Fort Collins is Interstate 25 (I-25) in Northern Colorado. Immediate funding to widen north I-25 is needed to sustain the region’s economic growth. The City is an active part of the I-25 Coalition whose primary goal is to accelerate construction of a third lane in each direction of I-25 as identiﬁed in the I-25 North Project (from State Highway 6 to State Highway 14). Colorado Department of Transportation recently received TIGER grant funding for I-25 improvements. This, in combination with local match commitments, private 4 Resiliency efforts impact a broad set of critical services including utility operations, transportation infrastructure, emergency response, and disaster recovery. Fort Collins has adopted aggressive emission reduction goals and supports policies and legislation that help achieve these goals, gather scientiﬁc data and investments in needed infrastructure to ensure a clean energy future. The City acknowledges the role that state legislation can, and should, play in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, criteria pollutants, and waste through policies, legislation, incentives, and other mechanisms. Objective: Support comprehensive water resource management Issue: Water resources in Colorado and throughout the West are stressed by many factors. Local water resource planning efforts ensure adequate supply to residents through managing the City’s water rights portfolio, encouraging increased efﬁciency and expanding storage. Fort Collins supports efforts to address local and regional water needs, preserve its water rights portfolio, and to encourage conservation of water resources. The conservation of water resources extends to support for Cache la Poudre River restoration projects. Fort Collins will participate in implementation of the Colorado Water Plan by the Legislature and any State agencies, rulemakings by water-related State agencies, and the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rulemakings affecting water storage, use, quality and conservation. Objective: Support a comprehensive approach to reduce the impacts of poverty and housing affordability City of Fort Collins Legislative Contacts Legislative Review Committee Name District/Title Email Phone Councilmember Ken Summers District 3 ksummers@fcgov.com 970-221-6878 Councilmember Bob Overbeck District 1 boverbeck@fcgov.com 970-221-6917 Councilmember Ray Martinez District 2 raymartinez@fcgov.com 970-690 3686 Jeff Mihelich Deputy City Manager jmihelich@fcgov.com 970-221-6684 Carrie Daggett City Attorney cdaggett@fcgov.com 970-416-2463 Ginny Sawyer Tyler Marr Legislative Staff gsawyer@fcgov.com tmarr@fcgov.com 970-224-6094 City of Fort Collins 2018 Federal Legislative Priorities Fort Collins Legislative Representation United States Senate • Cory Gardner 354 Russell Senate Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20510 P: 202-224-5941 • Michael Bennet 458 Russell Senate Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20510 P: 202-224-5852 United States House of Representatives • Jared Polis 1433 Longworth House Ofﬁce Building Washington, DC 20515 P: 202-225-2161 Colorado Governor • John Hickenlooper 136 State Capitol Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2471 Colorado State Senate • John Kefalas Senate District 14 200 East Colfax, Room 338 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4841 Colorado House of Representatives • Jeni Arndt District 53 200 East Colfax, Room 622 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2917 • Joann Ginal District 52 200 East Colfax, Room 301 Rm 626 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4569 Larimer County Commissioners • Lew Gaiter III, District 1 • Steve Johnson, District 2 • Tom Donnelly, District 3 200 W. Oak Street, Second Floor PO Box 1190 Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 P: 970.498.7010 Exhibit C 2 Introduction and Legislative Review Process Fort Collins is a community of 167,000 residents located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains along Colorado’s Front Range. Incorporated in 1873, the City has grown to become the commercial, educational and cultural hub of Northern Colorado. The City is a data-driven municipal organization that strives to fulﬁll its mission, “Exceptional service for an exceptional community,” through a vision of providing world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation. City leaders seek innovative solutions to issues facing the community and are often willing to leverage emerging technologies. The Fort Collins City Council annually adopts Legislative Priorities and a Legislative Policy Agenda for the purpose of engaging our United States Congress Senators and Representative in supporting community goals. The City’s Legislative Priorities are broad issues Fort Collins is focused on during the Congressional session. The Priorities may carry over year to year since they are larger, more challenging issues that may take multi-year work to inﬂuence. The City works closely with the Colorado Municipal League and other regional partners to leverage resources and participate in regional dialogue to achieve shared outcomes. City of Fort Collins Legislative Review Committee The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) is a representative group of Council members that reviews and reacts to proposed legislation on behalf of City Council and the City. In taking a position on particular bills, the LRC interprets and applies the various policies that are included in the Legislative Policy Agenda. Council Members presently serving on the Legislative Review Committee are: • Councilmember Ken Summers, Chair • Councilmember Ray Martinez • Councilmember Bob Overbeck Wade Troxell Mayor 970-416-2154 wtroxell@fcgov.com Gerry Horak Mayor Pro Tem, District 6 970-217-2993 ghorak@fcgov.com Bob Overbeck District 1 970-817-1411 boverbeck@fcgov.com Ray Martinez District 2 970-690-3686 raymartinez@fcgov.com Ken Summers District 3 970-221-6878 ksummers@fcgov.com Kristin Stephens District 4 970-217-5817 kstephens@fcgov.com Ross Cunniff District 5 970-420-7398 rcunniff@fcgov.com Use cityleaders@fcgov.com to e-mail all City Councilmembers and the City Manager at once. 3 Legislative Priorities Objective: Support transportation infrastructure connectivity with an emphasis on funding an integrated, multi-modal system Issue: Funding for vital transportation infrastructure is a high priority for the City of Fort Collins. The City supports Congress’s recent long- term reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation law and we strongly support preservation or increase of federal levels of funding and allocation of all federal motor fuel taxes and other federal transportation trust funds for their intended purposes. In addition, we urge development of a new, more stable, long range transportation funding mechanism that doesn’t rely upon fuel tax revenues. Allowing the Highway Trust Fund to become insolvent would be devastating. A key funding priority for Fort Collins is Interstate 25 (I-25) in Northern Colorado. The highway has become a pinch point that limits access for residents, visitors, and the delivery of goods and services. The City is an active part of the I-25 Coalition whose primary goal is to accelerate construction of a third lane in each direction of I-25 from State Highway 6 to State Highway 14. Colorado Department of Transportation recently received $15 million in TIGER grant funding for I-25 improvements. This, in combination with $25 million in local match commitments and private sector funds has accelerated improvements by ﬁfteen years; however, sizeable funding gaps remain in terms of needed I-25 improvements between SH-402 and SH-66. Actions that may expedite the continued improvement and expansion of northern sections of I-25 include: • A Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANS) bond II ballot initiative • State of Colorado General Fund dollars going to transportation • Tax credit legislation for speciﬁc highway projects Objective: Advocate solutions to nuisance and safety issues related to railroad proximity Issue: Railroad proximity issues including blockages of intersections, transport of hazardous materials, train horn noise 4 Objective: Support Funding for Waste Reduction, Composting, Recycling and Reuse Issue: Financial tools are needed to provide critical investment in recycling infrastructure and technologies that will reduce the country’s reliance on foreign processors and fragile international markets for recyclable commodities. The U.S. needs to re-invest in domestic processing plants, mills, and manufacturers that will put our recyclables to work. A Zero Waste Development and Expansion Act (H.R. 3237) calls for creating a U.S.EPA grant program to fund local government efforts to stimulate recycling and composting. By encouraging ﬁnancial investments in local infrastructure, local jobs can be developed when materials collected in our regional community are re- manufactured into useful, sale-able products. Federal funding can help address the disproportionate environmental, health, and economic burden of waste disposal that local communities bear. . Objective: Support the Enlargement of Halligan Reservoir Issue: The City has been actively trying to expand Halligan Reservoir for over a decade, and the Corps of Engineers has indicated that Halligan may not be selected as the Least Environmentally Damaging Preferred Alternative (LEDPA), despite numerous environmental beneﬁts of the project such as re-established year-round ﬂows in the North Fork of the Poudre River and the addition of water storage without required pumping that produces greenhouse gas emissions. City of Fort Collins Legislative Contacts Legislative Review Committee Name District/Title Email Phone Councilmember Ken Summers District 3 ksummers@fcgov.com 970-221-6878 Councilmember Bob Overbeck District 1 boverbeck@fcgov.com 970-221-6917 Councilmember Ray Martinez District 2 raymartinez@fcgov.com 970-690 3686 Jeff Mihelich Deputy City Manager jmihelich@fcgov.com 970-221-6684 Carrie Daggett City Attorney cdaggett@fcgov.com 970-416-2463 Ginny Sawyer Tyler Marr Legislative Staff gsawyer@fcgov.com tmarr@fcgov.com 970-224-6094 970-416-4205 This project is needed for drought security and to ensure Fort Collins Water Utility can continue providing high quality services into the future. The City needs assistance in engaging the Corps and other federal agencies to ensure Halligan gets selected as the LEDPA and receives permits in a timely fashion thereafter. Objective: Support Federal Housing / Community Development Dollars Issue: The City of Fort Collins supports maintaining existing funding levels in the areas of CDBG and HOME funding, which are leveraged in the Fort Collins community to invest over $15 million annually toward critically needed housing infrastructure in the community. In recent years, these funds have been used to build hundreds of units of affordable housing in Fort Collins. impact quality of life for residents and businesses and can pose safety hazards. Fort Collins has two active railroad corridors and three rail companies servicing the community. Trains have regained preference for transporting goods and materials and the increased use of rail has added pressure to the system and increased concerns. Fort Collins has fostered relationships with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Great Western Railway, and Union Paciﬁc railroad companies as well as with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). As communities work to, and are encouraged to, bring residents closer to transit lines so that they can use mass transportation, and so that downtown revitalization can occur, the rail proximity issues need to be addressed in new and innovative ways. The FRA train horn rule is a prime example as it is discouraging the development community and residents from locating around transit. Reform is needed. • Fort Collins is actively seeking national level assistance in our efforts to: • Engage with railroad companies and develop a “proximity issues” dialogue • Obtain notiﬁcations about hazardous material shipments • Ensure track maintenance and train car safety • Develop solutions, technology and innovations to improve conﬂict areas Objective: Support the innovation economy Issue: Innovation is a key attribute of the City organization and community. With an educated resident base, Colorado State University, federal research labs, and a long list of innovative companies Fort Collins has numerous drivers of innovation and a support system that serves as a living laboratory for ideas and new technologies. The City supports efforts to simplify the commercialization of intellectual property, increase the available capital to support innovation and new business formation, and the application of innovative technologies and approaches to improve programs and services. A regional example of supporting the innovation economy is bringing remote tower technology into operation to serve and revitalize Colorado’s regional airports. 970-416-4205 Issue: Poverty and lack of affordable housing are on-going issues in Fort Collins and across Colorado. The City is interested in developing local and regional solutions to these persistent problems through collaboration and innovation. The City plays both a convening and leadership role among the many community service providers – seeking to foster sustainable solutions to complex social issues through a combination of City involvement and leadership. Fort Collins supports collaborative solutions that may include: • Fully resource a state affordable housing fund • Implement funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit • Develop or expand programs that ensure a smooth transition from foster care to independence • Increase funding for mental and behavioral health care/programs • Pilot innovative programs to address housing sector funds, and other scheduled funds, has accelerated improvements in Northern Colorado by ﬁfteen years. Improvements between SH-14 and SH-402 are welcomed and sizeable funding gaps remain in terms of needed I-25 improvements between SH-402 and SH-66. Objective: Support efforts to address increased availability and access to mental and behavioral health systems. Issue: The City of Fort Collins strives to be a welcoming and inclusive community for all, including residents who may be experiencing the challenges of homelessness, mental health issues, addiction, depression, and other challenging life situations. The City is not a direct provider of social services or healthcare, however, the City works closely with community partners to reduce homelessness and to increase access to needed services. These needs are persistent in our community and in the region. Increased data collection, collaboration, and regional solutions are needed to impact these issues. The City is committed to supporting increased coordination of all partners, the creation of a regional detox facility, greater access to mental health services, and a coordinated regional approach to suicide prevention/intervention. Objective: Support efforts to ensure regional resiliency and achieve Climate Action Plan goals Issue: Making communities more resilient to disaster and the effects of a changing climate has become more important to Colorado communities over the last several years as natural disasters have caused signiﬁcant human and property loss. Making Fort Collins and Northern Colorado more resilient involves providing decision- makers hazard mitigation analysis and scientiﬁc data to inform investment in effective and complementary infrastructure systems. Resilience must be a regional effort that pays off through coordinated advanced planning and investment. rcunniff@fcgov.com Use cityleaders@fcgov.com to e-mail all City Councilmembers and the City Manager at once. Resource Conservation Manager tmccollough@fcgov.com jphelan@fcgov.com (970) 416-2622 (970) 416-2539 Finance Mike Beckstead Chief Financial Officer mbeckstead@fcgov.com (970) 221-6795 Economic Health Josh Birks Economic Health Director jbirks@fcgov.com (970) 221-6324 Fire Protection and HAZMAT Mgmt Bob Poncelow Division Chief, Poudre Fire Authority bponcelow@poudre- fire.org (970) 416-2871