HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/08/2025 - Preliminary Notice of Charter AmendmentNotice of Charter Amendments Page 1 – May 2, 2025
PRELIMINARY NOTICE
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT S FOR A REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION
TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2025, IN FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
(A second and final Notice will be published after June 3, 2025, that will include all Charter Amendments
to be referred to the November 4, 2025 ballot, i ncluding corresponding numbers, order, and finalized
content. It may result in one or more of the items listed in this Preliminary Notice not appearing in the
final Notice and/or the November 4, 2025 ballot.)
I, Delynn Coldiron, City Clerk of the City of Fort Collins in the County of Larimer and the State of Colorado
(herein the “Clerk”, the “City”, the “County”, and the “State”, respectively), under and by virtue of the
authority vested in me as such officer by the Constitution and laws of the State and the Charter of the City,
DO HEREBY CALL AND GIVE PUBLIC NOTICE of a Regular Municipal Election in the City to be held on
Tuesday, the 4th day of November 2025 (herein the “Election”).
Persons desiring to vote in said Election must meet the following qualifications: be at least eighteen (18)
years of age, be a citizen of the United States, be a resident of the State of Colorado for at least twenty-
two (22) days before the Election and be duly registered to vote within the Fort Collins city limits.
At such Election, at least five (5) City-initiated amendments to the City Charter are expected to be submitted
to the voters.
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
The proposed amendments to the Charter under this section are intended to correct errors and eliminate
outdated or unnecessary language in light of the Charter amendments adopted in November 2024 and
include the following:
• Clarifying in Section 2(d) of Article II that a registered elector must notify the City Clerk before
seeking a court determination to challenge the qualifications of any member of the Council; and
• Updating language in Section 2(e) of Article IX about determining the number of votes cast in a
specific race to work with the new ranked voting rules that were approved in November 2024; and
• Changing language in Section 2(e)(1) of Article X to restore the number of days for a signature
gatherer to circulate an initiative petition by increasing it from 63 days to 77 days .
Following is the proposed language for these amendments:
Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Articles II, IX, and X, of the Charter of the City
of Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed Charter Amendment
at the municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025:
ARTICLE II. CITY COUNCIL
. . .
Section 2. Qualifications of candidates and members; challenges.
. . .
(d) Any registered elector maymust file notice with the City Clerk a written protest challenging the
qualifications of any member of the Council prior to seeking a court determination. Any such protest
shall be resolved by the City Clerk as expeditiously as possible but no more than forty -five (45) days
from the date of filing of the protest, pursuant to a procedure established by the Council by ordinance.
In order to resolve such protests, the City Clerk shall have the power to subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths, and require the production of evidence. No protest shall be filed prior to the date of
appointment or the date of issuance of the certificate of election of a Councilmember, whichever is
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 2 – May 2, 2025
applicable, nor shall any such protest, other than a protest based upon the fact of a felony conviction,
be filed more than fifteen (15) days after said date.
. . .
ARTICLE IX. RECALL
. . .
Section 2. Petitions.
. . .
(e) Number of signatures required.
(1) First recall attempt. The petition must be signed by registered electors equal in number to at
least twenty-five (25) percent of the total of first choice votes cast at the last preceding regular
city election for the office to which the incumbent sought to be recalled was elected.
(2) Subsequent recall attempts. After one (1) recall petition and election, a recall petition filed against
the same officer during the same term for which elected must be signed by registered electors
equal in number to at least fifty (50) percent of the total of first choice votes cast at the last
preceding regular city election for the office to which the incumbent sought to be recalled was
elected.
. . .
ARTICLE X. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
. . .
Section 2. Petitions.
. . .
(e) Petition deadlines and submittal.
(1) To be valid, the initiative petition must be filed no more than sixty-three (63) seventy-seven (77)
days after the City Clerk's approval of the form for circulation.
. . .
Section 2. The following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted for submitting a
Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Correct Errors and Eliminate Outdated or Unnecessary Language)
Shall Articles II, IX, and X of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, be amended to correct errors
and eliminate outdated or unnecessary language in light of the Charter amendments adopted in
November 2024, by:
• Clarifying in Section 2(d) of Article II that a registered elector must notify the City Clerk before
seeking a court determination to challenge the qualifications of any member of the Council; and
• Updating language in Section 2(e)(1) of Article IX about determining the number of votes cast in a
specific race to work with the new ranked voting rules that were approved in November 2024 ; and
• Changing language in Section 2(e)(1) of Article X to restore the number of days for a signature
gatherer to circulate an initiative petition by increasing it from 63 days to 77 days?
______ Yes/For
______ No/Against
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 3 – May 2, 2025
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
The proposed amendments under this section are to align the Charter language with amended or further
developed laws, helping to minimize the need to update the Charter with future legal developments, and
remove inconsistencies to avoid confusion. The proposed amendments include the following:
• Changing Section 8 of Article II about contributions to City Council elections to:
o Specify which city employees are prohibited from contributing to Council elections for
consistency with state law;
o Continue to prohibit a political party, public service corporations, and persons or entities
with city contracts from contributing to any City Council election, while recognizing that
some speech is protected by the U.S. or Colorado constitution;
• Adding definitions to Article XIII to correspond to the changes to Article II; and
• Adding language to Section 11 of Article II incorporating state law provisions regarding City
Council executive sessions; and
• Clarifying language in Section 5 of Article IV that City records are available for public inspection
and disclosure consistent with state open records laws.
Following is the proposed language for these amendments:
Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Articles II, IV and XIII of the Charter of the City
of Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed Charter Amendment
at the municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025:
ARTICLE II. CITY COUNCIL
. . .
Section 8. Campaign contributions.
(a) Council to set limits. The Council will act by ordinance to establish a limit on the amount that any person
or entity may contribute in support of a candidate for Council on the ballot at any city election.
(b) Employee contributions. It is unlawful for any confidential or policy-level employees of the city to
contribute or expend any money or other valuable thing, directly or indirectly, to assist in the election
or defeat of any Council candidate.
(c) Other contributions. No It is unlawful for any political party, or city employee, directly or indirectly, and
no public service corporation, nor any other person, firm or corporation, owning, interested in, or
intending to apply for any franchise or a contract with the city to may contribute or expend any money
or other valuable thing, directly or indirectly, to assist in the election or defeat of any Council candidate,
except to the extent protected as free speech under the Constitution of the United States or the
Constitution of the state of Colorado.
. . .
Section 11. Meetings, quorum, executive session.
. . .
By two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting, the Council may go into executive session, which shall
be closed to the public. Executive sessions may only be held to:
(1) discuss personnel matters; or
(2) consult with attorneys representing the city regarding specific legal questions involving litigation
or potential litigation and/or the manner in which particular policies, practices or regulations of
the city may be affected by existing or proposed provisions of federal, state or local law; or
(3) consider water and real property acquisitions and sales by the city; or
(4) consider electric utility matters if such matters pertain to issues of competition in the electric
utility industry.; or
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 4 – May 2, 2025
(5) discuss and consider any other matter authorized by the Colorado Open Meetings Law, Section
24-6-401, Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended.
. . .
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS
. . .
Section 5. Records to be public.
All cCity records shall be available for public inspection, as required and permitted by Colorado law. subject
only to reasonable restrictions. Upon payment of a reasonable fee, a copy or a certified copy of any city
record shall be furnished by the custodian thereof. A certified copy of any city record shall be prima facie
evidence of its contents.
. . .
ARTICLE XIII. DEFINITIONS.
Certain words and phrases used in this Charter are hereby declared to have the following meanings:
. . .
“Confidential employee" means a public employee required to develop or present management positions
with respect to employer-employee relations, or whose duties normally require access to confidential
information, or to contribute significantly to decision-making on management positions.
. . .
“Policy level employee" means a public employee with significant decision -making responsibilities to
formulate policies or programs, or administer a service area or department.
. . .
Section 2. That the following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted for submitting
a Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Alignment with amended or further developed laws and removing inconsistencies)
Shall Articles II, IV, XIII of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins be amended to improve consistency
with amended or further developed laws and removing inconsistencies, in order to minimize conflicts
between the Charter legal developments, by:
• Changing Section 8 of Article II about contributions to City Council elections to:
o Specify which city employees are prohibited from contributing to Council elections for
consistency with state law;
o Continue to prohibit a political party, public service corporations, and persons or
entities with city contracts from contributing to any City Council election, while
recognizing that some speech is protected by the U.S. or Colorado constitution;
• Adding definitions to Article XIII to correspond to the changes to Article II; and
• Adding language to Section 11 of Article II incorporating state law provisions regarding City
Council executive sessions; and
• Clarifying language in Section 5 of Article IV that City records are available for public inspection
and disclosure consistent with state open records laws?
______Yes/For
______No/Against
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
The proposed amendments in this section modernize publication requirements and requirements for
adopting ordinances, resolutions and motions. The proposed amendments include the following:
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 5 – May 2, 2025
• Revising Section 6 of Article II about adopting ordinances, resolutions, and motions to:
o Make the provision easier to read and understand by adding subsections, subsection
titles and better organizing them;
o Remove language entitling any Councilmember to request that an entire ordinance be
read aloud at a Council meeting; and
• Revising Section 7 of Article II about publication and effective date of ordinances to:
o Allow an ordinance to proceed to adoption if publication of the ordinance before
adoption was not timely, so long as all other notice requirements have been met; and.
o Cure late publication of ordinance after final passage if publication completed within a
reasonable period of time; and
o Delay the effective date of the ordinance until publication requirements are met; and
o Toll the deadline to file a notice of referendum protest; and
• Revising Section 7 of Article IV to require notice be published on the City’s website and posted
at City Hall, instead of publishing formal legal notices in a local newspaper; and
• Adding a new Section 17 to Article IV of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins about how to
apply deadlines throughout the Charter in the manner already enacted for Articles VIII, IX and
X.
Following is the proposed language for these amendments:
Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Articles II and IV of the Charter of the City of
Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed Charter Amendment at
the municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025:
ARTICLE II. CITY COUNCIL
. . .
Section 6. Ordinances, resolutions and motions.
(a) Council action. The Council shall act by ordinance, resolution, or motion. The ayes and nays shall be
recorded on the passage of all ordinances, resolutions, and motions. Every Councilmember present shall
vote; if a member fails to vote when present, he or she shall be recorded as voting in the affirmative.
(b) Ordinance required. All legislative enactments and every act creating, altering, or abolishing any agency
or office, fixing compensation, making an appropriation, authorizing the borrowing of money, levying a tax,
establishing any rule or regulation for the violation of whic h a penalty is imposed, or placing any burden
upon or limiting the use of private property, shall be by ordinance, which shall not be so altered or amended
on the final passage as to change the original purpose.
(c) Single subject. All ordinances, except the annual appropriation ordinance and any ordinance making a
general codification of ordinances, shall be confined to one (1) subject which shall be clearly expressed in
the title.
(d) Introduction and passage of ordinances All ordinances shall be formally introduced at a regular or
special Council meeting in written or printed form by any member of the Council and considered on first
reading and action taken thereon. No ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall be fin ally passed
on the first reading or at the meeting at which it is first introduced. An emergency ordinance may be formally
introduced at a special Council meeting and action taken thereon, including final passage at such special
meeting. Reading of an ordinance shall consist only of reading the title thereof, provided that copies of the
full ordinance proposed shall have been available for inspection and copying by the general public in the
office of the City Clerk and posted on the city website at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the time such
ordinance is introduced for each member of considered by the City Council, and for inspection and copying
by the general public. Final passage of all ordinances except e mergency ordinances shall be at a regular
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 6 – May 2, 2025
Council meeting. and provided further that any member of the City Council may request that an ordinance
be read in full at any reading of the same, in which case such ordinance shall be read in full at such reading.
(e) Emergency ordinances. An emergency ordinance may be formally introduced at a special Council
meeting and action taken thereon, including final passage at such special meeting. Final passage of all
ordinances except emergency ordinances shall be at a regular Council meeting. Emergency ordinances
shall require for passage the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members of the Council and shall contain a
specific statement of the nature of the emergency. No ordinance granting any franchise or special pri vilege
which involves a benefit to any private person or entity shall ever be passed as an emergency ordinance.
(f) Ordinance enacting clause. The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the Council shall be as
follows: "Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Fort Collins."
. . .
Section 7. Ordinances, publication and effective date.
(a) Publication. Every proposed ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall will be published in full
at least seven (7) days before its final passage on the city's official internet web site. In addition, each such
ordinance shall will be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city by number and title only,
together with a statement that the full text is available for public inspection and acquisition in the office of
the City Clerk and on the city's internet web site.
(b) Notices. Both publications shall will contain a notice of the date when said proposed ordinance will be
presented for final passage. The City Clerk shall will, within seven (7) days after final passage of any such
ordinance, publish such ordinance in the same method as is required for the first publication.
(c) Effective Date. All ordinances, except emergency ordinances, shall will take effect on the tenth day
following their passage. An emergency ordinance shall will take effect upon passage and shall will be
published as provided above within seven (7) days thereof.
(d) Effect of Late Publication. Failure to timely publish an ordinance before final passage may be cured by
publication after final passage, so long as other notice requirements for consideration of the ordinance have
been met. A late publication after final passage may be cured if publication is completed within a reasonable
time. An ordinance published after final passage will not go into effect until publication requirements are
met. Late publication will toll the deadline to file a notice of referendum protest to the amount of time after
publication consistent with a timely published ordinance.
(e) Form. Standard codes and codifications of ordinances of the city may be published by title and reference
in whole or in part. Ordinances shall must be signed by the Mayor, attested by the City Clerk and published
without further certification.
(f) Public Hearings. The Council may enact any ordinance which adopts any code by reference in whole or
in part provided that before adoption of such ordinance the Council shall will hold a public hearing thereon
and notice of the hearing shall must be published twice in the newspaper of general circulation, published
in the city, one (1) of such publications to be at least eight (8) days preceding the hearing and the other at
least fifteen (15) days preceding the hearing. Such notice shall must state the time and place of the hearing
and shall must also state that copies of the code to be adopted are on file with the City Clerk and open to
public inspection. The notice shall must also contain a description which the Council deems sufficient to
give notice to persons interested as to the subject matter of such code and the name and address of the
agency by which it has been promulgated. The ordinance adopting any such code shall must set forth in
full any penalty clause in connection with such code.
. . .
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS
. . .
Section 7. Publication.
Whenever legal notice or other publication is required by this Charter, or by ordinance, rule, or regulation,
such notice shall be published on the city’s website and posted at City Hall, and at other locations as
decided by City Council,at least once in a local newspaper of general circulation in the city, which is
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 7 – May 2, 2025
devoted to dissemination of news of a general character, unless a different form of notice is specified in
this Charter or in the ordinance, rule, or regulation requiring the notice.
. . .
Section 17. Computation of time.
(a) Calendar days unless specified. Except when business days are specified, all computations of time
made under the provisions of this Charter will be based on calendar days.
(b) Included days. Except when computing business days, Saturdays, Sundays, City holidays and days
City Hall is closed for business for a full or partial day due to inclement weather or other emergency
circumstances will be included, but, if the time for any act to be done or the last day of any period is a
Saturday, Sunday, City holiday or day City Hall is closed for business for a full or partial day due to inclement
weather or other emergency circumstances, the period is extended to include the next day that is not a
Saturday, Sunday, or City holiday.
(c) Business days. If the time for an act to be done under this Charter is referred to in business days, the
time will be computed by excluding Saturdays, Sundays, City holidays, and any day City Hall is closed for
business for a full or partial day due to inclement weathe r or other emergency circumstances.
(e) Specific considerations. In relation to election requirements only, if a provision requires doing an act
in "not less than" or "no later than" or "at least" a certain number of days or "prior to" a certain number of
days or a certain number of months "before" the date of an election, or any phrase that suggests a similar
meaning, if that period would end on a Saturday, Sunday or City holiday, it will instead shift to end on the
prior business day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or City holiday. If that period ends on a day City Hall is
closed for business for a full or partial day due to inclement weather or other emergency circumstances,
the period will end on the next business day on which City Hall is open for business.
(f) Time of day. Except when otherwise specified, an act must be completed by 5:00 p.m. Mountain time
on the last day for that action.
Section 2. That the following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted for submitting
a Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Modernizing publication requirements and requirements for
adopting ordinances, resolutions and motions)
Shall Articles II and IV of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, be amended to modernize
publication requirements and requirements for adopting ordinances, by:
• Revising Section 6 of Article II about adopting ordinances, resolutions, and motions to:
o Make the provision easier to read and understand by adding subsections, subsection
titles and better organizing them;
o Remove language entitling any Councilmember to request that an entire ordinance be
read aloud at a Council meeting; and
• Revising Section 7 of Article II about publication and effective date of ordinances to:
o Allow an ordinance to proceed to adoption if publication of the ordinance before
adoption was not timely, so long as all other notice requirements have been met; and
o Cure late publication of ordinance after final passage if publication completed within a
reasonable period of time; and
o Delay the effective date of the ordinance until publication requirements are met; and
o Toll the deadline to file a notice of referendum protest; and
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 8 – May 2, 2025
• Revising Section 7 of Article IV to require notice be published on the City’s website and
posted at City Hall, instead of publishing formal legal notices in a local newspaper; and
• Adding a new Section 17 to Article IV of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins about how
to apply deadlines throughout the Charter in the manner already enacted for Articles VIII,
IX and X?
______Yes/For
______No/Against
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 9 – May 2, 2025
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
The proposed amendments to the Charter under this section are related to conflicts of interest and include
the following:
• Allow City Councilmembers or the Mayor to sell real property to the city if the property is needed
for a city project or public use, while retaining all requirements for disclosure and refraining from
involvement that otherwise apply in the case of a conflict of interest; and
• Allow City employees to rent property from the city with City Manager approval, if it is for the
city’s benefit and related to the employee’s performance of their job.
Following is the proposed language for these amendments:
Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Article IV of the Charter of the City of Fort
Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed Charter Amendment at the
municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025:
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS
. . .
Section 9. Conflicts of interest.
. . .
(b) Rules of conduct concerning conflicts of interest.
(1) Sales to the city.
a. Except as provided in subsection b, Nno officer or employee, or relative of such officer or
employee, shall have a financial interest in the sale to the city of any real or personal property,
equipment, material, supplies or services, except personal services provided to the city as an
officer or employee, if:
ai. such officer or employee is a member of the Council;
bii. such officer or employee exercises, directly or indirectly, any decision -making
authority on behalf of the city concerning such sale; or
ciii. in the case of services, such officer or employee exercises any supervisory authority
in his or her role as a city officer or employee over the services to be rendered to the
city.
b. Exceptions to this prohibition include:
(i) personal services provided to the city as an officer or employee; and
(ii) the sale of real property at fair market value by a Councilmember or Mayor to the city in the
event the city needs a particular real property to carry out city purposes or projects.
(2) Purchases from the city. No officer, employee or relative shall, directly or indirectly, purchase
any real or personal property from the city, except :
a. such property as is offered for sale at an established price, and not by bid or auction, on the
same terms and conditions as to all members of the general public; or.
b. such property as is leased to an employee with City Manager approval for the city’s benefit
and for purposes related to the employee’s job duties.
. . .
Section 2. That the following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted for submitting
a Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 10 – May 2, 2025
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Conflicts of Interest)
Shall Section 9 of Article IV of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, regarding conflicts of interest,
be amended to:
• Allow City Councilmembers or the Mayor to sell real property to the city if the property is needed
for a city project or public use, while retaining all requirements for disclosure and refraining from
involvement that otherwise apply in the case of a conflict of interest; and
• Allow City employees to rent property from the city with City Manager approval, if it is for the
city’s benefit and related to the employee’s performance of their job?
______ Yes/For
______ No/Against
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 11 – May 2, 2025
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
The proposed amendments to the Charter under this section are to modernize and update it by reformatting
and updating language usage for ease of reading and clarity and eliminating inapplicable and invalid
provisions. The proposed amendments include the following:
• Changing the words "shall" to "will," "must" or “may,” or other words to improve clarity; and
• Making the language more inclusive by taking out words "he” and “she” and related word forms;
and
• Dividing sections into subsections and adding titles to subsections to make them easier to read
and understand; and
• Eliminating transitional provisions that
o Address residency requirements for City department heads appointed prior to March 6,
1985 (Section 3 of Article IV); and
o Set a mill levy cap on Council’s adoption of taxes (Section 6 of Article IV), which Council
must now adopt only with voter approval; and
o Provide for transition from the prior Charter when the Charter was adopted (Article XIV);
and
• Renumbering and updating section cross-references throughout the Charter.
Following is the proposed language for these amendments:
Section 1. That the proposed changes to modernize and update the formatting and language of
the Charter of the City of Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed
Charter Amendment at the municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2025. The changes are
included in the version of the Charter attached as Exhibit A to this ordinance and incorporated herein by
reference, which include (but are not limited to) the following changes to Articles IV, V, and XIV:
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS
. . .
Section 3. Residency requirement.
Directors of a city service area or a group of city service areas, deputy city managers, and assistant city
managers shall reside within the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area during their tenure in office, but need not
reside within the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area prior to their appointment. City department heads may live
outside the Urban Growth Area during their tenure in office, but only if their places of residence are within
five miles of the city limits, as measured by a straight line connecting the parcel of property upon which the
residence is situated to the nearest boundary line of the city. City department heads appointed prior to
March 6, 1985, shall not be subject to this residency requirement.
. . .
ARTICLE V. FINANCE ADMINISTRATION
. . .
Section 6. Maximum mill levy.
The mill levy shall not exceed fifteen (15) mills on each dollar of assessed valuation of taxable property
within the city for all purposes. Any mill levy in excess of the fifteen (15) mills aforesaid shall be absolutely
void as to the excess and it shall be unlawful for the Assessor to extend and for the Treasurer to collect any
such excess.
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 12 – May 2, 2025
. . .
ARTICLE XIV. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Purpose and status of this article.
The purpose of this Article is to provide an orderly transition from the Commission form of government of
the city to the Council-Manager form of government under provisions of this Charter and to prevent the
impairment of any contractual relationships between the city and the beneficiaries of any retirement plans
of the city in effect on the effective date of this Charter or the owners of any municipal bonds of the city then
outstanding. This Article shall constitute a part of the Charter only to the extent and for the time required to
accomplish that purpose.
Section 2. Transitional period.
The period from the effective date of this Charter to April 12, 1955, shall be known as the transitional period.
During the transitional period the former Charter of the City shall remain in effect, except that for the purpose
of nominating and electing members of the Council, or filling vacancies thereon, Article VIII of this Charter
shall be immediately operative. This Charter shall be fully operative at the close of the transitional period.
Section 3. Retirement plans.
This Charter shall not affect any contractual relationships existing on the effective date of this Charter
between the city and any officers or employees by reason of any retirement plans then in effect.
Section 4. Outstanding and authorized bonds.
The provisions of this Charter shall not affect municipal bonds outstanding on the effective date of this
Charter. Failure to observe requirements of the former Charter, as amended, governing city elections shall
not invalidate any bonds authorized at any election held prior to the effective date of this Charter. Bonds
authorized at an election held prior to the effective date of this Charter may be issued in accordance with
the provisions of this Charter and when so issued shall be the lawful and binding o bligations of the city in
accordance with their import.
Section 5. Saving clause.
This Charter shall not affect any suit pending in any court on the effective date of its adoption. Nothing in
this Charter shall invalidate any existing contracts between the city and individuals, corporations, or public
agencies.
Section 2. That the following ballot title and submission clause are hereby adopted for submitting
a Proposed Charter Amendment to the voters at said election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Modernizing and updating)
Shall the Charter of the City of Fort Collins be amended to modernize and update it by reformatting
and updating language usage for ease of reading and clarity, and eliminating inapplicable and invalid
provisions, without undoing any substantive Charter amendments approved by the voters at the
Tuesday, November 4, 2025, municipal election, by:
• Changing the words "shall" to "will," "must" or “may,” or other words to improve clarity; and
• Making the language more inclusive by taking out words "he” and “she” and related word forms;
and
• Dividing sections into subsections and adding titles to subsections to make them easier to read
and understand; and
• Eliminating transitional provisions that
Notice of Charter Amendments Page 13 – May 2, 2025
o Address residency requirements for City department heads appointed prior to March 6,
1985 (Section 3 of Article IV); and
o Set a mill levy cap on Council’s adoption of taxes (Section 6 of Article IV), which Council
must now adopt only with voter approval; and
o Provide for transition from the prior Charter when the Charter was adopted (Article XIV);
and
• Renumbering and updating section cross-references throughout the Charter?
______ Yes/For
______ No/Against
Published at Fort Collins, Colorado this 8th day of May 2025.
Delynn Coldiron
City Clerk