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Home My WebLink About07/23/2025 - Preliminary Notice of Charter AmendmentNotice of Charter Amendments Page 1 – July 23, 2025 PRELIMINARY NOTICE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT 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 July 27, 2025, that will include all Charter Amendments to be referred to the November 4, 2025 ballot, including 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 six (6) City-initiated amendments to the City Charter are expected to be submitted to the voters. Five of these amendments have already had a preliminary notice published. This is the sixth proposed amendment: PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT The proposed amendments to the Charter under this section update the process for filling vacancies in the office of the Mayor and district Councilmember in light of state and related local law changes to election processes and timing, and include the following: • If a district Councilmember office becomes vacant, the vacancy will be publicly and promptly announced on the City’s website; and • If a district Councilmember office becomes vacant, Council then has 35 business days to choose a new member; and • The office that has been vacated will appear on the next regular municipal election ballot for which the process requirements can be met. • If that office is already set for an upcoming ballot it will proceed regardless of the vacancy. • If the office of Mayor becomes vacant, the Mayor Pro Tem will become the acting Mayor upon the date of vacancy and the Council will elect a new Mayor Pro Tem at their next meeting; and • The Council will fill the district Council seat temporarily open due to the assumption of the office of Acting Mayor by the Mayor Pro Tem; and • The term of the appointed replacement district Councilmember will continue through the earlier of the return of the Acting Mayor to their original district Councilmember office or the end of the original term of office.. Following is the proposed language for this amendment: Section 1. The following proposed changes to Article II, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as a Proposed Charter Amendment at the municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025: Notice of Charter Amendments Page 2 – July 23, 2025 ARTICLE II. City Council . . . Section 1. Membership, Terms. . . . (e) Application of term limit to partial term. Any person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy on the City Council and who serves a total of at least one- half of the term of office shall be considered to have served that term in that office for the purposes of applying the applicable term limit. . . . Section 18. Vacancies. (a) Vacancy. A vacancy exists when a Councilmember: . . . (b) Vacancy announcement. The City Clerk will promptly announce a vacancy to the public on the City’s website upon receipt of notice of the vacancy. (c) Qualifications. Any person appointed to office must have all qualifications for that office described in Section 2 of this Article. In the case of a person appointed to fill a vacant district Councilmember seat, they must be from the same District, as such District is constituted at the time of the appointment. In order to be considered for appointment an applicant must submit all application materials as may be required. (d) Appointment assistance. At City Council’s direction, the City Clerk will solicit and receive appointment applications any time after the vacancy announcement. (e) Filling a district Councilmember vacancy. (1) In the event of a vacancy, the seated City Council will make diligent efforts to appoint within thirty-five (35) business days of announcement a qualified candidate to serve in the vacated office until a successor is elected. (2) The Council’s appointment will continue until the swearing in of a qualified elected candidate for the vacated office. (3) The vacated office will appear on the first regular municipal election for which the requirements for candidacy can be met, either to elect an officeholder to complete the original term of office or to elect a new officeholder to begin a new term of office pursuant to the regular alternating schedule pursuant to Section 1(b). (f) Lack of candidate. If there is no qualified candidate for an elected office on a municipal election ballot, the Council organized after such election will then appoint a qualified person to serve until the next regular election. (g) Mayoral vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor: (1) The Mayor Pro Tem will become Acting Mayor when the vacancy is effective. (2) Council will elect an Interim Mayor Pro Tem at the next regular or special Council meeting after the vacancy is effective. (3) The Council will fill the district Councilmember seat temporarily open due to the assumption of Acting Mayor by the Mayor Pro Tem by appointment using the process set forth in this Section. The term of such appointed district Councilmember replacement will continue through the earlier of the return of the Acting Mayor to their original office, or the end of their original term of office. (4) Nothing herein shall preclude the Mayor Pro Tem or any Councilmember from standing for election to the office of Mayor. Except for the office of Mayor, any vacancy on the Council must be filled within forty-five (45) days by appointment of the Council. The person so appointed shall serve until the next regular election, when the Notice of Charter Amendments Page 3 – July 23, 2025 electors will select a person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term, if any. This selection process shall be subject to the following exception: If the time for filling the vacancy by appointment would fall within forty-five (45) days prior to any regular election, and the remaining unexpired term of the Councilmember to be replaced is more than two (2) years, then the vacancy shall be filled by the newly constituted Council following their election, within forty-five (45) days after their terms of office begin. Under this exception, the term of office of the Councilmember appointed shall run for the remainder of the replaced Councilmember's term. Any person appointed to fill a Councilmember's vacated position shall have all the qualifications required of regularly elected Councilmembers. In the case of a vacancy representing a member elected from a District, any person appointed or elected to fill such vacancy shall be from the same District, as such District is constituted at the time of the appointment or election. (b) The following shall apply to filling vacancies in the office of Mayor: (1) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant more than forty-five (45) days prior to the next regular election, the Mayor Pro Tem shall become Acting Mayor, and the Council shall elect a new Mayor Pro Tem. Both the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall serve until the next regular election, at which time the office of Mayor shall be filled by the electors for a new term, and the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. The vacancy on the Council created by the Mayor Pro Tem assuming the office of Mayor shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of Section 18(a) above. (2) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant within the forty-five (45) days prior to any regular election, the duties of the Mayor shall be immediately assumed by the Mayor Pro Tem, who shall serve as Acting Mayor until said regular election, at which time the office of Mayor shall be filled by the electors for a new term. Pending the election and the commencement of the term of the newly elected Mayor, the Council shall consist of six (6) members, and the Council shall elect an interim Mayor Pro Tem. After the election, the Acting Mayor and Interim Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. (3) Nothing herein shall preclude the Mayor Pro Tem or any Councilmember from standing for election to the office of Mayor. Section 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 (Council Vacancies) Shall the Charter of the City of Fort Collins be amended to revise Section 1 and Section 18 of Article II to update the process for filling a vacant district Councilmember or Mayoral office and to clarify how existing term limits apply to partial terms to fill a vacancy, by: • Adding a new subsection (e) to Section 1 of Article II providing that if a person serves a total of more than one-half a term in office, this will count as a term when determining term limits; and • Revising Section 18 of Article II to: o Add procedural steps including public announcement of a vacancy and acceptance of applications to the process for filling vacancies; o Require Council to appoint a replacement to fill a District Councilmember vacancy within 35 business days; Notice of Charter Amendments Page 4 – July 23, 2025 o Retain the provision that if the Mayor office is vacated, the Mayor Pro Tem becomes the Acting Mayor and Council selects a new Mayor Pro Tem during the time there is an Acting Mayor; o Require the Council to fill the district Councilmember seat that is vacant for the time the Mayor Pro Tem serves as Acting Mayor using the vacancy filling process; o Provide that any vacated office will appear on the next regular municipal election ballot for which process requirements can be met; and o State that if there is no qualified candidate for an elected office on a municipal election ballot, the Council organized after the election will then appoint a qualified person to fill the resulting vacancy? ______ Yes/For ______ No/Against Published at Fort Collins, Colorado this 27th day of July, 2025. Delynn Coldiron City Clerk