HomeMy WebLinkAbout20184203.tiffMEMORANDUM
TO: Jacqueline Johnson, Chair, Weld County Home
Rule Charter Review Committee
DATE: March 19, 2018
FROM: Bruce T. Barker, Weld County Attorney
SUBJECT: Recommended Technical Amendments for the
Home Rule Charter
I recommend the Weld County Home Rule Charter Review Committee consider a number of
technical amendments. They are as follows:
Section 2-3:
Current language:
Section 2-3. - Cooperative Agreements.
The County shall have the power to enter into contracts or agreements with other
governmental units for joint use of buildings, equipment and facilities, and for furnishing and
receiving commodities or services, including law enforcement services. Such agreements or
contracts shall be authorized only by the Board of County Commissioners.
The Colorado statute authorizing local governments to contract with one another, C.R.S. §29-
1-203, amended in 1988, says the following:
§ 29-1-203. Government may cooperate or contract --contents
(1) Governments may cooperate or contract with one another to provide any function, service, or facility
lawfully authorized to each of the cooperating or contracting units, including the sharing of costs, the
imposition of taxes, or the incurring of debt, only if such cooperation or contracts are authorized by
each party thereto with the approval of its legislative body or other authority having the power to so
approve. Any such contract providing for the sharing of costs or the imposition of taxes may be entered
into for any period, notwithstanding any provision of law limiting the length of any financial contracts
or obligations of governments.
While these two provisions are not inconsistent, the authorization in C.R.S. §29-1-203 is
broader. The Committee may wish to consider expanding the authorization in Section 2-3 to
say what is highlighted in yellow in C.R.S. §29-1-203.
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Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 2
Section 3-6:
The language of Section 3-6 was mistakenly not updated to reflect a change from five
departments to four when Section 4-1(1) and (2) were amended in 2009.
Current language of Section 3-6:
Section 3-6. - Commissioner - Departments.
(1) The Department of Finance, Central Purchasing, and Personnel shall be coordinated
by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.
(2) Each of the other four major departments, as established by Article IV, shall be
coordinated by one of the other Commissioners together with assistance from another
Commissioner, both of whom shall be appointed by the Board at its first meeting in
January each year.
Current language of Section 4-1(1) and (2):
Section 4-1. - Departments Created.
(1) There are hereby created the Department of Finance and Administration; the
Department of Health Services; the Department of Planning Services; and the
Department of Public Works.
(2) The Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners shall be responsible for
coordination of the Department of Finance and Administration.
To make these consistent, I recommend Section 3-6 be amended to the following:
Section 3-6. - Commissioner - Departments.
(1) The Department of Finance, Central Purchasing, and Personnel Administration shall
be coordinated by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.
(2) Each of the other four three major departments, as established by Article IV, shall be
coordinated by one of the other Commissioners together with assistance from another
Commissioner, both of whom shall be appointed by the Board at its first meeting in
January each year.
r► Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 3
Section 3-8(4)(b):
Current language:
Section 3-8. - Powers and Duties.
(4) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing or diminishing the total authority and
responsibility of the Board as herein provided, the powers and duties of the Board shall
include duties and powers to:
(b) Enact legislation including such means of enforcement thereof as shall be
authorized by law, and otherwise formally promulgate county policy. Unless
otherwise required by statute, the Board shall act only by ordinance in matters of
legislation, contracts, appropriations, and disposition of real property, and by
ordinance, resolution or motion, as may be appropriate, in other matters.
The requirement of having to do an ordinance for every contract or disposition of real
property is unworkable. Every agenda of the Board of County Commissioners typically has
1 to 10 contracts and agreements for approval by the Board. We have stressed to all
departments that they should call contracts "agreements" in an effort to comply with this
provision, but that advice is rarely followed. Additionally, trying to make a distinction
between the two is a fiction. The disposition of real property typically requires multiple
approvals by the Board to accomplish the transactions. Those multiple approvals would
require amended ordinances with three readings for every amendment. For these reasons,
approval of contracts and dispositions of real property should not be by ordinance.
I recommend Section 3-8(4)(b) be amended to the following:
Section 3-8. - Powers and Duties.
(4) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing or diminishing the total authority and
responsibility of the Board as herein provided, the powers and duties of the Board shall
include duties and powers to:
(b) Enact legislation including such means of enforcement thereof as shall be
authorized by law, and otherwise formally promulgate county policy. Unless
otherwise required by statute, the Board shall act only by ordinance in matters of
legislation, contracts, and appropriations, , and by
ordinance, resolution or motion, as may be appropriate, in other matters.
Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 4
Section 3-9(3):
Current language:
Section 3-9. - Compensation.
(3) Until otherwise set the salary of the members of the Board shall be: Commissioners of
districts 1 and 3, $10,000.00; and Commissioner of district 2 and Commissioners at large,
$15,000.00 per year.
This was a transitional section that may be deleted in its entirety.
Section 3-11(1):
Current language:
Section 3-11. -
Meetings
(1) Regular Board meetings shall be held at least twice weekly on days to be determined
by the Board by resolution, except a regular meeting may be cancelled; however, by
resolution of the Board passed and publicly announced at least ten (10) days prior to
the cancelled meeting date.
This subsection is incorrectly worded. Additionall` , I believe the title for Section 3-1 1
should be "Official Meetings," which would then correspond to that term as it is used in
Section 3-10.
I recommend Section 3-11(1) be amended to the following:
Section 3-11. — Official Meetings.
(1) Regular Board meetings shall be held at least twice weekly on days to be determined
by the Board by resolution, except; however, a regular meeting may be cancelled
however, by resolution of the Board passed and publicly announced at least ten (10)
days prior to the cancelled meeting date.
Section 6-1:
Current language:
Section 6-1. - Elective Officers.
The Elective Officers of the County of Weld, Colorado, shall be five County
Commissioners; five County Councilmen; one County Clerk, one County Sheriff; one County
Coroner; one County Treasurer; and one County Assessor. The salary or compensation, term
of office and qualifications of such officers shall be as provided in this Charter. Notwithstanding
the foregoing or any other provision of this Charter to the contrary, effective January 1, 2003,
c
Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 5
the Coroner shall be appointed and the office operated in accordance with the terms of Article
IV §4.1(4) of this Charter. Such appointment shall be subject to the rules established in the
personnel system described in Article IV §4-2B(2) of this Charter. Notwithstanding the
foregoing or any other provision of this Charter to the contrary, effective January 1, 2003, the
Treasurer shall be appointed and the office operated in accordance with the terms of Article
IV §4.1(4) of this Charter. Such appointment shall be subject to the rules established in the
personnel system described in Article IV §4-2B(2) of this Charter.
This section was amended in 2001 to reflect the change to have the Coroner and Treasurer
positions being appointed rather than elected. Lee Morrison and I went back and forth on
Section 6-1 to figure out the best way to show the change. We came up with the
"notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Charter to the contrary"
language to accomplish it. The problem is it leaves the sentence which is highlighted in
yellow, and that creates uncertainty in people who do not read further.
I recommend Section 6-1 be amended to the following, assuming the elective officers remain
as they currently are:
Section 6-1. - Elective Officers.
The Elective Officers of the County of Weld, Colorado, shall be five County
Commissioners; five County Councilmen; one County Clerk, one County Sheriff; one County
Coroner; one County Treasurer; and one County Assessor. The salary or compensation,
term of office and qualifications of such officers shall be as provided in this Charter.
Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Charter to the contrary, effective
January 1, 2003, the Coroner shall be appointed and the office operated in accordance with
the terms of Article IV §4.1(4) of this Charter. Such appointment shall be subject to the rules
established in the personnel system described in Article IV §4-2B(2) of this Charter.
Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Charter to the contrary, effective
January 1, 2003, the Treasurer shall be appointed and the office operated in accordance
with the terms of Article IV §4.1(4) of this Charter. Such appointment shall be subject to the
rules established in the personnel system described in Article IV §4-2B(2) of this Charter.
Also, there is inconsistency in Article VI as to whether they are "elective officers" or
"elected officers." Although these inconsistencies are annoying, they probably do not
necessitate amendments.
Section 10-1:
Current language:
Section 10-1. - Qualifications.
The County Sheriff shall be a graduate of a certified law enforcement academy or
institution requiring at least 90 quarter (60 semester) credit hours for graduation; or have had
a minimum of five years' experience as an administrator in law enforcement at the rank of
Sergeant, or above.
Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 6
This section has never been amended. However, the Colorado statutes addressing Sheriff
qualifications have been amended various times since 1975. They currently include the
following:
§ 30-10-501.5. Qualifications
(1) No person is eligible for nomination, election, or appointment to the office of sheriff unless the
person:
(a) Is a citizen of the United States, is a citizen of the state of Colorado, and is a resident of the
county to which the person is to be appointed or elected;
(b) Possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent or a college degree;
(c) Has had a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency and has
submitted a receipt evidencing the fingerprinting at the time of filing his or her written acceptance
pursuant to section 1-4-601(3), 1-4-906, or part 10 of article 4 of title 1, or at the time of filing an
affidavit of intent pursuant to section 1-4-1101, as applicable. The law enforcement agency shall
forward the fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation. The bureau shall utilize the
fingerprints, its files and records, and those of the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose
of determining whether the person has ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty or entered a plea
of nolo contendere to any felony charge under federal or state laws. The Colorado bureau of
investigation shall notify the county clerk and recorder of the county for which the person is a
candidate of the results of the fingerprint analysis. If a conviction or plea is disclosed, the person
is unqualified for the office of sheriff, unless pardoned. The results of the fingerprint analysis are
confidential; except that the county clerk and recorder may divulge whether the person is
qualified or unqualified for the office of sheriff.
§ 30-10-501.6. Training
(1) Every person elected or appointed to the office of sheriff for the first time shall:
(a) Attend a minimum of eighty clock hours at a new sheriff training course developed and
facilitated either by the county sheriffs of Colorado, incorporated, or any other training resource
agency approved by the Colorado peace officers standards and training board, the first time such
training course is given after the person's election or appointment. The Colorado peace officers
standards and training board shall have discretion to allow the substitution of any combination of
education, experience, and training deemed by the board to be equivalent to such new sheriff
training course.
(b) Obtain basic peace officer certification within one year of taking office. An extension may be
granted by the Colorado peace officers standards and training board of up to one year to obtain
such certification upon just cause shown. The Colorado peace officers standards and training
board shall issue written findings of fact supporting such an extension.
(2) Every sheriff must possess basic peace officer certification and shall undergo at least the number
of clock hours of in-service training required for all certified peace officers by the Colorado peace
officers standards and training board, but in no case less than twenty hours. Such training shall be
4.
• Memorandum, Johnson
March 19, 2018
Page 7
provided either by the county sheriffs of Colorado, incorporated, or any other training resource
agency approved by the Colorado peace officers standards and training board, every year during such
sheriff's term. The Colorado peace officers standards and training board shall have discretion to
waive in-service training upon presentation of evidence by the sheriff demonstrating just cause for
noncompletion of such training. The Colorado peace officers standards and training board shall have
discretion to allow the substitution of any combination of education, experience, and training deemed
by the board to be equivalent to such in-service training.
(3) The county shall only pay all reasonable costs and expenses of new sheriff and in-service training.
I am uncertain if the yellow highlighted language of the current Section 10-1 is inconsistent
with C.R.S. §§ 30-10-501.5 and 30-10-501.6. This issue probably should be addressed by
Sheriff Reams.
Sections 4-3(B) and 14-7:
Although these sections appear out-of-date, Don Warden and I recommend no amendments
to them for the following reasons:
Section 4-3(B) applies to the "Hospital Division," which does not exist. As you know, Weld
County has not operated a hospital since the 1980's. Section 4-3(B) refers to the "Hospital
Board of Trustees," which is still appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and
meets monthly. It is part of the governance structure of the hospital. The County continues
to own the hospital's real property. Such property is leased to the Colorado Hospital Finance
Authority and/or the NCMC Board (I cannot recall which one). The Hospital Board of
Trustees appoints at least one of its members to sit on the NCMC Board. Because of this
structure and the continuing role of the Hospital Board of Trustees in that structure, Don and
I believe Section 4-3(B) should remain "as is."
TABOR has rendered Section 14-7 to be largely superfluous. However, if oil and gas tax
revenues should decline significantly sometime in the future, Section 14-7 may still have
relevancy. Don explained the reasons why to me last week. I recommend having him
explain the intricacies of TABOR and the County's finances to the Charter Review
Committee when he is in Weld County on April 18, 2018. Don recommends no changes to
Section 14-7, and I concur.
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions.
Bruce T. Barker, Weld County Attorney
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