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RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 100 Leaves
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MINUTES
WELD COUNTY HOME RULE CHARTER
AMENDMENT STUDY COMMITTEE
June 22, 1977
The Weld County Home Rule Charter Amendment Study Committee met in regular
session in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room of the Weld County Centennial Center,
Greeley, Colorado, on Wednesday, June 22, 1977 at the hour of 7 : 00 P.M.
ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Gordon Lacy,
and on roll call, the following members were present, constituting a
quorum of the members thereof:
Gordon Lacy, Chairman
Verdie Peddycord, Vice-Chairman
John Kunzman
Blair Macy
Wayne Brown
Helen Norton
Also present:
m O. David, attending the first hour, Secretaries,
County Attorney, Thomas
Sandy Moorhouse and Cathy Carter, two members of the press , and, upon
invitation, all five of the County Commissioners.
MINUTES APPROVED: The minutes of the Charter Committee of May 18, 1977
were approved, as written with one correction, that being on page 2 ,
under Section 5-3 , Duties. John Kunzman requested it be reworded to
state "John Kunzman stated that he had problems with the County Attorney
issuing formal written opinions. .
Gordon Lacy mentioned, and no one objected, to not taking the time in
each meeting to read all the minutes, but if questions or corrections
arose, those corrections and or additions would be properly noted in
the record.
The Chairman then noted that the purpose of inviting the County Commis-
sioners was to involve them in pointing out areas they might consider
trouble areas within the Charter. The first questions were directed to
Leonard Roe. Gordon Lacy specifically asked if he personally or on behalf
of the County Commissioners, had any questions or suggestions in regard
to troublesome spots of the Home Rule Charter. Leonard, in discussion
with Wayne Brown concerning the relationship between the County Commis-
sioners and the County Council regarding conflict of interests , said
the conflict is more personalities than it is the Charter. Mr. Roe noted
the Charter is not explicit as to the relationship between Council and
Charter. He said recent disputes over conflict of interest rulings issued
by the Council against Commissioners Dunbar and Jacobucci revolve around
what the Commissioners believe as an attempt by the Council to set policy
and regulate the Commissioners as to remedying the situations. Tom David,
County Attorney entered into this discussion by adding that he as well as
the Commissioners do not agree with the Charter provisions giving the
Council final word on conflict of interest rulings. Mr. David stated
he did not think the Constitution and the state statutes have the
authority to a would-be home rule county to write this sort of provision
into their Charter. There was lengthy conversation between several members
of the Committee and the Commissioners , and all in all, it was agreed that
the area involving conflict of interest needed to be taken under consid-
erable consideration by the Charter Committee as an area of major concern.
Norman Carlson pointed that this should be a question on the ballot. Some
Commissioners stated the question of conflict of interest in the Home Rule
Charter should be taken out all together.
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Gordon Lacy again pointed out that the purpose of inviting the Commis-
sioners to this committee meeting was to receive input from them as to
what they consider trouble areas within the Charter and urged the members
to go on to the next area of concern -- Ordinances .
The Commissioners generally agreed that the provisions of the Charter
regarding use of ordinances should be more clearly defined. As it now
reads, ordinances should be used in matters of legislation, contracts,
appropriations and disposition of real property. Mr. Dunbar pointed
out this procedure is too slow and too costly and not advantageous in
many cases. June Steinmark commented that it is her opinion contracts
not involving any expense to the county should be handled by resolution
rather than ordinances. She did feel, however, that the Charter should
clearly state that matters of ongoing regulations such as recently
considered rules for. septic tanks, etc. , should be handled by ordinance,
as well as appropriations or other matters of considerable public interest.
Mr. David noted that the portion in the Charter regarding contracts and
ordinances should be eliminated in its entirety.
Mr. Dunbar asked Ralph Waldo, one of the original members of the
Home Rule Charter Committee who was in attendance, for his viewpoints
regarding the intent of the original Charter Committee regarding the
ordinance procedures. Mr. Waldo noted that the intent of the original
Committee was not to create a laborious situation or add to the problems
which Commissioners already have, but that some matters seemed to be
getting out of hand due to the rapid growth of Weld County, and needed
to be brought to the attention of the public. They did not intend every-
thing to go through an ordinance. He felt they knew judgment calls would
be in order from time to time, and also that there would certainly be
room for improvement with the Charter. There was general discussion
among the members of the group in regard to Mr. Waldo' s comments .
Mr. Lacy urged that the Committee move along with other trouble areas in
the Charter so the Commissioners could not be detained any longer than
needed.
The Department of Law, Section 5-2--Qualifications was felt by the majority
to need some rewording. It was stated by Mr. Kunzman that the possible
wording could consist of, "The County Attorney shall be a resident of the
County of Weld and a duly licensed attorney in the State of Colorado. "
5-2-- (3) was also mentioned by Mr. Kunzman, This section re-
garding formal written opinions vs. informal written opinions. In discus-
sion among the persons present, it was determined there is definitely a
need for informal written opinions in areas where the client/attorney
confidence is valid to court issues. 5-2-- (5) regarding conflicts between
the Board and other county officers and representation by the District
Attorney, caused some questions and further discussion involving conflict
of interest problems with the County Council.
Norman Carlson noted that under Article XIII , County Council, Section
13-8--Powers and Duties (6) (page 47 of the Charter) , should have
clarification regarding reports to the people relating to expenditures,
efficiency, responsiveness, adherance to statutes, laws and regulations,
etc. He noted that these reports or minutes often times are available
weeks later than the actual meeting, and often times come-- to the Com-
missioners through the news media. He felt an addition in this area
would be helpful insuring immediate availability of the reports to avoid
confusion and misunderstanding. - Conversation among Committee members
resulted from Mr. Carlson' s statement.
Nearing the end of the meeting, June Steinmark took the opportunity to
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stress her increasing dissatisfaction with the ability of county govern-
ment to cope with its problems, noting the present structure may be "an
18th Century structure trying to run a 20th Century government" . She
said that except for residency requirements, commissioners only have to
be alive--alive is not enough. County Departments, she said, are dealing
in increasingly sophisticated and complex issues, yet commissioners
often do not have enough technical background to make good decisions.
Rather then setting policy, commissioners too often are involved in
technical matters such as composition of paving materials and they may
not be qualified. Mrs. Steinmark stated she had no answers for her
dissatisfaction, but said a county manager might be one alternative.
There was disagreement among the Commissioners regarding her comments.
It was decided at this point that the Home Rule Amendment Study Committee
would like time to digest what the Commissioners had brought to light
before asking other departments and people to give input to said study.
Mr. Waldo said he was sure any members of the original Committee would be
happy to help in any way they could, and he suggested Bill Southard as
a possible member of the original Committee to invite to a future meeting.
Norman Carlson pointed out Article XVIII - Section 18--2 Effective Date
of Charter as needing correction or deletion.
June Steinmark also noted the area on taxation under Article XIV - Finance
and Budget needed consideration.
Chairman, Gordon Lacy asked that if there was no other discussion, he
wished to express his thanks to the Commissioners on behalf of all
Committee members, for their opinions and input. It was noted that
the Commissioners had been most helpful.
There being no further business, upon motion duly made, the meeting
was adjourned at 9 : 20 P.M. The next meeting is scheduled for
July 20, 1977 at 7 : 00 P.M.
APPROVED:
WELD COUNTY HOME RULE CHARTER
AMENDME .P TUD OMMIT E
Vice-Chairman
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