HomeMy WebLinkAbout751046.tiff 5212 Arrowhead
Weld County
Greeley, Colorado 80631
June 6, 1975
Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
1516 Hospital Road
Greeley, Colorado 80631
Dear Commission Members :
As most of you know I have been keenly interested in the development of a
Home Rule Charter for Weld County for several years. I was an "almost
successful" candidate for the Charter Commission; and I have followed with
interest the deliberations, debates and decisions of the Commission. Although
many of you accepted the challenge to run for the Charter Commission only
because you were opposed to the idea of an independent Charter -- once elected,
you have applied yourselves to the task with energy, enthusiasm and intelli-
gence that could not have been exceeded by the most ardent supporter of Home
Rule.
I have read all 75 pages of the Draft Charter and have spent several hours
studying those sections of special interest to me. Although I have concern
for some items and have prepared some suggested changes in certain sections,
I feel that it is an excellent work. I congratulate you on a job well done,
and I want to be among the first to endorse and support the Charter as presented.
Even without the changes I wish to suggest, I could vote for your Charter as the
foundation for an efficient, stable , and responsive county government.
In an effort to make my comments most easily understood and more effective, I
will follow the organization of the Draft Charter even though this does not give
emphasis to priorities. Some of my comments are only suggestions for improvement
of language, while others , I feel, are of major importance either in understanding
of the Commission's intent or, more importantly, in the proper government of
the county under the new Charter.
COMMENTS (SUGGESTED CHANGES)
Section 3-4 -- Terms of Office.
(3) No person shall serve more than two consecutive (FULL) terms (AFTER
JANUARY 1, 1976. )
NOTE: This enables the existing elected officials to serve two full terms
under the Home Rule Charter, which I believe is the intent of the
Charter and which I believe to be proper.
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Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
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June 6, 1975
Section 3-8 -- Powers and Duties.
(4) (r) Establish a municipal conference to be called by the Board of
County Commissioners not less than three times each year to which all (ELECTED)
municipal officials shall be invited. . .
NOTE: By restricting the required invitation to elected officials we
avoid the confusion of who should be present. I do not believe it
to be the Commission's intent to include all police officials ,
water officials, sewer officials, clerks, city managers, etc.
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. (REGULARLY SCHEDULED BOARD MEETINGS
MAY BE CANCELLED, HOWEVER, BY RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD PASSED AND PUBLICLY
ANNOUNCED AT LEAST 10 DAYS AHEAD OF THE CANCELLED MEETING DATE.)
NOTE: This allows the Commissioners to schedule out-of-town meetings or
other items of business that would otherwise be in conflict with
the regularly scheduled meetings twice weekly.
Section 4-1 -- Departments Created.
(4) . . . Responsibility for coordinating the departments of Health
Services, Planning Services, Engineering Services , and Communication Services
shall be rotated annually. (WITH THE MAJORITY PERMISSION OF THE BOARD, A
COMMISSIONER MAY ELECT TO ACT AS COORDINATOR OR ASSISTANT COORDINATOR OF A
SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT, EVEN THOUGH HE MAY HAVE ACTED AS THE DEPARTMENT'S
COORDINATOR PREVIOUSLY DURING HIS TERM OF OFFICE. )
NOTE: The highly sophisticated business of various departments of the
County may very well profit from having continuity of Coordinator
and Assistant Coordinator, especially if the particular Commissioner
brings special training, knowledge, or experience to the Board that
is beneficially applicable to a department.
Section 4-3 -- Department of Health Services.
(A) (2) (e) Evaluate all (PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, LOCAL, MUNICIPAL, AND)
regional health programs that affect Weld County.
NOTE: There are health programs that may originate privately or under the
sponsorship of other municipal or quasi-municipal agencies that
need the evaluation of the County Health Department.
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Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
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June 6, 1975
Section 4-3 -- Department of Health Services.
(A) (3) (a) The Board of County Commissioners shall determine six
geographic areas, (TWO IN EACH COMMISSIONER DISTRICT) and appoint one member
from each of the geographic areas. . .
NOTE: This should eliminate confusion and a large number of conflicting
geographic areas from which candidates for appointment to various
boards can be chosen. Further, it insures that representatives on
the various boards will cover all areas of the County. Present
language could conceivably allow all six geographic areas to be
designated in one Commissioner District.
Section 4-4 -- Department of Planning Services. .
(A) (1) A Director of the Department of Planning Services shall be
appointed by the Board upon consultation with the Planning Commission. (THE
PLANNING DIRECTOR SHALL HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, OR ITS EQUIVALENT, IN PLANNING
OR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, OR SOME RELATED FIELD, AND MUST BE A FULL MEMBER IN
GOOD STANDING IN THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING. )
NOTE: While the professional training and membership does not of itself
assure a good Planning Director, the subjects of zoning, planning,
building codes, construction inspection, environmental impacts,
economic impacts and guides for Weld County's growth are too complex
and much too important to be left to an untrained lay person.
Section 4-4 -- Department of Planning Services.
(A) (2) (d) Coordinate the activities assigned to the Planning Commission
affecting the County in connection with the Regional Council of Governments
(AND ALL PLANNING OFFICIALS OF WELD COUNTY'S INCORPORATED MUNICIPALITIES AS
WELL AS THE PLANNING OFFICIALS OF ADJACENT COUNTIES. )
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NOTE: Experience has shown us it is necessary to have the best of
collaboration and cooperation with the planners of the municipal-
ities, and several conflicts have arisen on our County borders
that require the attention of the Planning Officials.
Section 4-4 -- Department of Planning Services.
(A) (3) (a) The Board of County Commissioners shall determine six
geographic areas, (TWO IN EACH COMMISSIONER DISTRICT) and appoint one member
from each of the geographic areas. . .
NOTE: See notes under Section 4-3 -- (A) (3) (a).
Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
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June 6, 1975
Section 4-5 -- Department of Engineering Services. •
(1) The Board of County Commissioners shall appoint the Director of the
Department of Engineering who may be known as the County Engineer. (THE COUNTY
ENGINEER SHALL BE LICENSED, OR SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR LICENSE, AS A REGISTERED
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. )
(2) The County Engineer shall exercise all of the powers and perform all
the acts and duties now required or that may hereafter be required by State law
to be exercised or performed by the County Surveyor. (IF THE COUNTY ENGINEER
IS NOT HIMSELF LICENSED AS A REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR IN THE STATE OF COLORADO,
HE SHALL MAINTAIN ON HIS STAFF, AND UNDER HIS SUPERVISION, A PERSON WHO IS, IN
FACT, A REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR IN THE STATE OF COLORADO.)
NOTE: While State law does not specifically require license as a registered
professional engineer, or registered land surveyor, to be employed as
the County Engineer, or County Surveyor, the law does require the
certification and stamp of these licenses on many acts and functions
normal to this position. Our present County Engineer is certainly
more than qualified for these licenses, and, in future years, this
is bound to be an absolutely minimum qualification.
Section 13-8 -- Powers and Duties.
(7) (THIS ENTIRE PARAGRAPH SHOULD BE DELETED. )
NOTE: This is the most dangerous and difficult section of the entire
Charter in this writer's view. By empowering the Councilmen to
hire a "performance auditor" whose powers, duties, limitations ,
and compensation are not defined, the entire County government is
being opened up to possible abuses by the very person or persons
the Charter Commissioners are looking to for protection of the
County from abuse.
The duties, powers, limitations and recall features of the
Councilman's position provides all the power and opportunity
needed to insure that all officials elected or appointed are
honest, legal, diligent, and responsive in the conduct of their
duties.
I applaud the Charter for its inclusion of the elected Councilmen
who serve without compensation and who are empowered to maintain
surveillance of all aspects of County government and to report
periodically to the people.
Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
Page 5
June 6, 1975
I believe this group of elected officials can perform the intended
duties without resorting to a "performance auditor" or any other
employee other than the necessary secretary, clerk, or other
administrative employee available under the County Personnel System.
An overzealous or unethical "performance auditor" who is accountable
and answerable only to the five Councilmen, who themselves may be
overzealous, unethical, or just plain lazy, is in a position to do
great harm. He could intimidate, exert improper political or
economic pressures, bestow favors, and otherwise abuse the position.
He could do all this without fear of reprisal or accountability, for
he has no specific control specified in the Charter.
If this position is, in fact, needed, then I urge a very detailed
and exacting set of duties , responsibilities, powers , limitations,
qualifications, controls and accountability specifications to be
included in this Charter.
Section 14-7 -- Limitation on Annual Tax Levy.
(1) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided herein, all ad valorem tax
levies for county purposes, when applied to the total valuation for assessment
of the county or other taxing district to which such levy may apply, shall
prohibit the levying of a greater (MILL LEVY) than was levied in the preceding
year plus (TEN) percent, except to provide for the payment of bonds and interest
thereon.
NOTE: The original language is so restrictive that it does not even
allow for the revenues to keep up with recently experienced infla-
tion rates. In my view, the limitation on Annual Tax Levy is out
of place in this otherwise progressive and practical Charter. I
can understand, and would approve, a limitation on debt, and even
a limitation on specific funds; however, to restrict the County
government to a fixed limitation on total revenue is unrealistic.
The only thing that keeps this provision from seriously damaging
the effectiveness of the Charter is the provision of Section 14-7
-- Limitation on Annual Tax Levy, (2) Increased levy--procedure.
It is suggested that the limit be increased to ten percent and
that it be applied to the mill levy, not the total revenue.
Section 14-8 -- Limitation of Capital Expenditures.
NOTE: This entire section is, in the opinion of this writer, unwise and
uncalled for. It is obviously aimed at forcing the current County
Services Building Project to be approved through a vote of the
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Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
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June 6, 1975
people. While I have no objection to such a project being submitted
to a vote before the fact, I cannot endorse a special election in
the middle of the construction program. This project was started
five years ago and will not be complete for another five years.
It does not involve a bonded indebtedness, nor does it exceed the
historical capital expenditures mill levy for the County.
The entire program has been well publicized, and there has been
ample opportunity for the public to object if they did not agree
with the program. I feel that this is an inappropriate item for
the Charter and think it should be deleted.
Section 16-9 -- Conflict of Interest.
(3) (NEW) DEFINITION AND JUDGMENT. IN THE EVENT A QUESTION ARISES AS TO
POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST BETWEEN ANY COUNTY OFFICER, MEMBER OF AN APPOINTED
BOARD, OR EMPLOYEE, AND ANY ENTERPRISE OR ORGANIZATION DOING BUSINESS WITH WELD
COUNTY, THE QUESTION WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR REVIEW, INVESTI-
GATION, DECISION AND RESOLUTION. THE JUDGMENT AND DECISION OF THE COUNCIL SHALL
BE CONSIDERED FINAL AND SHALL BE MADE A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD.
NOTE: It has always bothered me that honest , conscientious persons may be
precluded from serving a civic duty for fear they may be accused of
a conflict of interest. Further, it does not seem fair that a County
official or employee should be denied the normal opportunities and
benefits of business investments if this action does not, in fact,
jeopardize the interests of the public. By requiring all questions
regarding possible conflict of interest to be submitted to the
County Council, the door is left open for otherwise qualified
citizens to participate in County government and, at the same time,
the County is protected from an employee improperly using his
position for improper personal gain.
SUMMARY
As a citizen of Weld County and a person with a special interest in municipal and
county government, I am very impressed with some of the new innovations that are
presented in the Draft Charter. I am particularly pleased with the non-paid
County Council concept, which will provide a great stimulus to efficiency and
responsiveness in County government.
There are other new and exciting concepts that I would like to see included in
the Charter, but am reluctant to suggest further additions because I firmly
believe that a more simple, straightforward Charter has a better chance of
acceptance. Nonetheless, I would like to mention one new concept that the
Commission might want to consider; that is, an automatic termination clause
for all ordinances.
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Weld County Home Rule Charter Commission
Page 7
June 6, 1975
It is my opinion that numerous ordinances are passed to deal with a short-term
problem in response to a popular short-term interest. A provision of the Charter
that would automatically terminate an ordinance at the end of a specified time,
unless specifically extended by the then governing Board, would clear our future
of many unwanted, unneeded, and detrimental ordinances.
While there are a number of ordinances that should be kept for long periods of
time, there are many that should be terminated. This process would not require
a petition drive, court action, or action by the elected officials to repeal an
ordinance. It would simply require the governing Board to review and reaffirm
those ordinances that they find valid and beneficial. All the rest would be
allowed to die an easy, non-controversial death.
In summary I wish to again state my approval and endorsement of the Charter
as presented in the 75-page draft. Although I have suggested many changes and
am seriously concerned about certain sections, I feel the overall benefits of
the proposed charter far outweigh its shortcomings.
The provisions for amending the Charter are adequate for correction of deficiencies
after the Charter is adopted, and if the suggestions I have made here are not
• included in the final draft, I would not feel disenfranchised.
I have tried to reply responsibly to the Charter Commission's request for
constructive suggestions, and I am confident that my suggestions, along with all
the others you receive during the public hearing process, will be given the same
serious, conscientious, and logical consideration that has gone into the prepara-
tion of the draft. I hope that my suggestions can be accepted, but if they are
not, I will still support the prepared Charter.
In conclusion, I want to again thank each and every member of the Charter
Commission for their time and efforts. You have served Weld County well. It
is my intention to vote for the Charter, and I shall urge all my friends and
associates to do likewise.
Respectfully,
6
John L. Haley IctS2-a
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