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Home Rule Charter Commission
The Home Rule Charter Commission is tasked with drafting a governance Charter for the Town of Erie. The drafted Charter will be put to all Town residents for a vote in 2023. The Charter Commission has a responsibility by State statute to complete a draft of a Charter within 180 days from their election - this will be May 5, 2023. The draft will then be sent to the Board of Trustees for that body to move the Charter forward as a ballot measure.
Meetings
- Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
- Erie Town Hall Community Room
645 Holbrook St.
Erie, CO 80516 - Submit a Comment
Meeting Notes
Meeting Agendas are available online no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. View posted agendas and meeting notes.
Weekly Poll
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Should our Town Councillors be elected at-large, or via districts/wards? Impact: At-large means the the entire town votes to select every Councillor. Using districts/wards would divide the town into three (3) distinct areas and have each area elect two (2) representatives (plus a separately elected mayor).
52%
47%
475 votes total • 1 Days Left
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Should we hold our municipal elections in November on odd OR on even years? Impact: Even years would align with national/federal elections, odd years would not. Both would still allow coordinated elections (managed by the counties) and would save on costs compared to our current April elections.
36%
63%
478 votes total • 1 Days Left
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What should we call ourselves: the Town of Erie OR the City of Erie? Impact: There is no legal or functional difference. This is simply a label for Erie moving forward. There will be a cost associated with changing all collateral to City, spread out over time.
90%
9%
496 votes total • 1 Days Left
- Jan. 19, 2023 - Summary of discussions/decisions
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Summary from the Charter Commission Chair:
- We have settled on three districts with two Councilors from each, to ensure a representative sample of Erie is elected to the Council and to simplify elections.
- Any Councilor vacancies shall be filled by automatic appointment of the person with the next highest votes for the office in question if the vacancy occurs less than 180 days after an election. If there is no one who ran who can or wants to fill the position, then a special election is ordered. If the vacancy occurs after 180 days from the election, the seat will remain open until the next regular election.
- If the Mayor position becomes vacant, the Mayor Pro Tem becomes Mayor, and the new Mayor's now-vacant Council position is filled by the above process.
- We will be putting out more surveys to solicit feedback on certain topics, hosted here on the Charter Commission page.
Please remember that decisions are not yet final and will be up for discussion again until the final Draft is submitted in May. Questions or comments can be submitted to the Charter Commission through an online form. Members of the public can also plan to attend in-person engagement meetings the third Thursday of the month beginning in January.
- Jan. 12, 2023 - Summary of discussions/decisions
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A summary from the Charter Commission Chair:
- An emergency ordinance will require a 2/3 vote of the Council (and no less than 5 votes) to pass.
- The Town Council will be able to change how current ordinances and notices are published, as long as the publishing method is easily accessible for all residents (i.e. website). Current statutes require that ordinances be published in a physical newspaper. This change will save the town time, overhead, and money.
Please remember that decisions are not yet final and will be up for discussion again until the final Draft is submitted in May. Questions or comments can be submitted to the Charter Commission through an online form. Members of the public can also plan to attend in-person engagement meetings the third Thursday of the month beginning in January.
View the recording of the Jan. 12 meeting.
- Jan. 5, 2023 - Summary of discussions/decisions
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Below is a summary from the Charter Commission Chair:
- We are writing two subsections on what defines a vacancy on the Council and how to fill them, to be presented at a future meeting. The intent is to have a hard-defined process to avoid uncertainty and bias.
- We have defined a line of succession, going from Mayor to Mayor Pro Tem, through the Council by seniority, and then to the Town appointed officials (Town Administrator, Town Attorney, Municipal Judge, Town Prosecutor)
- The Town Prosecutor is being added to the Charter
- The above appointed officials will be required to report to the Council periodically
- The Town Clerk will be required to have a supply of all petitions required for conducting a regular candidate election to make it easier for candidates to file their signatures and financial disclosures.
- We will be adding definitions for "emergency", "administrative personnel", "consultants", and "town officers" to the definitions section.
Please remember that decisions are not yet final and will be up for discussion again until the final Draft is submitted in May. Questions or comments can be submitted to the Charter Commission through an online form. Members of the public can also plan to attend in-person engagement meetings the third Thursday of the month beginning in January.
View the recording of the Jan. 5 meeting.
Members
The Commission consists of nine members, all of whom must be bona fide residents of the Town and were elected in the November 2022 Coordinated Election.
| Commissioner | Contact |
|---|---|
| Ashraf Shaikh | |
| Sarah Kornely | |
| Chelsea Campbell | |
| Brian O'Connor | |
| Lisa Cunningham | |
| Bob Braudes | |
| Adam Haid | |
| Candace Whitehouse | |
| Ben Hemphill |
For More Information
For more information, please email the Town Clerk or call 303-926-2731.
Note: All board/commission/ad hoc committee communications (written or electronic) are subject to CRS 24-72-201 through 24-72-206, the Open Records Act.
Watch Meetings
View the full YouTube playlist of past meetings.