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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10769 City Clerk's Office Item # R13 Background Paper for Proposed Ordinance COUNCIL MEETING DATE: August 26, 2024 TO: President Mark Aliff and Members of City Council CC: Mayor Heather Graham VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk FROM: Carla Sikes, City Attorney SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTING TO THE ELIGIBLE ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF PUEBLO, COLORADO AT THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 5, 2024, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 4-2, 17-2, 17-5, 17-6, 17-8, 17-9, AND 17-10 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PUEBLO AND FIXING THE BALLOT TITLE THEREFOR SUMMARY: This Ordinance is part of a larger modernization effort by City staff to amend the Charter to remove or amend language which may be confusing, impractical or no longer be relevant compared to when the Charter was adopted approximately 70 years ago. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: Council has previously submitted to the eligible electors of Pueblo certain Charter Amendments. The goal of this Ordinance is to amend outdated, impractical and confusing language from the Charter. BACKGROUND: Attached is a proposed Ordinance referring to the registered voters of the City proposed amendments to the City's Charter. In Sections 4-2 and 17-2, changes have been made to account for allowances required by the necessity of a runoff election, which cannot legally be held in the current Charter- allotted time frame. In section 17-5, changes have been made to allow for changes that are pending at the state level; if these hard dates remain in our Charter, the City may be unable to coordinate November elections with Pueblo County, necessitating additional expense and time for City employees to run a standalone election. In Sections 17-6, 17-8, and 17-9, updates are made regarding voting machines and voter registration, which have different processes now than in 2004, when the last major edit to these sections was made. In Section 17-10, the state recently changed the expenditure dates; current code is stricter than the Charter timeline requirement. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Financial implications include the cost of placing this Ordinance along with other proposed Charter amendments on the ballot at the 2024 Special Election. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable to this Ordinance. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: None. ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDATION: Approve the Ordinance. ATTACHMENTS: None ORDINANCE NO. 10769 AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTING TO THE ELIGIBLE ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF PUEBLO, COLORADO AT THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 5, 2024, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 4-2, 17-2, 17-5, 17- 6, 17-8, 17-9, AND 17-10 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PUEBLO AND FIXING THE BALLOT TITLE THEREFOR BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: SECTION 1. There is hereby submitted to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Pueblo at the Special Municipal Election to be held on November 5, 2024, a proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of Pueblo, more particularly set forth in Section 3 of this Ordinance. SECTION 2. This ballot title (submission clause and title) for the proposed Charter Amendment set forth in Section 3 hereof is hereby fixed and adopted as follows: BALLOT QUESTION NO. ____ - CHARTER AMENDMENT. (_______________) SHALL THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PUEBLO BE AMENDED AS FOLLOWS TO AMEND SECTION 4-OF A RUNOFF ELECTION; AMEND SECTION 17-2 TO ALLOW FOR FLEXIBILITY IN THE DATE OF THE RUNOFF ELECTION; AMEND SECTION 17-5 TO ALLOW THE TIMEFRAME FOR SUBMISSION OF PETITIONS TO BE SET BY ORDINANCE; AMEND SECTION 17-6 TO IDENTIFY MAIL-IN BALLOT AS THE PREFERRED METHOD; DELETE SECTIONS 17-8 AND 17- REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER VOTERS; AND AMEND SECTION 17- STATEMENT OF EXPENSE TO BE SET BY ORDINANCE? -- YES -- NO SECTION 3. There is hereby submitted to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Pueblo at the special municipal election to be held on November 5, 2024, an amendment to the Charter of the City of Pueblo, as follows: (brackets indicate matter being deleted, underscoring indicates new matter being added) ARTICLE 4 Mayor Section 4-2. - Mayor's Term The term of Mayor, unless another date is necessitated by runoff election, recall or removal\[unless sooner recalled or removed\], shall begin on the second Tuesday in January of the year following election and shall be for four (4) years or until a successor is duly elected and qualified. After having served two (2) consecutive terms, the incumbent Mayor shall be ineligible to hold office thereafter. ARTICLE 17 Elections Section 17-2. - Municipal Elections* A general municipal election shall be held on the first Tuesday in November of each odd number year, except that the first Mayoral election shall be held as provided in Section 20-3. Special municipal elections shall be held in accord with the provisions of this Charter. To be elected Mayor, a qualified candidate shall have received a majority of the votes cast for such office. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a special run-off election shall be held \[on the first Tuesday in the month following\]. If a run-off election is required, the two (2) persons with the highest number of votes cast for the office shall appear on the ballot as candidates. Notwithstanding, the Council, by ordinance, may designate an alternative method of run-off election. Section 17-5. - Acceptance of Nomination No nominating petition shall be accepted unless accompanied by a signed acceptance of the nomination form, such form to be determined by the City Clerk. If a petition is found to be signed by more persons than the number legally permitted, the last signatures in excess of that number shall be disregarded even if some of the earlier signatures are void. If a petition is found to be signed by fewer persons than the number certified, the signatures shall be accepted unless void on other grounds. If a petition is found to be signed by more persons than the number of signatures certified by the circulator, the last signatures in excess of the number certified shall be disregarded. Within five days after the filing of a nominating petition the City Clerk shall notify the candidate and the person who filed the petition whether or not it is found to be signed by the required number of registered electors. If a petition is found insufficient, the City Clerk shall return it immediately to the person who filed it with a statement certifying wherein the petition is found insufficient. Within the regular time for filing petitions such a petition may be amended and filed again as a new petition (in which case the time of the first filing shall be disregarded in determining the validity of signatures thereon) or a different petition may be filed for the same candidate. The petition of each person nominated shall be preserved by the City Clerk until the expiration of the term of office for which he has been nominated. \[Any signature made earlier than sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election shall be void.\] All nominating papers comprising a petition shall be filed as one instrument with the City Clerk within the timeframes as set forth in the Pueblo Municipal Code.\[not earlier than ninety-one (91) days before the election and not later than seventy-one (71) days before the election.\] The City Clerk shall make a record of the exact time at which each petition is filed and shall take and preserve the name and address of the person by whom it is filed. A person who has been nominated, may withdraw by filing with the City Clerk a request therefor in writing, and in the off the ballot, any votes for the candidate shall be deemed invalid and shall not be counted. Section 17-6. - Balloting The vote on all proposals and election of candidates shall be by mail-in ballot\[voting machines\]whenever available, or by alternative method established by ordinance. \[If a voting machine should become inoperative during balloting, paper ballots shall be used under the supervision of the Board of Elections of the City.\] Section 17-8. Reserved.\[Registration* Registration of all voters shall be as follows: a. The City Clerk shall register all voters at his or her office up to and including twenty- nine (29) days before any election. b. A voter may be legally registered by presenting himself in person or by a member of his immediate family of legal age residing at the same address. c. The name of a voter once registered shall remain on the registration list until stricken as hereby provided: (1) Within thirty (30) days after any general city election the City Clerk shall strike from the registration lists in each precinct the name of every person who failed to vote at such election. (2) At any time up to and including twenty-nine (29) days before any election, any qualified elector may file a verified complaint with the Judge of the Municipal Court, giving the name, or names of any person or persons, whom he believes to be illegally registered with his reasons therefor. Immediately upon receipt of such a complaint the Municipal Judge shall issue and provide for the delivery of a summons which shall command attendance at a hearing before him of such persons mentioned in the verified complaint. If upon hearing, it shall appear that any such person, or persons, has been illegally registered, his name shall be stricken from the registration list. d. For the twenty-nine (29) days before and on the day of any municipal election, any registered elector, by appearing in person at the City Clerk's office, may complete a sworn affidavit for change of address from a precinct within the City in which the elector is registered, stating that the elector has moved prior to the thirtieth day before the election and that the elector has lived at the new address in the new precinct within the City for at least thirty days. Upon the receipt of the request, the City Clerk shall verify the registration of the elector at the new address and, upon verification, change the elector's registration to the new address.\] Section 17-9. Reserved. \[Optional Registration Plan* At any time in the future the City Council may adopt this plan for registration instead of the aforementioned Section. Registration of all qualified electors shall be follows: The City Clerk shall, not later than twenty-nine (29) days before any City election, obtain from the County Clerk a registration list of all qualified electors who are residents of the City of Pueblo. Such registration list shall be the official city registration record. All qualified electors shall be considered duly registered and continue to be registered until such time as their names are stricken from the election records of the County Clerk.\] Section 17-10. - Statement of Expenses Every candidate at any City election shall \[within thirty (30) days thereafter\]within the time set by ordinance, file a sworn statement of election expenditures which shall include such itemizations and disclosures as the City Council shall by ordinance specify and require. No political party, directly or indirectly, and no public service corporation, nor any other person, firm or corporation owning, interested in, or intending to apply for any franchise or contract with the City, shall contribute or expend any money or valuable thing, directly or indirectly, to assist in the election or defeat of any candidate or candidates. The provisions and prohibitions of this Article relating to candidates shall also apply to each and every City officer and employee in Pueblo. SECTION 4. The City Council does hereby find, determine and declare that the ballot title set forth in Section 2 hereof fairly expresses the true meaning and intent of the referred Charter amendment. SECTION 5. The officials of the City are authorized and directed to take all actions necessary, appropriate or required to implement the provisions of this Ordinance. The City Clerk is directed to publish notice of election of the proposed Charter Amendment in conformity with the provision of C.R.S. 1-7.5-101 et seq. and C.R.S. 31-2-210(4) and to certify the Ballot Title to the Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder no later than sixty days before the November 5, 2024 coordinated election, as provided by C.R.S. 1-5-203(3) and C.R.S. 31-2-210 (3.5). SECTION 6. This Ordinance shall become effective upon final passage and approval. Action by City Council: Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on August 12, 2024. Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on August 26, 2024. ____________________________ President of City Council Action by the Mayor: Approved on _______________. Disapproved on ______________ based on the following objections: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________ Mayor Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor: Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto. Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of ____________, on _____________ ____________________________ President of City Council ATTEST ________________________________ Deputy City Clerk