Fort Collins residents will vote on one key ballot issue alongside three city-proposed charter amendments in the 2024 election Nov. 5.
A ballot issue is a legislative proposal that concerns local policy, while a charter amendment proposes changes to government operations. Both are considered city questions.
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This year’s ballot issue concerns fiscal policy, and the three charter amendments propose revisions to the Home Rule Charter, a document that details the city’s functions.
All three charter amendments aim to replace the word “shall” with more direct terminology, remove gendered language and define computation of time. The additional computation of time sections will clarify how time and deadlines are interpreted, including the consideration of weekends and holidays.
Ballot Issue 2A
A city-initiated question, Ballot Issue 2A asks voters to renew the 25 cent per $100 purchase sales tax that is used to fund the Street Maintenance Program.
The tax, which has been in place since 1989, expires at the end of 2025. A yea vote on Ballot Issue 2A would extend the tax for another 20-year term. A nay vote would remove the sales tax.
The Street Maintenance Program funds road repairs and maintains the longevity of Fort Collins streets.
“The City of Fort Collins’ Street Maintenance Program is a comprehensive, systematic way for the city to evaluate its street system and strategically maintain it with long-term, cost-effective maintenance and rehabilitation,” the City of Fort Collins website reads.
The website also details how proactive street maintenance saves the city money in the long run.
In 2024, revenue from this tax accounted for $10.7 million of the budgeted $21.5 million for the Street Maintenance Program.
Ballot Question 2B
Charter Amendment No. 1 proposes changes to Article VIII, the elections article of the Home Rule Charter. It removes the requirement for the chief deputy city clerk to serve on the Board of Elections, creates the position of lead election expert and aligns the candidate challenge processes with state guidelines.
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The new Board of Elections, which would be responsible for election oversight, would consist of the city clerk, the chief judge and the new lead election expert, who would be appointed by the city clerk.
The new amendment also proposes that Article VIII be revised to “eliminate vague language” regarding challenging candidates based on their nominations or qualifications. The new language would align with the Municipal Election Code process and would clearly define requirements for candidacy as well as the process for challenging a candidate on those grounds.
Ballot Question 2C: Updating Recall Process
Charter Amendment No. 2 proposes that Article IX, which covers recall processes, be rewritten to be easier to understand and include extended timeframes to accommodate the increased number of petitions and signatures.
Currently, registered voters can initiate a recall by sending an affidavit to the city clerk, after which a petition form must be approved before circulation. Circulators must gather a number of signatures equal to at least 25% of the number of votes cast in the last city election within 30 days for review.
The revised Article IX would retain the same signature threshold requirements and similar processes, but the timeframes for petition circulation, city clerk review, setting up protest hearings and election scheduling would be extended.
These extended deadlines would give voters and government officials more time to thoroughly assess the increased number of petitions and signatures but would lengthen the overall recall process.
Ballot Question 2D
Charter Amendment No. 3 proposes that Article X, which concerns initiative and referendum processes, be rewritten to streamline procedures, update petition review timelines and adjust how petitions are summarized and scheduled for elections.
An initiative allows citizens to propose new legislation, while a referendum enables voters to approve or reject legislation from the city council.
This amendment clarifies the language of Article X by listing the procedures chronologically and removing the third section, which currently adds extra detail.
The city clerk would be responsible for writing a general statement of purpose summarizing the proposal, replacing the previous requirement that the proposal include a summary after each section of the petition.
Like Charter Amendment No. 2, this amendment would give the city clerk additional time to review petition requests and update the protest hearing timeline.
Reach Chloe Waskey at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
