Broomfield Taxpayer Matters

April 7, 2025

This newsletter contains the following stories and information:

Make Your Voice Heard March and April Event Updates
Council Censure Reflects Council and Staff infighting
Is there a Sales Tax increase coming to Broomfield
Pipedream of Rail in Broomfield
Whose driving the runaway truck at Colorado taxpayers?
Upcoming Agendas
April 8, 2025, Regular Meeting
April 10, 2025, Special Session
April 15, 2025, Study Session
April 22, 2025, Regular Meeting
City Council member contact information

Pay Attention to these upcoming items in the Broomfield Council Agendas:

April 8 - Regular Meeting

7B. Public Hearing - Matters related to Marijuana Operations and Cultivation Ordinance - 2nd Reading
7C. Business Incentive Agreements to Encourage Business Expansion

April 10 - Special Session

2A. Discussion of Personnel Matters - City and County Manager — Motion for Executive Session to Discuss Personnel Matters regarding the City and County Manager pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402 (4)(f)(I)

April 15 - Study Session

2B. First Quarterly Enterprise Fund Update

April 22 - Regular Meeting

5A. Expense Report for Elected Officials - 1st Q 2025
6B. HOLD - 2025 Broomfield FlexRide Zero-Fare Summer
7D. Amending Chapter 2-60 of the B.M.C. regarding Administrative Organization - 1st Reading -- Ordinance 2269

Please let us know if you plan to attend by registering here.

Local News

We want to say thank you to those of who attended our "Make Your Voice Heard" event on Investigative Research on March 29, 2025. We hope that you have a few more tools in your toolbox, including the use of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) in your own effort to research issues that affect you.

Our next "Make Your Voice Heard" event will take place on Saturday April 26., 2025.

The topic is "Budget 201: Because You Asked for More!"

This event will focus on the Broomfield Enterprise Fund, and the anticipated growth in the City and County of Broomfield's debt obligations. Register here. You won't want to miss it!

Broomfield Council Censures Marsh-Holschen.

Is There a Rift between the Council and City Staff?

At the end of a packed agenda at the March 25, 2025 City Council Meeting, the Broomfield City Council voted 5-4 to censure Ward 1 Councilmember James Marsh-Holschen.

The Council's censure of Marsh-Holschen is the first time that it has ever happened in the history of the Broomfield Council. And, it comes on the heels of Marsh-Holschen having his city-issued credit card revoked after misusing it for personal expense - another first to for a sitting city Councilmember.

Why was Councilmember Marsh-Holschen Censured?

Mayor Pro-Tem Deven Shaff's motion to censure what brought forward and passed based on the council voting that Councilmember Marsh--Holschen broke the following Rules For the Conduct of Council:

Keep an Open Mind (Rule 8.2) - Leave personal agendas out to achieve the best outcome for Broomfield and make non-partisan decisions. Do not intentionally surprise fellow Councilmembers or staff during meetings.
Deliberate on the Issues (Rule 8.3) - Speak to the merits of the issue and refrain from attacking questioning a person’s motives.
Be Respectful (Rule 8.4) - Treat fellow Councilmembers, staff and all persons appearing before the Council with respect.
Make Fire Council Decisions (Rule 8.5) - Give unbiased consideration to all issues. Once a decision is made, support the work of the body. Do not undermine that decision.

The motion to censure was brought forward after an email dated February 18, 2025 between Marsh-Holschen and Councilmember Heidi Henkel was discovered through a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request. In the email, Marsh-Holschen accused City Manager Jennifer Hoffman (who works for the Broomfield Council" of "gross negligence of the water mismanagement".

That is strong statement given that the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University defines "gross negligence as "a lack of care that demonstrates reckless disregard for the safety or lives of others, which is so great it appears to be a conscious violation of other people's rights to safety." Marsh-Hoslchen, who holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, attempted to walk the statement back during his comments at the City Council meeting as not a legal statement but one of frustration.

So what's next?

The rift in City Council and with City Manager Hoffman does not appear to be over. The City Council is scheduled to hold a Special Executive Session on Thursday April 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers. City Manager Hoffman has the right to have the meeting held as public meeting versus a Council and Staff only meeting as the session pertains to her position.

This meeting was requested by Councilmembers Ward, Delgadillo, Anderson, and Mayor Pro Tem Shaff for the purpose of discussing personnel matters regarding the City and County Manager. The memo for the Special Meeting states that the purpose of the meeting "will be a presentation and discussion about the evidence Councilmember Marsh-Holschen has, as indicated in the March 25th meeting, to substantiate his claims of negligence, sabotage, and mismanagement by the City and County Manager." (emphasis added). No additional presentation was available as of the publication date of this newsletter.

In the even that the executive session is held in view of the public, we will see what Councilmember Marsh-Holschen claims to have, regardless of what is presented and what the outcome of the meeting, it is alarming once again that the Broomfield Council is spending staff time and Council time on this as opposed to true challenges facing our community.

This Ordeal Shows How Badly Council is Managing Priorities.

This ordeal is the latest example of the Broomfield Council wasting time with entire meetings on personnel issues, the naming of a public open spaces, and arguing for a rail line that will most likely never service Broomfield, and focus session items that are pet projects for the councilmembers. The issues that really matter to the community, like changes to the city's marijuana policies and funding of large mult-million dollar spending decisions that affect city's budget get rushed trough on the Broomfield Council Consent Agenda which does n require a specific discussion by the Council so citizens never have a chance to understand and ask questions on how your tax dollars are being spent.

Broomfield deserves better.

Council considering proposing a 50 cent sales tax to fund the Broomfield Housing Stability Task Force.

The Broomfield Council is coming back again to raise sales taxes in Broomfield. This they are entertaining a $.50 sales tax ballot initiative to pay for affordable housing. At the March 25, 2025 City Council Meeting, Martin Dormish representing Broomfield Housing Stability Task Force, presented a proposal to do just that.

You may remember Mr. Dormish who also presented at the 2023 Focus Session where he and Councilmember Henkel made their push for "Welcoming City" status for Broomfield. It appears that Mr. Dormish is being given latitude to represent his special interests again, this time in the hope that it will be done at the expense of Broomfield taxpayers and those doing business in Broomfield.

Mr. Dormish, by way of Broomfield Housing Stability Task Force proposed a ballot initiative to the Broomfield Council aimed at generating funding to address local housing needs, with an initial goal of raising $10 million annually through a sales tax or construction excise tax. Mr. Dormish specifically asked if the council could use taxpayer funds for yet another public (push) poll to gauge interest in the ballot initiative.

Seriously, how much more are Broomfield Taxpayers going to be asked to provide in the way of taxes, and how exactly is this going to affect Broomfield? Specifically:

What is meant by rehousing, who and where?
Why are residents in an unstable housing situation? Could it that the Broomfield Council's policies are actually making it more expensive to live in Broomfield and squeezing certain residents out being able to afford living in Broomfield?
What do they mean by preserving affordable housing units? Typically this means you could only resell that housing unit at the price you paid plus maybe a rate of inflation.

Do Broomfield taxpayers realize that the City and County of Broomfield is spending large amount of money trying to solve the affordability problem, that they raising housing costs on developers through local regulations and policies like cash-in-lieu payments, and yet the affordability crisis is unrelenting? Why is that?

Broomfield need true solutions, raising taxes on Broomfield residents and those who shop in Broomfield so that the City can throw money at the problem with the appearance that they care.

The Pipe Dream of Rail for Broomfield

The City Council Meeting on March 25th that included discussions on a possible sales tax, a major policy decision to establish a Business Improvement District for the Broomfield Towns Square, and the censuring of a City Council member apparently was not enough for one night.

The City Council was also presented with an overview on the future of passenger rail service along front range corridors, focusing on building a joint service that could lead to more extensive rail operations. Discussions included costs, funding sources, station locations, and strategies to garner voter support for future expansions and improvements in public transport.

A starter service is proposed to begin in 2029, aiming for initial routes between Denver’s Union Station and northern regions such as Broomfield, with cost estimations around $83 million annually and an operational budget of $885 million over the service term, factoring in contingency expenses.

Colorado Senate Bill 184 and Senate Bill 230 were summarized as sources for financing transit initiatives without burdening voters with new taxes.

Councilmember Ward and Mayor Castriotta pushed back on the presenters, saying that RTD promised 55 trains a day in 2004, and now Broomfield is told they will get three trains per day. They also told FastTracks that they have been faithfully paying into the system (37 cents on the dollar) and Louisville and Fort Collins will get service before Broomfield even though they've not paid into the fund regularly. This is yet more wasted time, money and empty promises being made to the taxpayers.

How long has this been discussed? And like most topics covered by the Broomfield Council, how is something that might happen by 2029 a priority?

State News

Whose Driving the Runaway Truck at Colorado Taxpayers? Why, it's the Colorado Legislature and Broomfield Council

Last November, voters across America said “we want something different”. Border security, affordable living, public safety, and accountability for the misspending of taxpayer dollars. Sadly, Colorado legislators and elected officials are saying “hold my hard seltzer, we're doubling-down on crazy." They are not even pretending to listen and politely saying no to those who don't share their views; they're screaming "NO" at their fellow Coloradoans.

It's as if they have stepped up into a semi-truck, put on the blinders and noise-canceling headphones, and are proceeding to run directly over everyone who speaks in opposition to their political agenda that is being directed from the Governor's office all the way down to our city hall.

In the first 90-days of Colorado's legislative session, the majority party has shoved through bills that are in direct contradiction with what citizens wanted, including bills that endorse open borders and give special protections to those who enter our country illegally, commit crimes, and continue to collect taxpayer funded benefits that belong to Colorado citizens. They've passed over 15 bills adding regulations on builders and landowners making housing more unaffordable and unattainable. They've rammed through legislation that increase "fees" (aka taxes) on Coloradoans and are mandating the state pay for things that are not the proper role of government. And, they've passed bills that give more rights to those who commit crimes than those who are victims of crimes.

And, they still have a month to go to attack TABOR and further cripple the state's economy. "Hold my seltzer!"

More troubling than all of the bills they've forced through is the way the majority party is debating these issues that affect us all. The past week has been incredibly harsh, unbelievable, and shocking in the lack of civil debate and freedom of speech. Gone is any semblance of “working across the aisle.” The majority party snuck controversial bills onto the calendar (without being printed), made the decision to convene the House on a Sunday. and most egregiously they completely shut down opposing voices by drastically limiting discussion of bills affecting taxpayers. The House majority dusted off old rules to cut all debate to avoid uncomfortable conversations and embarrassing soundbites. Limiting debate not only shut down legislators who were trying to make the voices of their constituents heard, it also took away the ability for these elected officials to offer amendments to try and make the bills better.

And unfortunately, we are seeing similar games being played right here in Broomfield.

Broomfield residents, families, and neighbors have pleaded with the Broomfield Council to not raise water rates by nearly 100%, to not force a disastrous single hauler trash program on the community, and not crush families with historically high property taxes. The Broomfield Council feigned that they are listening, that they are concerned about the city's water infrastructure, and that they are "fiscally responsible". Yet, they're about to dramatically increase debt for water tanks that haven't been built, a new police department building after knocking down the 1st Bank Center, and a new boondoggle of the Broomfield Town Square. And, they continue to show a completely lack of accountability and integrity in how they interact with the public, with City Staff, and with your tax dollars.

Broomfield Councilmembers are riding shotgun in the semi-truck, cranking up the music and yelling to the State Legislature “hit the gas!" And we're all paying the price.

Why will they not listen to us? Why will they not have a discussion with us? Is it because they are more concerned with pushing their political agenda than doing what is best for Broomfield?

We keep asking: Do we feel respected? Do we feel empowered? Do we feel heard? We'll let you decide.

Upcoming City Council Meetings - Please let us know if you plan to attend by registering here.

April 8, 2025

Regular Meeting - 6:00 p.m.

Agenda

Meeting Commencement (1)

1A. Pledge of Allegiance

1B. Review and Approval of Agenda

Petitions and Communications (2)

2A. Proclamation Declaring April 7-13, 2025 as National Public Health Week

Councilmember Reports (3)

Public Comment (4)

Note*: Public is allowed to comment on items other than those listed in the current agenda

Reports (5)

5A. Colorado General Assembly Legislative Update

Consent Items (6)

6A. Minutes for Approval - March 25, 2025

6B. Norman Smith Service Center Furniture Purchase Order Approval

-- Resolution No. 2025-63

6C. Early Learning PDRC Playground Replacement

-- Resolution No. 2025-65

6D. Approving a Trash, Rubbish, and Garbage Hauling License for Fuzion Field Services LLC

-- Resolution No. 2025-62

6E. Request for Executive Session - Legal Advice Related to Local Land Use

Action Items (7)

7A. Public Hearing - 11961 Quay Street Rezoning - 2nd Reading

-- Ordinance 2264

7B. Public Hearing - Matters Related to Marijuana Operations - 2nd Reading

-- Ordinance 2266

-- Ordinance 2267

7C. Business Incentive Agreements with Restaurant Depot - 1st Reading

-- Ordinance 2252

7D. Amendments to Broomfield's Off-Street Parking and Bicycle Parking Code - 1st Reading

-- Ordinance 2268

Mayor and Councilmember Requests for Future Action (8)

Adjournment (9)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 10, 2025 (Thursday)

Special Executive Session - 6:00 p.m.

Agenda

Meeting Commencement (1)

Action Items (2)

2A. Discussion of Personnel Matters - City and County Manager

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 15, 2025

Study Session - 6:00 p.m.

Draft Agenda

Concept Review (1)

Study Session (2)

2A. No Place for Hate Presentation and Proclamation

2B. First Quarterly Enterprise Fund Update

2C. RV/Camper Long Term Parking

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

April 22, 2025

Regular Meeting - 6:00 p.m.

Draft Agenda

Meeting Commencement (1)

1A. Pledge of Allegiance

1B. Review and Approval of Agenda

Petitions and Communications (2)

2A. Proclamation Military Appreciation Month

2B. Proclamation Declaring May as Income Aligned Housing Month

2C. Proclamation Declaring May 4-10, 2025 as Broomfield Small Business Week

Councilmember Reports (3)

Public Comment (4)

**Note** Public is allowed to comment on items other than those listed in the current agenda

Reports (5)

5A. Expense Report for Elected Officials - 1st Q 2025

5B. Update Broomfield Voice Website Refresh

Consent Items (6)

6A. Minutes for Approval - April 8, 2025 Regular Meeting

6B. HOLD - 2025 Broomfield FlexRide Zero Fare Summer

6C. Lowell/Broadlands and Willow Run/Midway Traffic Signals Construction

-- Resolution 2025-58

Action Items (7)

7A. Approving a Business Incentive Agreement with Restaurant Depot - 2nd Reading

-- Ordinance 2257

7B. Stormwater Rehab

-- Resolution No. 2025-41

7C. Approving a Design Agreement for Outlook Lift Station Rehab

-- Resolution No. 2025-27

7D. Amending Chapter 2-60 of the B.M.C. regarding Administrative Organization - 1st Reading

-- Ordinance 2269

Mayor and Councilmember Requests for Future Action (8)

Adjournment (9)

Contact the City and County of Broomfield

Contact your City Council or City Staff about one of these stories:

Mayor - Guyleen Castriotta

gcastriotta@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

720-607-1527

Ward 1 -

James Marsh-Holschen

jmarshholschen@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

720-507-9184

Kenny Nguyen

knguyen@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

303-438-6300

Ward 2 -

Paloma Delgadillo

pdelgadillo@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

720-916-6406

Austin Ward

award@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

303-817-0991

Ward 3 -

Deven Shaff

dshaff@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

970-344-8032

Jean Lim

jlim@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

303-349-2745

Ward 4 -

Laurie Anderson

landerson@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

920-378-9654

Bruce Leslie

bleslie@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

210-324-5750

Ward 5 -

Todd Cohen

tcohen@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

720-900-5452

Heidi Henkel

hhenkel@broomfieldcitycouncil.org

303-349-0978

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