Broomfield Taxpayer Matters

October 7, 2024

This newsletter contains the following stories and information:

Make Your Voice Heard - October Event
Vote No on Broomfield Ballot Questions 2A, 2B, 2G
What else is on the November 2024 Ballot?
50% Water Rate Increase is Coming
Council Agendas for October 8 and 15
City Council member contact information

Pay Attention to these upcoming items in the Agendas:

October 8th - Regular Meeting
2B. Police Department Presentation-Statistics
2D. 2024R and 2025 Proposed Budget
6K. Approving City Manager's Employment Agreement
7A. Resolution to Approve Agreement for Contracted Waste Hauling - 2nd Reading

October 15th - Study Session
2A. 2025 Budget Presentation

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

Local News

Our next "Make Your Voice Heard" session will be held on October 24, 2024, and we would love to have you join us!

"The Many Faces of Colorado, and How They Effect Our Economy"

Saturday, October 24, 2024 from 2-4PM

Check-in begins at 1:30pm

Event Location: will be in Broomfield, exact location will be sent after sign up is completed.

Please register today to join us at this informative session.*

* Broomfield Taxpayer Matters is a 501(c)4 organization. We reserve the right to accept or reject any reservation request for this event.

Vote No on Broomfield Ballot Questions 2A, 2B, 2G

As you are most likely aware, the Broomfield Council placed 7 ballot measures on the November 2024 Ballot.

Ballot questions 2A, 2B, and 2G are getting attention because of they would grow the power of the Broomfield Council and weaken your voice if they are passed.

We are standing with ProtectYourVoteNow.com to make sure these questions are not passed. and here's why:

Ballot Question 2A would give the Broomfield Council the ability to control the terms of recall elections, and appoint the replacement of a recalled Councilmember.
Ballot Question 2B would increase the number of terms that Broomfield Councilmembers can serve from two 4-year terms to three 4-year terms.
Ballot Question 2G would increase the Broomfield Mayor's term length from 2 years to 4 years.

With November 2024 election ballots being mailed out on October 11th, this is your opportunity to just say no to questions 2A, 2B, and 2G.

Please visit ProtectYourVoteNow.com for more information, vote no questions 2A, 2B, and 2G, and tell your Broomfield friends and neighbors to do the same.

What else is on the November Ballot?

The November ballot is going to be a doozey. In addition to the Presidential, Congressional, and State level office elections, there will be 14 state-level ballot measures, and as we mentioned, 7 Broomfield questions on the Broomfield Charter.

We're putting together a more descriptive guide for the state-level and Broomfield ballot questions, but to give you something to consider, here is our cliff-notes version of our take on the ballot issues and our recommendations. Note that we may revise or change or position on the questions as we prepare our more detailed guide:

State Ballot Questions	Broomfield Ballot Questions
NO - Amendment 79 - Provide for a state constitutional right to abortion and repeal provision banning the use of public funds for abortions	NO - Broomfield Ballot Question 2A - Shall Chapter III of the City and County of Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to change the law governing elections from Colorado Municipal Election Code to Title 1 (the Uniform Election Code), except as set forth in Charter or Code, and change the term municipal elections" to "coordinated elections" throughout the Charter in recognition of Broomfield's status as a city and a county?
YES - Amendment 80 - Provide a constitutional right to school choice including neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education	NO - Broomfield Ballot Question 2B - Shall Section 4.3 of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to limit a mayor and limit a councilmember to no more than three consecutive terms of office, provided the voters of Broomfield choose to reelect that person?
YES - Amendment G - Expands the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to veterans with individual unemployability status	NEUTRAL - Broomfield Ballot Question 2C - Shall Section 6.4 of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to permit City Council to approve rezonings and other land use cases relating to a specific property by resolution at a public hearing?
YES - Amendment H - Creates an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board and create rules for the judicial discipline process	NO - Broomfield Ballot Question 2D - Shall Section 6.9 of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to require publication of ordinances on the City and County of Broomfield website and permit, but not require, publication in a newspaper of general circulation?
NEUTRAL - Amendment I - Remove the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder when the proof is evident or the presumption is great	NEUTRAL - Broomfield Ballot Question 2E - Shall Chapter IX, Personnel, of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to: ● update language, ● retain the Personnel Merit System for classified full-time and part-time employees, ● set forth a right in Charter to an administrative appeal, ● clarify that all department heads, the city and county manager, and the deputy/assistant city and county managers are excluded from the Personnel Merit System, and ● remove the reference to the Personnel Merit Commission, which remains in Code?
NEUTRAL - Amendment J - Remove the provision of the state constitution that says "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state"	NEUTRAL - Broomfield Ballot Question 2F - Shall Chapter X, Legal and Judiciary, of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to: ● update language, ● permit the City and County Attorney to employ both assistant attorneys and non-attorney staff, ● specify that special counsel works under the direction of the City and County Attorney, who serves at the pleasure of Council, ● recognizes the presiding municipal judge as the Court’s department head who can hire and supervise associate judges and court staff, and ● sets the reasons for removal of a judge to be consistent with state statute or conduct that violates the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct?
NO - Amendment K - Change deadlines for filing initiative and referendum petition signatures and judicial retention notice deadlines to remove one week in order to allow one extra week for the secretary of state to certify ballot order and content and election officials' deadline to transmit ballots	NO - Broomfield Ballot Question 2G - Shall Section 4.3 of the Broomfield Home Rule Charter be amended to provide that the term length for the position of mayor be extended from two (2) years to four (4) years, commencing for the mayor elected at the 2025 November election?
NO - Proposition JJ - Allow the state to retain tax revenue collected above $29 million annually from the tax on sports betting proceeds
NO - Proposition KK - Levy a 6.5% excise tax on firearms and ammunition manufacturing and sales to be imposed on firearms dealers, manufacturers, and ammunition vendors and appropriating the revenue to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Cash Fund to be used to fund crime victim services programs, mental and behavioral health programs for children and veterans, and school security and safety programs.
NO - Proposition 127 - Prohibit trophy hunting, defined as "intentionally killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx; or discharging or releasing any deadly weapon at a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx"
YES - Proposition 128 - Require that persons convicted of certain violent crimes serve more of their sentences before being eligible for parole
YES - Proposition 129 - Create the profession of veterinary professional associate (VPA) requiring a master's degree and registration with the state board of veterinary medicine
YES - Proposition 130 - Allocate state revenue to a new fund, called the Peace Officer Training and Support Fund, for law enforcement recruitment, retention, training, and death benefits
NO - Proposition 131 Establish top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting (RCV) for federal and state offices in Colorado

Broomfield Water Rates are Going up 50%

After a series of kabuki theater public forums and a study session that included public comment that was largely ignored, the Broomfield Council voted to pass its first reading on a 50% increase on base water rates at their "special meeting" on Tuesday October 1st.

Rather than looking at options that could help residents - a suggestions that turned out to be nothing more than lip-service - the Blame Game City Council approved its first reading on the 50% increase by an 8-1 vote, with Councilmember Henkel being the only dissenting vote.

The Broomfield City Council is clearly not interested in the hardship that they continue to put on the residents of Broomfield. Remember that in the last year alone, the Broomfield City Council is keeping a historically high increase in property tax revenue, have forced a single hauler trash program on citizens, and are now passing what will be the largest of three water rate increases in the last three years.

This water rate increase is the latest in the long line of actions by the City Council where they see your money as theirs, and they believe that need it more than you do.

Your next opportunity to provide public comment on the water rate increase will be at the Tuesday October 22 City Council Meeting, where they will pass the water rate increase on second reading.