Dear Friends and Neighbors,

You have probably heard a lot about Centennial's Home Rule Charter and the June 10 th election. As a Charter Commissioner, I am asking you to vote "YES" to approve the Home Rule Charter and return your ballot to the city offices by 7pm on June 10 th. More information about the voting process and the proposed Charter can be found at www.centennialcolorado.com. If you want to read the facts or even ask a question about the Charter, please visit www.homerule2008.com and be informed before you mark your ballot.

My husband and I have voted "YES" to approve the Home Rule Charter. Centennial was founded on the principle of 'self determination'. When we become Home Rule, our elected officials will be able to govern and guide our city. The Charter has very specific guidelines for voting on new laws. The Charter also provides the opportunity for citizens to participate in the process if they aren't satisfied.

There are some citizens that are opposed to the Charter and the opportunity for Centennial to become Home Rule. I respect their freedom to voice their views. Like those of us who are supporting Home Rule for Centennial, some of the opponents are leaders in our communities and have volunteered many hours to the 'self determination' of Centennial. However, some of the opposition's viewpoints are outdated and sometimes not even 100% factual. I was at a meeting recently and the information provided by the opposition referenced Centennial's 2002 budget. Yes, the 2002 budget.

Centennial's 2002 budget is OLD NEWS and not even pertinent to how we operate today. From 2002 until 2007, our former city manager worked very hard to make sure all streams of revenue available to the city were identified and were paid to the city in a timely fashion. I attended many of those city council meetings and was a first-hand witness to the many financial reports from our former city manager. As with any new 'business,' it takes time to work out all of the bumps in the road, and with a limited staff it takes time to handle the enormous job of managing a brand new city.

We have a new city manager with a strong financial background and she continues to work hard to manage the many functions of the city and make sure the appropriate revenue streams continue to pay promptly. Some of that revenue is temporarily delayed through the State of Colorado process to collect Centennial's sales taxes and then send a check to Centennial. There are many businesses in Centennial, and when citizens shop or do business with them, we trust that the sales taxes we pay are promptly paid to our city. We also assume that those businesses pay those tax dollars and that those tax dollars are paid to the correct city (not Littleton, Aurora, Englewood or somewhere else.)

When Centennial is a Home Rule city, we will be able to collect our own sales tax dollars. City staff members will be able to audit Centennial businesses to make sure those sales tax dollars are paid to Centennial and in a timely fashion. To me this is an important piece of becoming a Home Rule city. I want our city staff members collecting the sales tax dollars that can be used for public works projects and other pertinent wishes of the citizens. Yes, we will need a few tax auditors. But, we can contract auditors on an as needed basis and still keep our expenses low. It has been proven that a municipal tax auditor can usually bring in revenue up to 3 (three) times greater than his or her own salary.

I want our city to be able to collect that sales tax revenue promptly and use it to fix our streets and efficiently maintain our streets and infrastructure. I want our city to have that revenue available to hire extra snow plows during the next blizzard. I want our city to be self determined and self sufficient to operate as a city now and into the future.

Please join me and vote "YES" for Home Rule, "YES" for self-determination and "YES" for the Charter.

If I can answer a question for you or you want to invite a few Charter Commissioners to your home or a local meeting, please send an e-mail to me at livingston2006@aol.com.

Yours for self-determination,

Rhonda Livingston
Centennial Home Rule Charter Commissioner