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Home Rule Charter Commission mulls clerk position

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Contributed by: Kevin Hamm/YourHub.com on 1/22/2008

At its Jan. 17 meeting, the Centennial Home Rule Charter Commission wrestled with the issue of whether to have the city's clerk and treasurer positions elected or appointed. That discussion evolved into the question of how much can the commission change the status quo and still hope to get the charter passed by voters this summer.

The commission, established by a very narrow margin in the November election, is charged with writing the charter that will serve as Centennial's constitution. The city incorporated in 2001 as a statutory city, which limits its authority, primarily in the areas of taxes and tax collection. A home rule charter will allow the city to deal with local matters without having to rely on state statutes.

The 21 commissioners spent most of the meeting talking about the clerk position. They focused on the clerk's role overseeing elections, though the clerk is also responsible for the city's record keeping. Some committee members said having an elected clerk was vital for transparency and accountability during an election.

Commissioner Kathy Turley said she supported an elected clerk who would be the "voice of the people."

"Let's call a spade a spade," she said. "For me, government is suspect."

Options being considered by the commission include having an elected "clerk of the council" who would be the clerk and recording secretary of the council, and would work with an appointed city clerk. Also being considered is to have an elected "elections clerk" and an appointed city clerk.

A third option would be to have an election commission to handle election duties with an appointed city clerk. The city clerk would be the chairperson of the election commission.

The benefit of having an appointed clerk - and the same argument was made for having an appointed treasurer - is that a trained professional is filling that role rather than someone who is up for election every four years.

Ward IV city council member Ron Weidmann put it succinctly when he addressed the commission during the public comment section of the meeting.

"If you're an elected official, the only qualification you need are votes," he said.

Most cities have appointed city clerks. According to a Jan. 16 memo from Centennial city attorney Robert Widner, out of all Front Range cities with a population of 20,000 or more, only Denver, Wheat Ridge and Centennial have an elected city clerk.

This meeting was the first of two public hearings of the charter commission. Out of about 30 people in attendance, 11 addressed the commission; six of them are current or former elected officials.

Centennial Mayor Randy Pye - speaking as a citizen, he said - would like to see an appointed clerk and treasurer, but was worried that including such sweeping changes in the charter might make it suspect to voters, and getting it passed was the first priority. The city presently has an elected clerk and treasurer.

"The main idea here is to give a charter that the city will be willing to vote for," he said, adding that in 2001 the voters defeated a proposal to make those positions appointed. "Now if you begin to walk down that road, I can just about guarantee you that this charter will not pass.

"Change is very difficult for people," Pye said, "and this is major change. So I ask you to consider leaving it the way it currently is just so that we can get the charter passed. I think that is the logical thing to try to do."

Commission member Andrea Suhaka, who maintains a large e-mail list of Centennial residents, took issue with that. She said in the e-mail blasts she's done about the issue, it's a toss-up.

"It's not that black and white that it wouldn't pass if they were appointed or it might pass if they're elected," she said.

During the meeting, commissioner Susan Rosser noted the slim margin of passage of the measure creating the charter commission itself, and said she thinks there's a negative perception among voters about the charter and that they should be careful before making any major changes to how the city functions, such as making the clerk and treasurer appointed posts.

"I have this mantra in my head, 'Vote against the charter, it will take away your voice,'" she said. "We're doomed if we don't keep those positions. The larger issue is getting this passed."

The commission has been meeting since Nov. 8, and by state law has 120 days to write the charter. It faces a March 3 deadline to get the draft to city council. A special election for residents to vote on the charter is tentatively scheduled for June.

Ron Phelps also addressed the commission. He ran for the Ward I council seat last November, and said the majority of Ward I residents are opposed to the charter because they feel the city has strayed from its roots as a limited-government city.

"They felt that it changed direction," he said. "There's a lot of strong feelings that exist out there - please be cognizant of that."

Phelps also said he hoped the commission would write a charter it believed in and that was good for the city, not just a charter that had the best chances of getting passed. He's for an elected clerk and treasurer.

In the end, the commission didn't settle the clerk issue and will tackle it when they meet again.

Centennial resident Ed Bain sat through the meeting and said afterward that he is against the charter, though he would "give it a look" when it comes up for a vote. He was in favor of incorporation in 2001, but thinks the city is getting away from its original vision of limited government and he is wary of having a home rule charter.

"What comes out of these is more government, more taxes," he said. "If you're a statutory city, you're limited by what the state has you do. That's fine with me - I want limits."

The next public hearing of the Centennial Charter Commission will be held 6:15 p.m. Feb. 12 in the council chambers at the Citizen Service Center at 12503 E. Euclid Ave., Centennial. Public comments can also be made at the commission's regularly scheduled meetings; a schedule can be found at www.centennialcharter.com.

To read letters to the editor about the home rule charter, click here.

E-mail Kevin Hamm at hammk@yourhub.com.

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