As a resident of Centennial, I wish to express my support for the Home Rule Charter.

Why should Centennial go "Home Rule"? We deserve to be an independent, self-governing entity. Nearly all similarly sized cities operate under this form of government including our neighbors - Lone Tree, Parker, Littleton, Englewood and Greenwood Village. It is time we joined them! Let's stay focused on doing what is best for our municipality as a whole.

Unfortunately there is one aspect surrounding the change from "statutory city" to "home rule" that is unnecessarily controversial. It would be unfortunate to dismiss "Home rule" based solely upon whether the Treasurer and Clerk positions should remain elected.

As a trained and experienced finance professional, with over 20 years in treasury and risk management ,I strongly agree with the Centennial Home Rule Charter Commissions' recommendations that the Treasurer and Clerk positions should be appointed (hired) professionals. The Treasurer and Clerk positions should have formal, defined job descriptions, with functionality that deserves full-time, professional expertise, requiring an appropriate level of qualifications. Regarding the Treasurer, the individual should have a background in municipal finance, a finance and/or accounting 4 year college degree, and maintain relevant professional designations and certifications such as Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). It requires a great amount of expertise to manage our significant revenue and disbursement flows, the important financing decisions and strategic planning activities that go along with a city the significant size of Centennial. We need experts to determine "best practices" and to stay diligent in protecting the city from a myriad of financial risks embedded in our globally influenced economy. We deserve this expertise!

Under the status quo (statutory rule), individuals can be elected to these critical Treasurer and Clerk positions with no formal eligibility requirements with the exception of "age of majority" (18).

Appointed Clerk and Treasurer Positions are common to Home Rule governed municipalities. Centennial is already well-positioned to manage the day-to-day and strategic finance activities of our city with a staff of 7 highly qualified finance and accounting professionals. In the event of inadequate performance, appointed professionals can be further trained, disciplined, or terminated whereas elected officials must be recalled in a cumbersome process.

Independent oversight of the city's finances is already provided by the Audit and Investment Committees currently in place, so there is no real need for elected official oversight. The Audit and Investment Committees exist to provide review of external auditors, and to ensure compliance with risk management practices, investment guidelines and other policies and procedures.

In conclusion, I think we owe a great deal of thanks to those 21 individuals who served as charter commissioners, volunteering so many hours of time in thoughtful, conscientious deliberations on our behalf. Let's vote FOR Home Rule.

Cindy A. Stevens
Centennial Resident
303-495-8320