Buena Vista trustees adopt ordinance to refer municipal campaign‑finance complaints to Secretary of State

The Town of Buena Vista Board of Trustees on Jan. 14 approved Ordinance No. 1, Series 2025, authorizing referral of municipal campaign‑finance complaints to the Colorado Secretary of State.

Town staff explained the ordinance implements procedures tied to recent state law changes. The staff presentation summarized the process described in the statute: the town clerk will perform an initial review of any complaint within 10 days to determine compliance with filing requirements; if the complaint meets requirements it will be forwarded to the Secretary of State within 14 days for investigation and resolution under prescribed state procedures. Staff noted the Secretary of State applies applicable local law provisions when investigating, and that municipalities referring complaints must waive any claim to fines collected by the state.

As staff explained, "the town of [Buena Vista] currently does not have a complaint process or a hearing process in place," and the referral option provides a defined, state‑level mechanism and legal expertise for complaint processing. Staff identified the ordinance's main benefit as freeing local staff from time‑consuming complaint investigations and leaving enforcement and legal review to the Secretary of State; the principal tradeoff is loss of local control over the adjudication process.

A trustee moved to adopt the ordinance and a second followed. Trustees approved the ordinance by voice vote; no roll‑call tallies were recorded in the meeting minutes.

No changes to town budget were reported as part of the ordinance decision; staff said the Secretary of State would handle investigations and that the town would provide cooperation but not collection of fines.