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Wheat Ridge council agrees to pursue charter amendment to make clerk and treasurer appointed positions
Summary
After discussion prompted by the recent death of the elected city clerk, councilors signaled consensus to refer a charter amendment to voters to eliminate the elected clerk and treasurer roles and transition duties to appointed professional staff, with a recommended transition plan and public education before the ballot.
Wheat Ridge City Council directed staff to prepare a ballot measure that would eliminate the city’s elected clerk and treasurer positions and transfer their duties to appointed professional staff, with a transitional schedule that avoids shortening an incumbent treasurer’s term.
Deputy city leadership and the city attorney outlined options for council to consider: keep the status quo, refer a single ballot question eliminating both offices with staged transition language, or phase out positions separately. City staff and the city attorney advised that, under charter and practice, filling a vacant elected clerk or treasurer post is by council appointment, and that shortening the current treasurer’s term could raise legal and public‑perception issues. The city manager confirmed the clerk’s office’s day‑to‑day work is already carried out by a senior deputy city clerk and that no additional ongoing FTE is planned for the transition.
City officials disclosed the current compensation for each elected position is $29,000 plus the option for benefits and retirement. Staff also noted that elected treasurer duties in Wheat Ridge have evolved and that the incumbent treasurer has focused on investments and hearing officer duties; staff suggested these functions are routinely handled by professional staff in most other home‑rule municipalities.
Councilors who spoke in favor of referral noted the level of technical expertise required for elections administration, records management and investment oversight and raised concerns about a part‑time elected official supervising professional staff. Mayor Pro Tem Stites said the change is not a question about current officeholders but about ensuring technical continuity and removing potential conflicts in election oversight. Multiple councilors expressed support for placing a single, transition‑oriented charter amendment on the ballot, and asked staff to prepare explanatory materials and community outreach (information only) ahead of the election.
City legal staff advised that to avoid the appearance of shortening a current official’s term, the charter change could eliminate the clerk’s office immediately when a vacancy occurs and set the treasurer’s elimination to take effect at the end of the current term in 2027 (or upon earlier vacancy). The council requested formal ballot language and an outreach plan; staff said the city would produce educational materials, schedule public forums and bring a draft ballot question back to council in time to meet county submittal deadlines.
Ending: Council signaled consensus to move forward with option 2 (refer a charter amendment with a staged transition) and directed staff to prepare ballot language, an education plan and draft ordinance to place the question on the 2025 ballot or the earliest feasible election consistent with county deadlines.
