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Council asks staff to draft several charter amendments for voter consideration, including initiative thresholds and executive-session alignment
Summary
Council directed staff to draft potential 2026 charter amendments to (1) align seating of newly elected officials with election certification, (2) raise initiative/referendum signature thresholds (staff proposed 7.5% initiative / 5% referendum), (3) align executive-session topics with state open-meetings law, (4) permit accessible alternate meeting locations and (5) allow staff review meetings for resident initiatives.
City staff presented a set of proposed charter amendments and asked for council direction on which items to pursue for the 2026 ballot. Topics included aligning when elected officials take office to election certification (rather than the first meeting after election), changing initiative and referendum signature thresholds (staff suggested 7.5% for initiatives, 5% for referendums), expanding allowable executive-session topics to align with state open-meetings law, permitting public bodies to hold meetings at other accessible locations, and a pre-submission review meeting process for resident initiatives to reduce form and language problems.
City Attorney Kathleen Kelly and the city clerk described legal issues and administrative benefits of each proposed amendment. Council members discussed trade-offs—particularly raising signature thresholds versus preserving low-bar direct-democracy access—and asked staff to prepare draft language for council review. The clerk noted the county coordination deadline (July 24) and asked council for prioritization; council asked staff to bring draft language on the discussed items for July hearings and indicated a preference for at least the certification timing, executive-session alignment, and meeting-location items.
Staff will return with draft charter amendment language for council review at the July 14 meeting and will coordinate with Boulder County if council elects to place measures on the 2026 ballot.
