Boulder City voters to decide on charter changes

Dan Kulin

Monday, May 12, 2003 | 11:13 a.m.

During the next three and a half weeks Boulder City voters will decide whether to make it harder to change their city charter in the future.

By a majority vote in this election the charter, the foundation for the city government, could be amended so that any future amendments would need to be approved in two elections instead of one.

Opponents say this is an attempt to take power away from voters, and mayoral candidate and former Councilman Bill Smith said he thinks it might also be against state law for a city to change the way its charter can be amended.

But proponents of the amendment say it would give the charter, and therefore the city, more protection from fleeting trends. Making voters decide on an amendment at two elections would help ensure voters have ample opportunity to learn about a proposed amendment.

City Attorney Dave Olsen said that while state law does address how cities can change their charters, the law does not prohibit cities from adopting a more restrictive charter amendment process.

"That statute acts as the threshold you have to cross," Olsen said. "You can't be more liberal but you can be more restrictive and it doesn't say you can't do it in two elections."

The change would make the charter amendment process in Boulder City similar to the process for amending the state constitution, which requires approval of proposed amendments in two consecutive elections.

But while Smith said that process might work for the state, he says it's not a good idea for Boulder City.

"Why would you want to make it harder to change the charter? I see no upside to doing it," Smith said.

But Mayor Bob Ferraro says the proposed amendment to change the amendment process is a good idea.

"Something that would change the charter should be looked at more than one time and in a general election," Ferraro said.

The proposed change also would make it so future charter amendments could only appear on general election ballots. Typically more voters participate in general elections than in primary elections.

"It would also allow people a second opportunity to discover more and to be more informed about a change to the constitution of our city," the mayor said.

Ferraro said he didn't have any specific examples of charter amendments he thought should have been better explained.

In recent years charter amendments that have been passed include one that requires the sale of more than one acre of city land to be approved by the voters.

The proposed change to the charter amendment process is one of three questions on the June 3 city ballot, which also features a council election and the Smith vs. Ferraro race for mayor. Early voting begins Saturday.

The other questions on the ballot are not so controversial.

Smith described them as essentially housekeeping measures.

The first ballot question asks voters to approve spending up to $550,000 on an addition to the fire station.

The second question asks voters to amend the City Charter to repeal obsolete sections, make the language in the charter gender neutral, clarify that references to the council include the mayor, and correct some grammar.

The proposal to change the way the charter can be amended is the third question on the ballot.