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Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 | 8:27 p.m.
Dave Olsen
Cam Walker
Across 11 ballot questions, Boulder City residents voted against big government and ballooning debt, echoing a wider sentiment that swept Republicans nationwide into office Tuesday.
In addition to supporting a measure to elect the city attorney and sell land at Boulder Creek Golf Club to pay off the city’s debt, Boulder City made its choice on the following questions:
• Voted yes on calling for a special election if the city plans to incur a debt of $1 million or more. City Attorney Dave Olsen recommended the city oppose the measure in District Court, although the City Council voted against it. With the city facing a $3 million budget hole and considering drastic cuts, Boulder City’s debt has been a controversial topic.
Olsen and Councilman Cam Walker have said the question limits the council’s ability to make discretionary decisions. Olsen said on Wednesday he would recommend again that the city contest the initiative in court.
The question passed with 58 percent of the vote.
• Voted yes on limiting the terms of appointees to city committees to 12 years. Walker and Olsen also opposed this measure.
Supporters said it would prevent individual committee members, who are appointed by the council, from becoming too powerful. Walker countered that it would arbitrarily mandate that a committee member, however qualified, leave his or her post without any practical reason.
Olson said he would again recommend challenging the measure in court. It passed 60 percent to 40 percent.
• Voted yes on limiting the terms of City Council members to 12 years. The measure passed with more than 71 percent of the vote.
• Voted yes on annexing a slice of land that the city purchased in 2008 by vote of 81 percent to 19 percent.
• Voted yes on requiring a vote in a special or general election to approve all expenditures from the city’s Capital Improvement Fund. The fund pays for the city’s major projects. The measure passed by a vote of 68 percent to 32 percent.
• Voted yes to pursuing wind energy projects in the Eldorado Valley, which is already home to four solar power projects. The measure passed with 75 percent of the vote. Councilman Travis Chandler, who pushed the initiative, said its passage “reflects well on Boulder City.”
• Voted no on designating $500,000 from the city’s General Fund to purchase police and fire vehicles by a 56 percent to 44 percent vote.
I'm still not convinced that term limits are needed when we already have the ability to vote the b@$tards out. If people are too stupid to do so, then they deserve what they get.
It's called democracy and taking responsibility for one's actions.
I would have assumed that the education level was a little higher than this in BC. Approving expenditures from the capital improvement plan? Did anyone tell the voters how much a special election costs? These are super misguided!
They'll have trouble getting anyone to work there or run for mayor.
boftx,
Voting is not sufficient to hold elected officials accountable. Neither are special elections or voter initiatives.
How dare Olsen challenge these items in court that were passed by an overwhelming majority of Boulder City voters!!!?? Who does he think he is? Is he smarter than the will of the people!?
And this story missed a couple of very important items. The first is the election of city attorney, not the appointment. I was opposed to this, but now seeing what this moron Olsen is doing, I'd vote him out in a heartbeat.
Plus you missed the referendum that passed to keep the Boulder Creek golf course open. Closing it would have been a huge mistake.
And finally, term limits are the only answer to keep these politicians honest. Yes, the argument that every election could be a term limit, but there's too much money in the system now, even in a small town like Boulder City.
Can we SELL THE GOLF COURSES. Government does not need to golf. Taxes cannot legally be used for non-public benefit.
Mr. Griffith,
Just wanted to point you toward the two stories on the city attorney and golf course ballot questions:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/nov...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/nov...