Ballot Question 2G
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 6
(Council Vacancies – Ordinance 108, 2025 and Ordinance 109, 2025 (final ballot language))
Shall the Charter of the City of Fort Collins be amended to revise Section 1 and Section 18 of Article II to update the process for filling a vacant district Councilmember or Mayoral office and to clarify how existing term limits apply to partial terms to fill a vacancy, by:
- Adding a new subsection (e) to Section 1 of Article II providing that if a person serves a total of more than one-half a term in office, this will count as a term when determining term limits; and
- Revising Section 18 of Article II to:
- Add procedural steps including public announcement of a vacancy and acceptance of applications to the process for filling vacancies;
- Require Council to appoint a replacement to fill a District Councilmember vacancy within 35 business days;
- Retain the provision that if the Mayor office is vacated, the Mayor Pro Tem becomes the Acting Mayor and Council selects a new Mayor Pro Tem during the time there is an Acting Mayor;
- Require the Council to fill the district Councilmember seat that is vacant for the time the Mayor Pro Tem serves as Acting Mayor using the vacancy filling process;
- Provide that any vacated office will appear on the next regular municipal election ballot for which process requirements can be met; and
- State that if there is no qualified candidate for an elected office on a municipal election ballot, the Council organized after the election will then appoint a qualified person to fill the resulting vacancy?
______ Yes/For
______ No/Against
Summary:
The current Charter does not address term limits. Instead, Councilmember term limits are only governed by the Colorado Constitution provisions about local government term limits. The Constitution allows local governments to set their own term limits or eliminate them altogether. This proposal addresses a term limits question that arises when a person serves a partial Council term.
Proposed Charter Amendment 6 will establish how the term limits apply to a partial Councilmember term. It provides that in the event of a person filling a vacancy, the time they serve on Council in that seat counts as a “term” for term limit purposes if they serve at least half of the length of a full term.
Proposed Charter Amendment 6 also updates the process of filling vacancies on City Council. The Amendment will require City Council to post notice of such vacancy and appoint a new Councilmember within thirty-five business days. The Amendment will also require Council to appoint a qualified person for a full term if no qualified candidate is on the ballot to fill an opening. The Amendment also clarifies language describing the process for making appointments.
What a “Yes” vote means:
A “Yes” vote indicates the voter agrees with a Charter Amendment that will clarify how a “partial” term is calculated in regard to term limits and clarifies the process Council must follow when filling a vacant Council seat.
What a “No” vote means:
A “No” vote indicates the voter does not agree with the Charter Amendment and would rather keep the Charter as is.