Erie residents will have a unique opportunity to inform future plans for the town’s local government. The town is conducting a survey to gather input from residents on how Erie’s government will operate in the future.
Currently, Erie operates under a form of government called statutory rule, meaning that government is based on state laws. However, switching to home rule would mean that the government would operate based on a charter written by residents. In theory, home rule revolves around the idea that residents in the community are best equipped to solve local issues.
As of Monday, however, residents were able to complete a survey using several different platforms. Residents can visit www.erieco.us/home-rule-charter and click on the “take the survey” button. Other residents may receive text messages or emails from the town with a link to the survey website, and others may receive a phone call regarding the survey during the week of Jan. 17. The survey closes Jan 19.
According to Gabi Rae, director of communications and community engagement for Erie, the town is the most populated municipality in Colorado that has yet to make the change to home rule governance.
“As municipalities grow, it becomes more feasible to take on more specific governance that matches the community itself rather than using only the state statutes in order to govern,” wrote Rae in an email. “Typically when a municipality is home rule, they are able to more closely align their local government with the resident’s needs right at that moment. The charter can be written to be updated/edited on a regular basis to change as the community changes.”
In order to inform more Erie residents about the differences in governments, the town launched a campaign called “The Roadmap to Home Rule,” which outlines a series of steps leading up to election day in 2023.
The question of switching to home rule was initially set to appear on the 2021 ballot, however, after receiving feedback from the public, the Board of Trustees moved the issue to the 2022 ballot to give the public more time to become familiar with the parameters of home rule governance.
Switching to home rule would allow members of the community to have more direct say in areas of government including licensing and permits, taxes and budgets, municipal court procedures, traffic management, police fees and fines, community development, as well as the structure of the Board of Trustees.
The transition from statutory rule to home rule will require that the measure be approved on the 2022 ballot. Afterwards, residents can vote on fellow community members to join the Charter Commission, who will then have 180 days to write a municipal charter, which will then be voted on by the community on Nov. 7, 2023.
To learn more about the home rule, visit https://www.erieco.gov/faq.aspx?qid=254.
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Erie residents asked to complete survey regarding possible switch to home rule - Longmont Times-Call
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