A surprisingly efficient Longmont City Council meeting moved forward on several different initiatives, including getting one step closer to finalizing major questions on Longmont’s November ballot.
Heading to the ballot…
An impassioned crowd showed up in full force once again as an ordinance on ranked choice voting returned to city council for its second reading. The topic always sees many supporters, as well as opponents, anytime it meets the city council agenda.
City council voted to send a question to the ballot asking voters whether they want to use ranked choice voting to elect future mayors and councilmembers — with one important change…
The timeline has been accelerated. While ranked choice voting still won’t be used until 2029, councilmembers’ election cycles will be realigned sooner than planned.
City council wants Longmont’s at-large council members to be elected in one election cycle, and ward council members to be elected in another cycle. Right now, the Wards One and Three councilmembers are elected with one at-large councilmember during one election. The Ward Two councilmember and the other two at-large councilmembers are elected in another election. The idea is to make elections simpler and more complimentary to ranked choice voting.
Still with us?
To accomplish this, the Ward Two seat and an at-large seat will need to serve two-year terms, rather than the usual four-year terms. Therefore, the at-large councilmember elected in 2027 will only serve until 2029. The Ward Two councilmember elected in 2029 will only serve until 2031.
Some notable quotes from city council…
Councilmember Jake Marsing: “I trust voters to effectively execute this.”
Councilmember Crystal Prieto: “I’m not in favor of ranked choice voting. I’m in favor of letting the voters decide.”
Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring: “Taking this route would really demonstrate the will of the people.”
Raising taxes for public safety jobs:
Another potential ballot question asks voters to raise taxes to fund 86 new positions at Longmont Public Safety over 10 years. This ordinance arrived at city council last night for its first reading.
If passed, the funds will come from a split of property taxes and sales taxes. Under the plan passed last night, sales taxes would rise by 0.33% while property taxes would rise about $75 on a $500,000 home.
The ordinance passed 6-1 with Councilmember Diane Crist in opposition, who argues raising sales taxes will drive too many residents to neighboring areas like Firestone.
Open spaces:
City council also agreed to add to the ballot an ordinance that increases protections for open spaces. Voters will be asked whether selling or transferring land designated as “open space” should require a citywide vote. It was approved 6-1, with Crist in opposition.
In other news…
Unrelated to the ballot, city council voted to approve loosening restrictions on short-term rental licenses to allow more people to rent out their houses and apartments during major regional events, namely, the approaching Sundance Film Festival.