|
Other Laws on Citizen
<br />Participation in Government
<br />receding sections of this pamphlet describe Lou -
<br />1 isville's own practices intended to further citizen
<br />participation in government. Those practices are gener-
<br />ally intended to further dissemination of information and
<br />participation in the governing process. Some other laws of
<br />interest regarding citizen participation include:
<br />Initiative and Referendum
<br />The right to petition for municipal legislation is reserved
<br />to the citizens by the Colorado Constitution and the City
<br />Charter. An initiative is a petition for legislation brought
<br />directly by the citizens; a referendum is a petition brought
<br />by the citizens to refer to the voters a piece of legislation
<br />that has been approved by the City Council. In addition
<br />to these two petitioning procedures, the City Council may
<br />refer matters directly to the voters in the absence of any
<br />petition. Initiative and referendum petitions must con-
<br />cern municipal legislation—as opposed to administrative
<br />or other non -legislative matters. By law the City Clerk is
<br />the official responsible for many of the activities related to
<br />a petition process, such as approval of the petition forms,
<br />review of the signed petitions, and consideration of protests
<br />and other matters. There are minimum signature require-
<br />ments for petitions to be moved to the ballot; in Louisville,
<br />an initiative petition must be signed by at least five percent
<br />of the total number of registered electors. A referendum
<br />petition must be signed by at least two and one-half percent
<br />of the registered electors.
<br />Public Hearings
<br />In addition to the opportunity afforded at each regular
<br />City Council meeting to comment on items not on the
<br />agenda, most City Council actions provide opportunity
<br />for public comment through a public hearing process. For
<br />example, the City Charter provides that a public hearing
<br />shall be held on every ordinance before its adoption. This
<br />includes opportunities for public comment prior to initial
<br />City Council discussion of the ordinance, as well as after
<br />Council's initial discussion but before action. Many actions
<br />of the City are required to be taken by ordinance, and thus
<br />this device allows for citizen public hearing comments on
<br />matters ranging from zoning ordinances to ordinances es-
<br />tablishing offenses that are subject to enforcement through
<br />the municipal court.
<br />Additionally, federal, state, and/or local law requires
<br />a public hearing on a number of matters irrespective of
<br />whether an ordinance is involved. For example, a public
<br />hearing is held on the City budget, the City Comprehen-
<br />sive Plan and similar plans, and a variety of site-specific or
<br />person -specific activities, such as annexations of land into
<br />the city, rezonings, special use permits, variances, and new
<br />8
<br />liquor licenses. Anyone may provide comments during
<br />these hearings.
<br />Public Records
<br />Access to public records is an important aspect of citizen
<br />participation in government. Louisville follows the Colo-
<br />rado Open Records Act (CORA) and the additional public
<br />records provisions in the City Charter. In particular, the
<br />Charter promotes the liberal construction of public records
<br />law, so as to promote the prompt disclosure of City records
<br />to citizens at no cost or no greater cost than the actual costs
<br />to the City.
<br />The City Clerk is the custodian of the City's public
<br />records, except for financial, personnel, and police records
<br />which are handled, respectively, by the Finance, Human
<br />Resources, and Police Departments. The City maintains a
<br />public policy on access to public records, which include a
<br />records request form, a statement of fees, and other guide-
<br />lines. No fee is charged for the inspection of records. No fee
<br />is charged for locating or making records available for copy-
<br />ing, except in cases of voluminous requests or dated records,
<br />or when the time spent in locating records exceeds two
<br />hours. No fees are charged for the first 25 copies requested
<br />or for electronic records.
<br />Many records, particularly those related to agenda items
<br />for City Council and current Board and Commission
<br />meetings, are available directly on the City's website (www.
<br />LouisvilleCO.gov). In addition to posting agenda -related
<br />material, the City maintains communication files for the
<br />City Council and Planning Commission. These are avail-
<br />able for public inspection at the City Clerk's Office, 749
<br />Main Street.
<br />CORA lists the categories of public records that are not
<br />generally open to public inspection. These include, for ex-
<br />ample, certain personnel records and information, financial
<br />and other information about users of city facilities, privi-
<br />leged information, medical records, letters of reference, and
<br />other items listed in detail in CORA. When public records
<br />are not made available, the custodian will specifically advise
<br />the requestor of the reason.
<br />Citizens are encouraged to review the City's website
<br />(www.LousivilleCo.gov) for information, and to contact the
<br />City with any questions regarding City records.
<br />Public Involvement Policy
<br />public participation is an essential element of the City's
<br />1 representative form of government. To promote effec-
<br />tive public participation City officials, advisory board mem-
<br />bers, staff and participants should all observe the following
<br />guiding principles, roles and responsibilities:
<br />Guiding Principles for Public Involvement
<br />Inclusive not Exclusive - Everyone's participation is
<br />-7-
<br />
|