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inspection; the advisoryjudge may order a delay in <br />posting if the judge determines the delay is in the <br />City's best interest. <br />Citizens are encouraged to contact the City Clerk's <br />Office with any questions about the City's Code of <br />Ethics or to request a copy. A copy of the Code is <br />also available at the City's website <br />(www.LouisvilleCO.gov). <br />Other Laws on Citizen <br />Participation in Government <br />Preceding sections of this pamphlet describe <br />Louisville's practices intended to further citizen <br />participation in government. Those practices are <br />intended to further dissemination of information <br />and participation in the governing process. Some <br />other laws of interest regarding citizen participation <br />include: <br />Initiative and Referendum <br />The right to petition for municipal legislation is <br />reserved to the citizens by the Colorado <br />Constitution and the City Charter. An initiative is a <br />petition for legislation brought directly by the <br />citizens; a referendum is a petition brought by the <br />citizens to refer to the voters a piece of legislation <br />that has been approved by the City Council. In <br />addition to these two petitioning procedures, the <br />City Council may refer matters directly to the voters <br />in the absence of any petition. Initiative and <br />referendum petitions must concern municipal <br />legislation —as opposed to administrative or other <br />non -legislative matters. By law the City Clerk is the <br />official responsible for many of the activities related <br />to a petition process, such as approval of the <br />petition forms, review of the signed petitions, and <br />consideration of protests and other matters. There <br />are minimum signature requirements for petitions <br />to be moved to the ballot; in Louisville, an initiative <br />petition must be signed by at least five percent of <br />the total number of registered electors. A <br />referendum petition must be signed by at least two <br />and one-half percent of the registered electors. <br />Public Hearings <br />In addition to the opportunity afforded at each <br />regular City Council meeting to comment on items <br />not on the agenda, most City Council actions <br />provide opportunity for public comment through a <br />public hearing process. For example, the City <br />Charter provides that a public hearing shall be held <br />on every ordinance before its adoption. This <br />includes opportunities for public comment prior to <br />initial City Council discussion of the ordinance, as <br />well as after Council's initial discussion but before <br />action. Many actions of the City are required to be <br />taken by ordinance, and thus this device allows for <br />citizen public hearing comments on matters ranging <br />from zoning ordinances to ordinances establishing <br />offenses that are subject to enforcement through <br />the municipal court. <br />Additionally, federal, state, and/or local law <br />requires a public hearing on a number of matters <br />irrespective of whether an ordinance is involved. For <br />example, a public hearing is held on the City <br />budget, the City Comprehensive Plan and similar <br />plans, and a variety of site -specific or person - <br />specific activities, such as annexations of land into <br />the city, rezonings, special use permits, variances, <br />and new liquor licenses. Anyone may provide <br />comments during these hearings. <br />Public Records <br />Access to public records is an important aspect of <br />citizen participation in government. Louisville <br />follows the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) and <br />the additional public records provisions in the City <br />Charter. In particular, the Charter promotes the <br />liberal construction of public records law, so as to <br />promote the prompt disclosure of City records to <br />citizens at no cost or no greater cost than the actual <br />costs to the City. <br />The City Clerk is the custodian of the City's public <br />records, except for police records which are handled <br />by the Police Department. The City maintains a <br />public policy on access to public records, which <br />includes a records request form, a statement of fees, <br />and other guidelines. No fee is charged for the <br />inspection of records or for locating or making <br />records available for copying, except in cases of <br />voluminous requests or dated records, or when the <br />