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<br />PREFATORY SYNOPSIS <br /> <br />The members of the Home Rule Charter Commission of the City of <br />Louisville, Colorado, hereby submit to the City Council and to the <br />re9istered electors a proposed Home Rule Charter which has been <br />framed in conformity with Article XX of the Colorado Constitution <br />and the Municipal Home Rule Act of 1971, as amended. <br /> <br />The Commission members have sought to prepare a Charter which <br />provides for an open government in which every member of the <br />community has an opportunity to participate, and which holds the <br />City's elected and appointed officials to the highest ethical <br />standards. The Charter also assures the right of the citizens to <br />vote on important matters, including any new tax or tax rate <br />increase that may be proposed in the future. <br /> <br />The Commission recognizes that the Charter is a document of <br />limitation on the home rule powers available to the City and its <br />citizens. Therefore, the Commission has sought to include in the <br />Charter important protections for the citizens. <br /> <br />Special mention should be made of the place of the Charter in <br />relation to other applicable laws. The Bill of Rights and other <br />protections afforded citizens by the United States Constitution <br />are, of course, primary. The Constitution of the State of Colorado <br />also contains specific limitations on the City's home rule powers. <br />The Commission recognizes that the Charter is subordinate to, and <br />must keep faith with, those federal and state enactments which <br />limit the City's home rule powers. <br /> <br />The Commission also recognizes that certain State statutes should <br />continue to apply to the City. Variations were made from the <br />statutes only where home rule powers permitted and sound reasons <br />existed. <br /> <br />Commission members are also mindful of the following values, and <br />believe that they have been reflected in the Charter: <br /> <br />. All citizens are born free and equal in rights, and should <br />act towards one another with dignity and respect. <br /> <br />. The government must act in a manner that protects the rights <br />of each individua.l and the well-being of the community as a <br />whole. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The government is formed by <br />have the right to control <br />elected representatives or, <br />democracy. <br /> <br />the citizens, and the citizens <br />the government through their <br />when appropriate, by direct <br /> <br />5 <br />