Centennial: Eight reasons to vote no

How can any Centennial elected official support the Home Rule Charter, up for a vote on June 10? The charter fails in several areas. Here are three; the first should give all elected Centennial officials pause and the second should make you angry. 1. Remove Each Other? Section 2.13 of the Charter allows for the city council and mayor to remove, with “good cause”, any member of the council or the mayor. What is wrong with that? Well, you voted them in, don’t you think you should reserve the power and right to vote them out? Why should that right be taken away from you? Imagine a scenario where your representative is tough, challenging the status quo and probing for answers and facts. You voted him into office with a strong majority and expect him to challenge when appropriate. Now imagine another who is a strong leader, someone who can pull or bully others to their point of view. This person needs only to gather five more votes (total of six needed) and your elected official could be removed from office and thereby trump the voice of the people – ignoring your vote that originally placed him or her in office.

2. Eliminate Elected Positions? Sections 8.5 & 8.7 of the charter remove the two elected positions that you, the citizens, voted to maintain just a few years ago. The majority of the charter commissioners voted that their logic to remove the elected City Clerk and City Treasurer is superior to your vote. They are sending the unintended message that you can’t make a good decision, and will act to make it for you. Do you feel compelled to trust this charter when your vote and will is ignored?

3. Sky's the Limit? The charter codifies the idea that Centennial is not to be a virtual city – the vision initially projected when the city incorporated seven years ago. How does the charter do this? The very essence of Home Rule grants a municipality the power to self-govern; to become whatever the city wants to become by passing legislation. No longer constrained by state statues, the city can increase its tax base, staff, overhead, and spending. All tax increases will go to the voters for approval, but the city can commit us to spending without your vote (e.g. public works, increased staffing, etc.).

Still uncertain? Here are another five other points to justify voting no . 4. Trust. Where is your level of trust given these three points above? Do you remember when the city incorporated, and promises were made to have low sales tax (1.5%), no automobile tax, and no city hall (“virtual” only)? All have evolved away from those initial promises. It is a matter of trust.

5. Amendments. Supporters say “let’s just pass this now and we’ll fix it later…we’ll add amendments”. In other words, the same people who don’t trust you and your vote are asking you to trust them – that they know how to handle this and that we need only to have faith that all will be well. Trust them that the will of the people will be heard – that the appropriate amendments will be added to the Charter to fix its current errors. How do you feel about that – about trusting them to do the right thing and honor your voice? (As you ponder this – consider the first four again.) Bottom line: I can’t trust that an amendment process would happen.

6. Maturity and Vision. Because the city’s 2007 vision survey only touched a tiny representation of the city (only 400 of 103,000 residents; or approx. 0.4%), we only know the opinion of a small sampling of residents. But our city is a blend of the old and the new with visions and ideas different from one part of town to another. It is my view that we have not existed long enough to filter and vet out what “we” want to be. As a whole, we need more time to mature– more time to coalesce a vision that is representative of the WHOLE city and find that consensus vision. There’s no rush here...we have all the time we need to do this right.

7. Motive. I believe the real motive for Home Rule is NOT about self-determination. Yes, the charter will provide self-determination, but the driving motive of our mayor and his supporters in pushing Home Rule is about money. Why the big rush to pass the Charter now? It’s all about taxes and revenue. Why more money? To pay for more city buildings, more city staff, and more city benefits. Clearly, more money means more government. Don’t’ get me wrong – government has a place in our lives, an important role. But we do not need more government trucks or buildings. We don’t need to grow the city staff, again. We need our city officials to keep the city fiscally healthy by operating as a virtual city – the city that leaders promised you seven years ago.

8. Next Steps. What happens if the Charter vote fails? Several next steps will occur. First, the Charter Commission will go back to work on the Charter – hopefully to correct the gaps and errors of the current version. Also, all will hear your clear voice in the choir of the whole express the sentiment and will of the people – “we are not to be ignored nor our votes trumped”. Most importantly, the city doesn’t get more money. The city council and mayor will be forced and challenged to find ways to cut spending to meet the budget, instead of reaching to grab more revenue to grow government. I think that is a good thing.

I’ve outlined eight points that justify a “NO” vote on your mail-in ballot. This Memorial Day, as you receive your ballots, remember those who stood up for you and me – fighting to ensure that our voices and that our vote would mean something. Send a message and join me - vote “NO” and do not adopt this charter.

Tax & spend stalks Centennial

(Updated, May 6) By becoming a home rule city, Centennial will be well positioned to achieve its desired 25% revenue increase. Editor: So warns Susan Bockenfeld. Impartial? No; she is the elected treasurer of the City of Centennial and will be the last individual to hold that position if voters approve the proposed Home Rule Charter on June 10. Factual and worthy of your consideration? Yes; in my book this is one more reason to vote no on the charter. Below is Treasurer Bockenfeld's full analysis of the city's potential easy-spending future, along with a subsequent contrary view from charter commissioner and former councilwoman Andrea Suhaka, and concluding with Bockenfeld's rebuttal thereto:

Treasurer's Article, first posted May 1

There are many misconceptions being circulated concerning Centennial sales tax and how it would benefit us as a home rule city to collect and audit our own taxes. Some of those misconceptions will be addressed here.

Supporters of the Centennial Home Rule Charter propose that as a home rule city Centennial will do a better job of collecting sales tax and that revenues will actually increase by upwards of 25% - possibly an additional $4.7 million per year. The truth is these numbers are untested and unfounded.

Becoming a home rule city will open the door to a wide variety of new taxes that the city cannot currently impose. These taxes include a general use tax, a hotel room tax, and an employee head tax. It's my belief that imposing a general use tax is the real objective of home rule. The general use tax is a tax paid on purchases made outside the city and delivered to homes within the city. Usually these purchases are internet sales or large ticket item sales such as furniture and appliances. It should be noted that all these taxes would require a vote of the people; however, they cannot even be considered by a statutory city. By becoming a home rule city, Centennial will be well positioned to achieve that desired 25% revenue increase in the future.

Supporters say the City can collect and audit sales tax more efficiently than the State can. The truth is that until recently the City has not used the tools already available to them to properly monitor the sales tax the State collects. The City is aware of new and existing businesses and can make sure businesses are licensed and that they understand the filing process. This would reduce the number of audits and improve efficiency without home rule status.

Supporters say when the State collects the sales tax there is a lag time of 30 to 45 days from the time the tax is collected and when the City receives the revenue. The truth is businesses must be given time to close out their books at the end of the month. The City would be able to decrease the deposit lag time by 10 business days at the most, the exception being those few businesses that file prior to the deadline. An overwhelming number of businesses in Centennial are small businesses. These small businesses would be impacted because additional reporting would be required. Currently retailers file one return to report state, county, RTD and city sales tax. If the City collects its own sales tax, they would require a separate return to be filed with the city.

Supporters say not to worry about the expense of collecting and auditing our own taxes because the return would outweigh the investment by a 3-to-1 margin. The truth is the State collects sales tax and performs audits FREE OF CHARGE so the return on investment is essentially infinite.

Supporters say the City cannot increase the tax base without a vote. The truth is the City can impose a tax increase on small business without a vote of the people. Currently retailers are required to deposit only 97% of the sales tax they collect as an incentive to pay sales tax timely. By removing this incentive, the City would increase annual revenues by over $500,000 per year. It should also be noted that Centennial can remove this incentive today, if desired, without having home rule status and without a vote of the people. This is truly a stealth tax increase to the citizens because more than likely these costs would be passed through to the consumer.

Supporters say that only four audits have been completed by the State resulting in roughly $340,000 in additional revenue to the City. The truth is that the State has done a great job for the City. Over the last three years the State has completed or is in the process of performing 88 reviews. Eight audits resulted in $370,547 in additional revenue and there is at least one business that has been assessed a large amount but has not yet paid. Twenty-five of the 88 audit requests could have been resolved with a simple phone call to the State. The remaining reviews are still being worked on or resulted in no additional revenue to the City. It is important to note that the State performs audits free of charge because they benefit not only the City but also the State, the County and RTD.

The supposed goals of the Home Rule Charter are Transparency, Efficiency, Protection for Citizens and Lean Government. Let’s start now by providing the citizens with clear and accurate information on which to make a very important decision – whether or not Centennial should be a home rule city.

Charter Commissioner Andrea Suhaka's counterpoint, submitted May 4

Ms. Bockenfeld makes several unfounded conjectures in her paper.

1. [She alleges] the city will institute a general use tax. At no time has that been discussed. The city does hope to collect the sales tax it's due from retailers that are outside of Centennial but deliver goods into the city.

2. For a slightly different problem, Centennial has found retailers within the city that are collecting and remitting sales tax to the entity that has the original ZIP code in which they reside, e.g., 80015 is also an Aurora ZIP code, 80111 is also an Englewood ZIP code. Those cities charge 3% sales tax to our 2.5%. That means those retailers have been charging a higher sales tax and remitting to the wrong city since incorporation and far be it for the cities to correct the situation. Centennial would be able to correct them, collect the owed sales tax from, say, Aurora and Englewood, (back three years from when the system is set up) and lower the sales tax rate that's being charged to our citizens!! That's a win for the consumer.

3. The sales tax information is neither unfounded nor untested. Our city manager has taken some cities through the home rule process and is using factual numbers from direct experience.

4. 2005-2007 saw the city request 74 sales tax audits of which only 6 were performed. The city received $343,390. These are numbers directly from the Finance Dept.

5. Ms. Bockenfeld is using complete conjecture to support her idea that the city would increase the taxes on small business. I could as easily declare that the city would never consider doing such a thing.

Ms. Bockenfeld is using scare tactics to support the downfall of home rule. The Home Rule Charter Commission has been trying to put forth facts, not conjecture. Transparency, Efficiency, Protection for Citizens are deeply grounded in this Charter.

Treasurer's Rebuttal, submitted May 5

I believe Charter Commissioner Suhaka has made my point for me. Tax collected by retailers that are outside of Centennial but deliver goods into the city would be a general use tax. She may want to refer to the website www.TaxColorado.com which has a lot of information on sales and use taxes. Since Centennial does not currently have a general use tax, these taxes are essentially collected illegally. Can the City go after use tax that was collected illegally by another jurisdiction?

After reading Ms. Suhaka’s comments, I find that the 25% increase in revenues is still untested and unfounded. Has she defined any facts to support her position? I will let the readers decide for themselves.

Low-turnout election threatens Centennial

In Centennial's political process, the voices heard and the actions taken should represent “we the people.” They don’t. This has to change if we want to protect our civil liberties, our personal freedoms and our quality of life. Each and every adult citizen living in Centennial, Colorado is responsible for what is going on in our city, and it is time to acknowledge and accept that responsibility.

America is hungry for transparent government; and all politicians need to understand this reality.

It is not about lawyers finding another way around the law – instead of upholding the law.

It is not about irresponsible spending without a balanced budget – instead of being held accountable for tomorrow as well as today.

It is not about what we are getting – it is about what we are losing – as a nation, as a state, as a city, as a citizen.

The answer is simple: Vote! It is how we demand transparency, accountability and responsibility from all government.

Centennial will soon hold a mail-in only ballot election to chart the course of the city. Votes will be counted on Tuesday evening, June 10. It won't truly represent the will of the city unless a majority of registered voters mail in their ballots.

Every citizen should ask three questions:

1. Can I continue letting a “few” determine my future?

2. Am I better off in Centennial than I was two years ago? Six years ago?

3. Do I trust my city officials to do what is best for me?

Mail-in ballots will only be sent to voters that voted in last November’s elections. If a citizen did not vote in that election, you must contact the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office before May 10, 2008, and ask that your voter classification be changed to active; or register to vote if you are not registered.

Voter registration information and a voter registration form are available at www.arapahoevotes.com or contact the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office: 5334 S. Prince Street, Littleton, Co 80166. (303)795-4511.

If any citizen is unfamiliar with the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed charter and how it potentially affects the future of Centennial, information is available on the internet.

www.centennialcolorado.com has detailed information on what is written in the proposed charter; and www.NOCC2008.com (No on Centennial Charter) details perceived strengths and weaknesses of the proposed charter.

This is not a time to let a “few” determine our future. It is a time to take personal responsibility for our city. It is not a time to let anyone tell us what is best for us; it is a time to find out the truth and vote.

Linda Gawlik is Centennial's elected Clerk and Recorder. Her position will be eliminated, along with that of the elected City Treasurer, if the proposed charter is adopted by voters on June 10.

Yes or No on Centennial charter?

Nine weeks ahead of Centennial's home-rule election, opponents have begun to organize. Bold red "NOCC" flyers circulated at the Arapahoe Republican breakfast on April 9, and a rudimentary No on Centennial Charter website is up at www.nocc2008.com. Ron Phelps, a city council candidate last year, is one of the organizers. He was quoted in the Centennial Citizen last week as warning: "The more government grows, the more government seems to want to impose itself on all of us. A home-rule city would have the authority to reach into all our lives. That's not my paradigm of government."

To the contrary, said incumbent councilman Ron Weidmann in the same story: "The charter actually has more limits than leaving things as is." Well, let's see how the facts shake out in coming weeks. Which view is right? That's why they have election.

Interesting, though, Weidmann also asserted this: "It is important to understand those that opposed the city originally are those opposing the charter - no matter what it says."

That's not true in my own case. As a new state senator in January 1999, the first legislation I helped pass was a bill facilitating Centennial's petition and referendum for incorporation as a new city. I supported that successful vote the following September, and campaigned accordingly in my own reelection that November.

So shooting the messenger, which the councilman is clumsily attempting to do, won't work with this early pro-city guy. And I doubt it will work with many of those who are now expressing concerns similar to mine -- concerns not about having a city at all, but about whether the city's political maturity and leadership cadre are as yet ready for the additional powers that Phelps pointed to.

Slurs upon the motives of charter opponents, ala Weidmann, or inside power plays to marginalize the clerk and treasurer prior to declaring them unnecessary, as Linda Gawlik describes in the foregoing post, would seem to suggest they are not ready.

But the campaign leading up to election day, June 10, is just beginning. Let's hope the Yes or No debate can be conducted on the merits, not with such juvenile tactics as these.

Centennial needs checks & balances

The Mayor, the Treasurer and the City Clerk are the only officials elected city wide, to protect the interests of everyone. Do we really want to eliminate two out of three? Editor: So writes Linda Gawlik, the elected clerk of Centennial, and potentially the last person who will ever hold that post, if voters approve the city's proposed home rule charter in a June 10 election. She was replying to a story in the Centennial Citizen, March 27, entitled "The Case of the Missing Clerk and Treasurer." Here is her letter in full:

In your article, I found two quotes by Cathy Noon, chair of the Centennial charter commission that I would like to address. One quote stated, “The city clerk doesn’t run elections. The county clerk does that.”

I would like to clarify that the June 10, 2008 special election to vote on the proposed city charter is being handled by the Deputy City Clerk of Centennial, Brenda Castle, an employee of the city. Mayor Randy Pye named Castle the “Designated Election Official” in the fall of 2007. As I was not sworn in as City Clerk until January of this year, I do not know what precipitated that appointment. I do know that Arapahoe County Clerk Nancy Doty has had no input in the preparations for the city election. Doty was unable to handle a third election this year because her office is fully engaged with the August primaries and the November elections. I am sure Mayor Pye or City Attorney Robert Widner could clarify why Centennial’s proposed charter election could not be included in the August or November elections.

I would liked to have been more involved in the city’s upcoming election, but Castle told me it is a “one person” job right now, but she would be willing to name me as one of the three Election Judges she will be appointing. After giving this more thought, I believe I must recuse myself from the city’s election process because the proposed charter eliminates both the elected Treasurer and City Clerk positions. I believe these positions should be elected and therefore I have a vested interest in the outcome of the election, as does Castle.

The second quote from Noon was in reference to both the City Clerk and Treasurer positions. She stated, “No particular training is required for either job—…” I believe Noon has missed the point of having elected officials who report to the voters, not the Mayor, City Council or the City Manager.

I would like to point out that no elected official is required to submit a resume to run for political office. However, voters find out about all of their candidates through campaign literature, campaign speeches, the media, gatherings to “meet the candidates,” and word of mouth. The voters decide the person that they want to represent them for every office. The fact that the Mayor and previous members of the City council saw fit to eliminate any “real power” from these positions, as Noon pointed out, should highlight to the citizens of Centennial the need to continue to have elected officials who can remain independent of city control.

All elected officials represent the voters and should be respected and valued because they represent their constituents. The Mayor, the Treasurer and the City Clerk are the only officials elected city wide and they are expected to protect the interests of everyone in the city by being the eyes and ears of the voters. Do we really want to eliminate two out of three? Transparency is essential to good government if we want to regain the trust of the voters.