Sometimes, small numbers of people can focus more fully on a specific task than a bigger group. Boulder City Council already uses small committees, and Question 2K gives them City Charter authority to do so. [Image is from Lefcentreright]

At its simplest, Ballot Question 2K would formally put authorization for City Council to appoint small Council committees into the City Charter, and strip from the Charter a section of language expressly allowing Council to go into executive session for purposes related to creating a Boulder municipal electric utility.

This would be an amendment to Section 9 of the City Charter, so it would take another vote of the people to amend the changes should 2K pass.

Small Committees: Council already forms small committees, often only two people out of the nine on Council, for the purposes of working on specific issues. Question 2K expressly gives Council the authority to do so, saying “Council shall have the authority.” It also says Council “shall” have the authority to create small committees to screen applicants for the positions of city manager, city attorney, and municipal court judge, as well as to do performance evaluations or recommend disciplinary actions.

In no case under 2K could these small committees be larger than a quorum of Council, which typically means five members from a nine-person Council.

Executive Session: In a nutshell, city voters allowed Council to meet in executive session for the purposes of municipalization negotiation discussions in 2014. Since Boulder voters approved a franchise agreement with Xcel Energy in 2020, the “muni” effort was ended, though it’s not impossible that it could start up again at some point in the future. Question 2K would remove a section of text from the Charter pertaining to executive sessions for the muni, and Council would no longer be able to meet in executive session without another vote of the people.

For more information: To read the ballot title and ordinance for 2K, visit https://bouldercolorado.gov/nov-2-2021-boulder-election-ballot-measures-and-candidates

PRO ON QUESTION 2K

  • Forming small committees is already fairly standard Council practice, and 2K would expressly give Council the authority to create these committees.
  • Executive sessions for municipalization are no longer necessary.
  • In general, many people would prefer Council to always do formal business in public, and executive sessions for municipalization were for a very specific purpose.

CON ON QUESTION 2K

  • If the need for Council to go into executive session should arise again, the city would need to hold another election to grant this authority because this is a City Charter amendment.

Richard’s Take: Vote yes. The measure will formalize two practices that reflect basic modern realities – authorizing small committees and ending executive sessions for the muni.