The governing body of a home rule county shall exercise such duties and authority and shall have all the powers and responsibilities as provided by law for governing bodies of counties not adopting a home rule charter and shall also have all of the following powers that have been included in the county's home rule charter or in any amendment thereto, pursuant to the provisions of section 30-35-103 (1):
(Administrative Powers)
Finances. To control the finances and property of the corporation;
Appropriations. To appropriate moneys for corporate purposes only, and provide for payment of debts and expenses of the corporation;
Public entertainment. To appropriate moneys in an amount not exceeding sixtenths of one mill on the valuation for assessment for the purpose of giving public concerts and entertainments by such corporation;
Advertising. To appropriate moneys for the purpose of advertising the business, social, and educational advantages, the natural resources, and the scenic attractions of the corporation;
Taxes. To levy and collect taxes for general and special purposes on real and personal property, as provided by statute;
Indebtedness. (a) To contract an indebtedness on behalf of the county and upon the credit thereof, by borrowing money or issuing the bonds of the county, for any public purpose of the county, including, but not limited to, the supplying of water and sewer facilities service, the purchase of land, and the purchase, construction, extension, and improvement of public roads, streets, buildings, facilities, and equipment, and for the purpose of supplying a temporary deficiency in the revenue for defraying the current expenses of the county;
The total amount of indebtedness for all purposes shall not at any time exceed threepercent of the valuation for assessment of the county as determined by the county assessor, except such debt as may be incurred in supplying water, and no loan for any purpose shall be made unless it is by ordinance, which shall be irrepealable until the indebtedness therein provided for is fully paid or discharged, specifying the purposes to which the funds to be raised shall be applied, and providing for the levying of a tax which, together with such other revenues, assets, or funds as may be pledged, shall be sufficient to pay the annual interest on, and extinguish the principal of, said debt within the time limited for the debt to run, which, excepting such debt as may be incurred in supplying water, shall not be more than thirty years; except that said tax when collected shall only be applied for the purposes in said ordinance specified, until the indebtedness is paid and discharged; but no debt shall be created unless the question of incurring the same is submitted, at a regular or special election of the county, to the registered electors thereof and a majority of the registered electors voting upon the question vote in favor of creating such debt.
No statutory provisions of any other law limiting or fixing tax rates shall limit theprovisions of this subsection (6).
Bonds issued under this subsection (6) may mature serially during a period of notmore than thirty years from the date thereof, in which event the amounts of such annual maturities shall be fixed by the governing body; except that bonds issued to supply water may mature over a longer period. If the governing body so determines, said bonds may be redeemable prior to maturity with or without payment of a premium, not exceeding three percent of the principal thereof. In any event said bonds shall be subject to call commencing not later than fifteen years from the date thereof. The right to redeem all or part of said bonds prior to their maturity, and the order of any such redemption, shall be reserved in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds and shall be set forth on the face of said bonds.
The ordinance or resolution submitting the question of contracting an indebtednessshall contain a statement of the maximum net effective interest rate at which said indebtedness may be incurred. For the purposes of this article:
"Net effective interest rate" of a proposed issue of bonds shall be defined as the netinterest cost of said issue divided by the sum of the products derived by multiplying the principal amount of such issue maturing on each maturity date by the number of years from the date of said proposed bonds to their respective maturities.
"Net interest cost" of a proposed issue of bonds shall be defined as the total amountof interest to accrue on said bonds from their date to their respective maturities, plus the amount of any discount below par or less the amount of any premium above par at which said bonds are being or have been sold. In all cases the net effective interest rate and net interest cost shall be computed without regard to any option of redemption prior to the designated maturity dates of the bonds.
(f) (I) The governing body, having received approval at an election to issue bonds and having determined that the limitations of the original election question are too restrictive to permit the advantageous sale of the bonds so authorized, may submit, at another regular or special election, either the question of issuing the bonds, or any portion thereof, at a higher maximum net effective interest rate than the maximum interest rate or maximum net effective interest rate approved at the original election or the question of issuing the bonds, or any portion thereof, to mature over a longer period of time than the maximum period of maturity approved at the original election, or the governing body may submit both such questions.
An election held pursuant to this paragraph (f) shall be held in substantially the samemanner as an election to authorize bonds initially, except as may be required for the submission of the limited question or questions permitted under this paragraph (f).
At an election held pursuant to this paragraph (f), if the changes submitted are notapproved, such result shall not impair the authority of the governing body at a later time to issue the bonds originally approved within the limitations established at the first election.
Officers and employees. To provide by ordinance for the powers, duties, appointment, term of office, removal, and compensation of all officers and employees of the county not otherwise provided for by the state constitution or by statute or by charter and to provide for a retirement plan for such officers and employees;
Supplies. To provide by ordinance that all the paper, printing, stationery, fuel, and other supplies needed for the use of the county shall be furnished by contract let to the lowest responsible bidder;
Charges on land. To prescribe, by general ordinance, the mode in which the charges on the respective owners of lots or lands, and on the lots or lands, shall be assessed and determined for the purposes so authorized by law. Any such charge, when assessed, shall be payable by the owners at the time of the assessment, personally, and also be a lien upon lots or parcels of land from the time of the assessment. Such charge may be collected and such lien enforced by a proceeding in law or in equity, either in the name of such corporation or of any person to whom it shall have directed payment to be made. In any such proceedings where pleadings are required, it shall be sufficient to declare generally for work and labor done and materials furnished on the particular street, alley, or highway, for sewerage, or for water used. Proceedings may be instituted against all the owners, or any of them, to enforce the lien against all the lots or parcels of land, or each lot or parcel, or any number of them embraced in any one assessment; but the judgment or decree shall be for each separately for the amount properly chargeable to each. Any proceedings may be severed in the discretion of the court for the purpose of trial, review, or appeal.
Vacancies. To fill any vacancy occurring by death, removal, or resignation of any member of the governing body or other elective county officer by the appointment of a successor, and such appointee shall hold his office only until the next election, when the vacancy shall be filled by election as in other cases;
Grants of rights-of-way. To grant, by ordinance and upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed therein, rights-of-way through, over, across, and under roads, streets, and alleys;
(Public Works and Services)
Buildings. To construct and maintain public buildings;
(12.5) Energy conservation measures. To enter into installment purchase contracts or shared-savings contracts or otherwise incur indebtedness under section 29-12.5-103, C.R.S., to finance energy conservation and energy saving measures and enter into contracts for an analysis and recommendations pertaining to such measures under section 29-12.5-102, C.R.S.
Streets and public grounds. (a) To plan, establish, open, alter, widen, extend, grade, pave, or otherwise improve roads, streets, alleys, avenues, sidewalks, parks, and public grounds, and vacate the same, and to direct and regulate the landscaping within the rights-of-way of such roads, streets, and, avenues and on public grounds; to regulate the use of the same; to prevent and remove encroachments or obstructions upon the same; to provide for the lighting of the same; and to provide for the maintenance of the same;
To regulate the openings therein for the laying-out of gas or water mains and pipesand the building and repairing of sewers, tunnels, and drains or for any other purpose;
To regulate the use of sidewalks along the streets and alleys, and all structures thereunder, and to require the owner or occupant of any premises to keep the sidewalks free from snow and other obstructions;
To regulate and prevent the throwing or depositing of ashes, garbage, or any offensive matter in, and to prevent any injury to, any road, street, avenue, alley, or public ground;
To provide for and regulate crosswalks, curbs, and gutters;
To regulate and prevent the use of roads, streets, sidewalks, and public grounds forthe erection of signs, signposts, awnings, awning posts, and utility poles and for the posting of handbills and advertisements; to regulate and prohibit the exhibition or carrying of banners, placards, advertisements, or handbills upon the streets or public grounds or upon the sidewalks; and to regulate and prevent the flying of flags, banners, or signs across the streets or from houses or other structures;
To regulate the numbering of houses and lots and to name and change the name ofany road, street, avenue, alley, or other public place;
Bridges and tunnels. To construct and maintain bridges, viaducts, and tunnels and to regulate the use thereof;
Sewers and water mains. To construct and maintain culverts, drains, sewers, water mains, septic tanks, and cesspools and to regulate their use and to assess, either in whole or in part, the cost of the construction of sewers, water mains, and drains upon the lots or lands adjacent to and opposite the improvements in proportion to the frontage of such lots or lands abutting upon the road, street, or alley wherein such sewer, water main, or drain is to be laid. The benefit to the public generally, if any, shall be determined by ordinance and shall be assessed against the county, and the balance may be assessed against the lots or lands and the owners thereof, according to the frontage.
Lease or purchase of canals. To purchase or lease any canal or ditch already constructed, or which may hereafter be constructed, and all the rights, privileges, and franchises of any person or corporation owning the same or having any interest or right therein, and to hold and operate the same in the same manner as the persons or corporations from whom the same may be purchased or leased might otherwise do, if such purchase or lease is made for the purpose of supplying, by said ditch or canal, water for the use of the people of the county and if a majority of the registered electors of the county voting at any regular election held for the election of county officers vote in favor of said purchase;
Obligations - repair - management. In making a purchase or lease pursuant to subsection (16) of this section, to assume all obligations and other duties which by law devolve upon the owner of such ditch or canal from whom the same may be purchased or leased by virtue of subsection (16) of this section and to repair, improve or enlarge said canal or ditch or any flume, dam, or gate connected therewith and, for such objects, to levy and collect taxes in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected by law. The management of such ditch or canal shall be under the control of the governing body of a home rule county.
Counties may purchase water rights. To purchase water and water rights for the purpose of supplying counties and the inhabitants thereof with water. When deemed necessary and proper, the governing body of a county may purchase and hold the lands with which said water right is connected, whether the same is within or beyond the corporate limits thereof.
May divert waters - sell lands. To divert the waters acquired by purchase, to the amount and extent theretofore lawfully appropriated, for the use of the county and the inhabitants thereof and to sell such lands whenever the governing body of a county may deem such course advisable;
Ratification of prior rights purchased. To exercise the right to hold and retain water rights, or such lands and water rights as may have been purchased prior to June 8, 1981, by any county in this state for the purpose of providing water for the use thereof or for the use of its inhabitants, such right hereby being given and ratified and confirmed to the county; and also to exercise the right to divert the water belonging to such rights for the use of the county and the inhabitants thereof; and to sell and dispose of such lands so purchased separate and apart from the water rights as provided in subsection (19) of this section;
Water pollution control. (a) To cooperate with and report to the water quality control commission and the department of public health and environment concerning any instances of water pollution, but this paragraph (a) shall not be construed to affect any activity conducted in compliance with any valid permit, license, or other authority granted or issued by any agency of the state or federal government;
To apply for and to accept grants or loans or any other aid from the federal or stategovernment or any agent or instrumentality thereof or any private agency;
To construct, reconstruct, lease, improve, better, and extend sewerage facilities andsewage treatment works wholly within or wholly without the county or partially within and partially without the county;
To issue its general obligation bonds or other general obligations for the purpose setforth in, and within the limitations prescribed by, subsection (6) of this section and to issue its revenue bonds or obligations for such purpose in accordance with law;
To provide that such bonds or obligations or any part thereof may be sold to the stateof Colorado or the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality of either at private sale and without advertisement;
To cooperate with other local public bodies and with state and federal agencies bycontract for the joint construction and financing of sewerage facilities and sewage treatment works and the maintenance and operation thereof;
To enter into joint operating agreements with industrial enterprises and accept giftsor contributions from such industrial enterprises for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, and extension of sewerage facilities and sewage treatment works. When determined by its governing body to be in the public interest and necessary for the protection of the public health, the county is authorized to enter into and perform contracts, whether long-term or short-term, with any industrial establishment for the provision and operation by the county of sewerage facilities to abate or reduce the pollution of waters caused by discharges of industrial wastes by the industrial establishment and the payment periodically by the industrial establishment to the county of amounts at least sufficient, in the determination of such governing body, to compensate the county for the cost of providing, including the payment of the principal and any interest charges, and of operating and maintaining the sewerage facilities serving such industrial establishment.
Firehouses, equipment, and firefighters. To erect firehouses, and provide fire equipment for the extinguishment of fires and to provide for the use and management of the same; to determine the powers and duties of the members of the fire department in taking charge of property to the extent necessary to bring under control and extinguish any fire and to preserve and protect property not destroyed by fire; and to restrain persons from interfering with the discharge of the duties of the members of the fire department in connection with the fighting of any fire;
Hospitals and places of relief. (a) To erect, establish, and maintain public hospitals, medical dispensaries, and other health facilities;
(b) The limitations on borrowing and incurring indebtedness set forth in section 25-3304 (2), C.R.S., shall not apply to county hospitals established in home rule counties, as that term is defined in part 5 of article 11 of this title. The board of public hospital trustees in such home rule counties shall have the power to borrow money and enter into long term leases even where such indebtedness may not be repaid for more than one year and such indebtedness shall not require the approval of the board of county commissioners of such county unless such power to approve such indebtedness is specifically reserved to the board of county commissioners in the county home rule charter. The home rule county shall incur no liability as a result of the actions to incur indebtedness by such board of public hospital trustees.
Cemeteries. To establish and regulate cemeteries within or without the corporation and acquire lands therefor, by purchase or otherwise, and to cause cemeteries to be removed;
Franchise and charges for utilities. When the right to build and operate such water or cable television systems is granted to private individuals or incorporated companies by the county, to make such grant to inure for a term of not more than twenty-five years and to authorize such individuals or company to charge and collect from each person supplied by them with water or such water or cable television charges as may be agreed upon between said person or corporation so building said works and the county; and to enter into a contract with the individual or company constructing said works to supply the county with water for fire purposes and for such other purposes as may be necessary for the health and safety thereof and to pay therefor such sums as may be agreed upon between said contracting parties;
Assessments for utility charges. To assess from time to time, when constructing such water or cable television systems, in such manner as they shall deem equitable upon each tenement or other place supplied with such service, such charges as may be agreed upon by the governing body. At the regular time for levying taxes in each year, said county is hereby empowered to levy and cause to be collected, in addition to the other taxes authorized to be levied, a special tax on taxable property in the county. Such tax, with charges hereby authorized, shall be sufficient to pay the expenses of operating and maintaining such systems. If the right to build, maintain, and operate such systems is granted to private individuals or incorporated companies by the county, and the county shall contract with said individuals or companies for the supplying of such services for any purpose, the county shall levy each year and cause to be collected a special tax as provided for above, sufficient to pay off such charges so agreed to be paid to said individuals or company constructing said systems, but the said special tax shall not exceed the sum of three mills on the dollar for any one year.
Water facilities and taxes. To construct public wells, cisterns, and reservoirs in the roads, streets, and other public and private places within the county, or beyond the limits thereof, and to provide proper pumps and conduits or ditches, for the purpose of supplying such county with water; and to levy an equitable and just tax or charge upon all consumers of water for the purpose of defraying the expense of such improvements;
Supply water to outside consumers. To supply water from their water systems to consumers outside of the county and to collect therefor such charges, upon such conditions and upon such limitations as the county may impose by ordinance;
Parks - recreational facilities - conservation easements. (a) To acquire, establish, and maintain such lands, or interests in land, within the county as in the judgment of the governing body may be necessary, suitable, or proper for boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, and roadways or for park or recreational purposes for the preservation or conservation of sites, scenes, open space, and vistas of scientific, historic, aesthetic, or other public interest.
"Interests in land", as used in subsections (29) to (39) of this section, means andincludes any and all rights and interests in land less than the full fee interest, including, but not limited to, future interests, easements, covenants, and contractual rights. Every such interest in land held pursuant to this subsection (29), when recorded, shall be deemed to run with the land to which it pertains for the benefit of the county holding such interest and may be protected and enforced by a county in any court of general jurisdiction by any proceeding known at law or in equity.
Any county may unite with any other similarly authorized political subdivision ofthis state in acquiring, establishing, and maintaining any property which a county is authorized to acquire, establish, or maintain pursuant to this subsection (29).
Lands or interests in land acquired. With respect to lands, or interests in land, for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (29) of this section, to acquire, either by gift, devise, or purchase, but no land shall be purchased for such purpose until the governing body shall adopt an ordinance authorizing such acquisition and stating the location and legal description of the lands to be acquired and, in case of purchase, the price to be paid and the manner of payment or unless the proposal to acquire such lands shall be submitted upon petition pursuant to subsection (33) of this section and approved by the electors of the county. Lands or interests in land given or devised to a county for the purposes mentioned shall be accepted or refused by ordinance passed by the governing body of the county.
Management - licenses - franchises. Exclusively, to manage and control all parks, pleasure grounds, boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, and roads as mentioned in subsection (29) of this section and, exclusively, to lay out, regulate, and improve the same, to prohibit certain or heavy traffic therein and thereon, to grant or refuse licenses to vend goods on the roads, streets, or sidewalks within three hundred feet of any park entrance and on the streets and sidewalks adjoining parks, and to establish and maintain necessary rules and regulations for the proper supervision and government thereof. The county shall have such additional powers relating thereto as may be prescribed by ordinance, and the governing body shall provide, by ordinance, for the enforcement of such rules and orders.
Bequests for park purposes. Upon such trusts or conditions as may be approved by the county real or personal property may be granted, bequeathed, devised, or conveyed to the county for the purpose of the improvement or ornamentation of any park, pleasure ground, boulevard, parkway, avenue, driveway, or road or for the establishment or maintenance in parks or pleasure grounds of museums, zoological or other gardens, collections of natural history, observatories, libraries, monuments, or works of art. All such property or the rents, issues, and profits thereof shall be subject to the exclusive management and control of the county.
Acquisition and bonds submitted to electors. (a) For any of the purposes named in subsection (29) of this section within the county limits, to acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, or exchange, lands, or interests in land, which may be necessary, suitable, or proper. No lands or interests in land shall be so acquired by purchase unless the governing body has adopted an ordinance in accordance with the provisions of subsection (30) of this section. No indebtedness shall be created nor shall any bonds be issued for acquiring such lands or interests in land, unless the question of incurring such debt and issuing such bonds shall have been submitted at a regular election to a vote of those persons qualified to vote on authorization of other bonded indebtedness and approved as required by subsection (6) of this section.
(b) The governing body, upon petition of the registered electors of the county, equal in number to ten percent of the total number of such electors voting at the last regular election of the county, shall submit at the next regular election either or both of the questions of acquisition or of incurring bonded indebtedness by separate ordinance. In the ordinance submitting the question of the acquisition of such lands or interests in land, the governing body shall state the location of the land or interests in land proposed to be acquired, describing the same by legal subdivisions, wherever practicable, and the consideration to be given for the purchase and the manner of payment; and, in the ordinance submitting the question of incurring indebtedness, the governing body shall state the maximum net effective interest rate at which the bonds may be issued. If the only question to be submitted is the acquisition of such properties, the question may be submitted at a regular or special election. If the acquisition or incurring of indebtedness or both have been approved as required by subsection (6) of this section, the governing body shall acquire such lands or interests in land, incur said indebtedness, or both, pursuant to said authorization.
Park fund - certified vouchers. To provide for a park fund which shall consist of moneys levied, collected, and appropriated therefor and coming into the fund by donation or otherwise. All moneys collected and credited to the park fund shall be used for the maintenance and improvement of parks, parkways, boulevards, avenues, driveways, and roads and shall be expended by the county as in their judgment the needs of such property shall require. The same shall be drawn upon the proper officers of the county, upon vouchers properly authenticated.
Maximum tax levy - moneys credited. (a) As a part of the annual levies authorized by law, to annually levy, assess, and collect upon each dollar of taxable property within the county not more than one and one-half mills for the purposes of said park fund, the proceeds of which shall be collected in the same manner as other county taxes and shall be appropriated to the park fund.
(b) All moneys collected or received or levied or appropriated by the county for park purposes shall be deposited in the county treasury to the credit of the park fund. Any portion thereof remaining unexpended at the end of any fiscal year or at any other time shall not in any event revert into the general fund nor be subject to appropriation for general purposes.
Acquisition of park land by assessment and bond sale. In addition to the powers conferred to acquire lands for parks and parkways by the sale of the general bonds of the county, to acquire boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, and roads, in the manner provided in subsection (37) of this section, the same to be paid for by special assessments upon all the other real estate, except avenues, boulevards, streets, and roads, in the county or partly out of the proceeds of the sale of the general bonds of the county and partly by such assessments as the same may be determined by ordinance.
Acquisition by condemnation. For the purpose of acquiring lands for boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, and roads, to select and, by a suitable proceeding in the name of the county and without the passage of any ordinance, to condemn real property, to purchase any real property so selected for one or more boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, or roads, and to select routes and streets for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a system of connecting boulevards and pleasure ways or parkways therein. All such condemnation proceedings shall be in accordance with the general laws of the state, so far as the same are applicable, but the benefit to other lands shall be ascertained and assessed.
Park bonds. To pay for the parks and pleasure grounds, boulevards, parkways, avenues, driveways, and roads established by any county, or such part thereof, as may be determined by the county, in park bonds of the county of a date and form prescribed by the county, bearing the name of the county, and payable to bearer at such times and in a sufficient period of years to cover the period of payments provided for, with interest annually at a rate or rates such that the net effective interest rate of the issue of bonds does not exceed the maximum net effective interest rate authorized, as may be determined by the governing body. The bonds shall be signed by the executive officer, countersigned by the county clerk and recorder, and bearing the seal of the county endorsed thereon, the interest to be evidenced by suitable coupons attested by a facsimile of the signature of the county clerk and recorder.
Control of park grounds. In all cases where any home rule county has acquired lands for parks, parkways, boulevards, or roads, to have full police power and jurisdiction and full power and authority in the management, control, improvement, and maintenance of and over any and all such lands so acquired; to have power and authority to provide by ordinance for the regulation and control of its lands so acquired and to prevent the commission of any and all acts which are or may be declared unlawful and to prosecute and punish the violation of any ordinances in its county courts. A county shall have like power and jurisdiction to regulate and prevent the erection, construction, and maintenance, within three hundred feet of any such park, parkway, boulevard, or road, of any advertisement or of any billboard or other structure for advertisements, and the county shall also have like power and jurisdiction over the use of any public roads, boulevards, or parkways within such parks and running over or through or between such lands and any public roads, boulevards, or parkways between any such parks or pleasure ground and its county boundaries.
(Building and Zoning Regulations)
Planning and zoning. To exercise the powers of planning and zoning pursuant to the provisions of article 28 of this title;
(Condemnation Powers)
Streets and sewers. To extend, by condemnation or otherwise, any road, street, alley, or highway, over or across, or to construct any sewer under or through any railroad track, right-of-way, or land of any railroad company, within the county jurisdiction, but, where no compensation is made to such railroad company, the county shall restore such railroad track, right-of-way, or land to its former condition or in a sufficient manner not to have impaired its usefulness;
Public transportation - rights-of-way. To grant the use of, or right to lay down, any railroad track in any road or street of the county to any public transportation company;
Utilities. To condemn and appropriate so much private property as shall be necessary for the construction and operation of sewers in such manner as may be prescribed by law;
(Ordinance Power)
Power and penalties. To pass all ordinances and rules and make all regulations proper or necessary to carry into effect the powers granted to home rule counties, with such fines and penalties as the governing body shall deem proper, but no fine or penalty shall exceed three hundred dollars, and no imprisonment shall exceed ninety days for one offense;
Enforcement. To enact and provide for the enforcement of all county ordinances necessary to protect life, health, and property; to prevent and remove nuisances defined by statute and upon complaint to the district attorney; to preserve the general welfare, order, and security of the county and its inhabitants;
Parking - facilities. To provide, by ordinance, for the construction, maintenance, and operation of public parking facilities, buildings, stations, or lots by the county and to pay for the cost thereof by general tax levy or otherwise or by the issuance of bonds of the county, which bonds may be retired by revenues assessed and collected as rentals, fees, or charges from the operation of such facilities or from parking meter rentals or charges.
Source: L. 81: Entire article added, p. 1462, § 1, effective June 8. L. 91: (12.5) added, p. 733, § 5, effective May 1. L. 94: (21)(a) amended, p. 2801, § 563, effective July 1.