PREFATORY SYNOPSIS

The Town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado was established in 1891, and had only those governing powers expressly granted by state statute and necessarily implied therefrom. The Pagosa Springs Home Rule Charter Commission was created on April 8, 2003, by the vote of the people of Pagosa Springs, reflecting the belief that government closest to the people is the most likely to govern the best and be the most responsive to its citizens. Thereafter, the Commission drafted this Charter with the intent to establish for the Town of Pagosa Springs the greatest scope of home rule power and freedom from state mandates allowable under the Constitution. The Town Council adopted Ordinance No. 2012-767 on February 7, 2012 and on April 3, 2012, at a regular election, a majority of the electors of the Town of Pagosa Springs voted to amend certain provisions of the Charter.

The Charter is intended to safeguard the well-being of all inhabitants of the Town, to maintain a community that sustains livability and places the highest value on the good of the entire community, and to set forth a framework for the future growth and development of the Town while protecting both its fundamental identity and its future economic vitality.

The Commission provided for a seven (7) member Council to govern the Town with the belief that the representative form of government is the most likely to be able to efficiently and effectively govern the Town in the coming years. As a result, the Charter has vested broad powers in the Council Members, but insures accountability to the people of the Town by providing procedures for initiative, referendum, and recall of elected officials.

The Charter provides for the Council-Manager form of Town government. The policy-making and legislative powers are vested in a Council composed of seven (7) Members, including the Mayor. The Mayor shall be elected from the Town at large every four (4) years, and six (6) Council Members shall be elected from the Town at large every four (4) years, with staggered terms so as to permit a continuity of government. The Town Manager shall be the chief administrative official of the Town and shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Council.

The regular municipal election is in April of even-numbered years. The Charter provides that all elections are to be nonpartisan and conducted in accordance with Colorado Municipal Election Law and the Colorado Uniform Election Code, unless otherwise provided by the Council.

The Commission tried to avoid imposing needless restrictions and "red tape" and has provided for maximum flexibility in the administration and government of the Town to allow for as efficient an operation as reasonably possible. The Commission did not mandate wholesale changes in existing ordinances in order to avoid unnecessary costs.

The Commission was aware of the pressures for growth and development that currently exist in this area and has chosen to give the Council broad flexibility and power to properly deal with issues related to growth and development. The Charter requires the adoption and updating of a Comprehensive Plan to ensure that growth and development issues are given careful consideration.

The Commission hoped that the Charter would meet the needs of the Town, at the time of adoption and well into the future. The Commission believes that this Charter guarantees and vests the ultimate power of the Town in the people of the Town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.