Aurora’s councilmembers will discuss an array of topics at Monday night’s study session and meeting, including a proposal to repeal Aurora’s marijuana excise tax, the finalization of harsher penalties for retail theft and a rule change banning international issues in the council.

The councilmembers will hold a study session at 5:15 p.m., followed by their regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

In the study session, the council will discuss an ordinance brought forward by Councilmember Curtis Gardner to repeal the 5% excise tax on marijuana businesses. 

This excise tax has been levied since voters approved it in 2014. If repealed, the city will lose up to $686,600 annually, according to agenda documents. Balancing measures will need to be enacted in order to assure the long-term solvency of the fund.

The council will also discuss an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between  the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Program and Cherry Creek School District  for the purpose of sharing student data and information to reduce and prevent youth violence.

In another public safety effort, council members will discuss an ordinance to increase the E-911 surcharge on phone lines. Since 2014, the surcharge has been $1.20 per line per month, but the city’s population has grown and calls are increasing, according to meeting documents.

In the council’s regular meeting, they are scheduled to review and vote on several IGAs regarding transportation safety and policing, a resolution banning international issues from the council agenda and the finalization of retail theft penalty ordinances.

Councilmember Curtis Gardner is bringing forward a resolution amending the rules of order and procedure, stating the following:

“A resolution may be used for a statement of policy or other matters which are not required to be adopted by ordinance. The topic of any resolution shall not include International Issues or Concerns.”

The resolution would not include conversations about Aurora’s Sister Cities International programs and relationships, according to meeting documents.

The resolution comes after a prior meeting in which Councilmember Alison Coombs brought forward then, then pulled, a resolution calling for a “cease-fire” to the Israel-Hamas war.

At the meeting, Mayor Mike Coffman said he did not want to keep hashing out an issue that he doesn’t believe affects the city of Aurora directly.

“I introduced a resolution earlier saying that we will focus on the business at hand that we have jurisdiction on, and that we will not do things that waste time that we have no control over as a local government,” Coffman said.

After several meetings of discussion and pre-approval, the council will finalize ordinances regarding mandatory minimum sentences for retail theft and theft of services. 

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky brought forward two ordinances at an earlier council meeting that add to an original ordinance passed in 2023, which set a three-day minimum mandatory jail sentence for retail theft of $300 or more.

The new updated ordinance, on the agenda for finalization Monday night, lowers that threshold to $100 in stolen goods and adds provisions for increased jail time for repeat offenders.

In addition to lowering the threshold for the mandatory minimum sentence from $300 to $100, the ordinance also makes the sentence for repeat offenders 90 days in jail, rather than three.

In cases where the defendant has been convicted of retail theft at least twice, they will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 days, according to the ordinance.

The second of the two ordinances applies mandatory minimum sentences on “dine and dash”-type crimes and will face a decision for final approval Monday. It applies the three-day minimum sentence to offenders involved in “defrauding a public establishment,” or not paying after dining, in the amount of $15 or more.

The council’s study session begins virtually at 5:15 p.m. Monday and will be live streamed at www.AuroraTV.org and Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel.

Following the study session, the council’s regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Paul Tauer City Council Chamber, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy. It will also be streamed virtually on AuroraTV and YouTube.