Douglas County commissioners are trying to gain “home rule” status, characterizing the campaign as an attempt to inoculate the conservative enclave from Democratic policies coming out of the state legislature.

Others, however, view it as a misapprehension of what “home rule” offers, arguing that the commissioners are feeding the public the futile idea that a county can somehow opt-out of state laws they disagree with.

The county’s home rule campaign has since drawn litigation, which accused the commissioners of violating the state’s open meetings law.

To become home rule — a process rarely seen in Colorado — Douglas County voters must approve the creation of a charter committee in June and then adopt the new charter in November.

What is home rule?

A commissioner said he hopes the move would allow Douglas County to “catch up” to the five municipalities within the territory with a home rule status. Those five towns are among 103 municipalities in Colorado with a home rule structure.

“Douglas County municipalities already have the ability to dictate the structure of their government and take advantage of those powers that are in the Colorado constitution,” Commissioner George Teal said.

“The county is just catching up to them by going home rule itself,” he said.

Home rule counties are rare in Colorado. Out of 64 counties, only Pitkin and Weld Counties are home rule. Denver and Broomfield have a home rule municipality structure, but also are designated counties.

“The limitations on county home rule to only organizational and structural authority, but not functional, make it much more limited than municipal home rule,” Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, told the Denver Gazette in an email.

A handbook distributed to county commissioners by Colorado Counties, Inc. notes that county home rule “does not include the kind of ‘functional’ powers found in municipal charters.”

“Thus,” the handbook says, “state statute still determines the functions, services, and facilities provided by home rule counties.”

Under Colorado law, county residents may establish their own government structure, including the number of commissioners, county employees, duties and compensation. But commissioners and staffers still must operate the county in accordance with a more structured home rule charter, limiting what the county can do compared to a municipality.

For example, counties with a home rule charter don’t have unlimited ordinance-making powers — something home rule cities do.

History of home rule counties

It’s been nearly half a century since Weld County established its home rule charter in northern Colorado.

It was the first sole Colorado county to establish home rule when it did so in 1976.

Weld County’s reason? Consolidation of government.

Weld County’s home rule status expanded the number of commissioners from three to five, while minimizing 12 existing departments into five, which respective commissioners oversee.

“I think that’s benefited the county in many ways,” Weld County At-Large Commissioner Kevin Ross said. “We’re not just policy setters here for the county. We’re actually managing the day-to- day activities. It has us keep a closer eye and tighter control on our finances. We have a better idea what staffing needs are and ways to find efficiency with the commissioners.”

Unlike other counties, Ross added, “we tend to operate as less government is better government.”

In the past, voters in counties like Ouray, Eagle and Summit rejected home rule. Most recently, in 2005, Eagle County explored doing something similar to Weld County by changing its government structure. Voters ultimately rejected it.

Summit County came close in 1996, when 56% of voters approved its home rule commission, but then 67% of voters eventually rejected the commission’s written charter, according to the Aspen Times.

‘Possibly different’ from state tax and immigration policies

Douglas County commissioners said they want to structure the charter in a way that would maintain conservative principles in a Democrat-dominated state, according to Teal.

“If the political winds do change here in the county, we preserve these conservative principles that just can’t be changed by two county commissioners being elected who are Democrats,” Teal said.

Possible exemptions from some Colorado laws piqued the interest of commissioners, officials said.

County Attorney Jeff Garcia pointed to property tax legislation and laws surrounding immigration enforcement as “things that would be possibly different if we were a home rule county instead of just a statutory county.”

Garcia said there are hundreds of laws the county can’t be exempt from under home rule and it is up to the charter commission to decide which policies to request exemptions from.

Douglas County’s House District 45 Rep. Max Brooks, a resident of Castle Rock, argued that the General Assembly is impeding local control.

Officials also mentioned mask mandates, bag fees, property taxes and “sanctuary” policies as areas to focus on.

In voting to explore home rule on March 25, Commissioner Abe Laydon said, “We have watched as reckless state policies have made Colorado less safe, less affordable and less free.”

“We are pursuing home rule status to assert our right to govern ourselves in the best interest of our people,” he said. “Commissioners are not driving this bus. It’s up to the citizens.”

Former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas expressed skepticism of that idea.

Thomas told The Denver Gazette that the commissioners are “(feeding) the misapprehension that home rule will exclude Douglas County from unfunded hard-Left mandates and radical laws imposed by the state.”

“As much as some of our residents — myself included — would like, there is NO path under current law for counties to summarily opt-out of state law; doing so would subject the county to years of very costly — and likely unwinnable —  legal battles,” she said.

In Douglas County’s 2023 bi-annual voter opinion poll, which received 760 responses, some 37% called gaining home rule status a “high priority,” while 42% said it is “medium priority.” Some 20% deemed it “low priority” to have “more independence from state controls.”

Home rule campaign draws scrutiny

Douglas County’s home rule efforts prompted former political rivals to team up in a lawsuit, alleging the commissioners violated Colorado’s open meeting laws. The lawsuit claimed the commissioners discussed the home rule process in private or without proper notice.

Thomas, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, argued citizens have been left out.

“There was not one whisper of home rule in the public arena until March 25 when the three commissioners put home rule on a ballot in a special business meeting that lasted 10 minutes,” Thomas said. “There was no citizen comment, nothing.”

Teal countered that citizens have given their tacit approval for the move because “anybody who voted for me knew that this is something I was pushing for.”

“If the citizens of Douglas County didn’t like what I was saying about home rule, they should have fired me,” Teal said, “but they didn’t.”

After the county adopted the home rule resolution on March 25, Gov. Jared Polis reached out to Douglas County commissioners and voiced worries that it could end up hurting residents.

“The governor expressed his concern to the Douglas County commissioners that a change in status could lead to increased costs and bureaucracy for Douglas County,” said Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis.

She added the governor “hopes they make specific commitments to preserve key services while not expanding the size of the county bureaucracy.”

Douglas County’s first town hall to address home rule is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 28 in Castle Rock. State law requires a town hall to be held within 30 days before the first election, which is scheduled for June 24 and will cost the county $500,000.