Charter Section 14-8 intended for limit on taxation, not spending

Published on June 22, 2026

During today's board meeting, all five Weld County Commissioners approved the issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a construction manager/general contractor for the entire Weld County Justice Center project, rather than the three separate projects previously identified, citing it as the most efficient use of taxpayer funds.

The decision follows historical research and legal analysis conducted by the Weld County Attorney's Office regarding Section 14-8 of the Weld County Home Rule Charter. The research concluded that Section 14-8 was intended to be a limitation on taxation, not spending. Because Weld County has sufficient funds available to construct the Justice Center and will not be raising taxes to do so, a vote is not required.

The resolution approved by the board states:

"Charter Sec. 14-8 is, therefore, best read in context to be a departure from that statute as a limitation on the Board to only tax three mills for three years to raise funds for expenditure on a single capital project if authorized by a vote of the County's qualified electors."
"The Board has sufficient funds available to construct the Justice Center and will not be raising taxes to accomplish that obligation."
"Additionally, the Board will be complying with the fiscal constraints of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, Article X, § 20 of the Colorado Constitution ("TABOR"), which prohibits increased taxes or multi-year financial obligations."
"Therefore, pursuant to Charter Sec. 14-8 and TABOR, no vote of the County's qualified electors is necessary for the Board to construct the Justice Center."

The board's action follows more than a year of planning, financial analysis, legal review and public discussion regarding the future of Weld County's court facilities. Throughout the process, commissioners emphasized their commitment to upholding both the Weld County Home Rule Charter and the laws of the State of Colorado while addressing the county's growing judicial space needs.

The Justice Center is being planned to address the growing space needs of Weld County District Court and Probation services. Current court facilities no longer have capacity for additional courtrooms needed to accommodate future growth and do not provide adequate and safe circulation space for judges, staff, jurors, witnesses and the public.

View the resolution.(PDF, 2MB)

Find additional information about the Weld County Justice Center project.

Quotes from the Weld County Board of Commissioners

"Section 2-1 of the Weld County Home Rule Charter says the county shall provide all mandatory functions under the Colorado Constitution, and we are adhering to our charter. Weld County has grown, and the court facilities have not kept pace and have been deemed unsuitable by multiple studies," said Commissioner Chair Scott James. "This board was elected by the people, and we represent the will of the people. We are the governing body of the people. I would argue that with the election of these five, it has been taken to the vote of the people, and we represent the consent of the governed.”

"We all agree this project is needed, the best place for this project is downtown Greeley, and the most fiscally responsible thing to do is build the Justice Center all at once. We have dug into the facilities master plan, evaluated multiple locations, asked the tough questions, requested additional studies when they made sense and engaged the experts. If we put a Band-Aid on this, we are telling a future board to deal with something we should have addressed. That is not forward-thinking, fiscal responsibility or leadership," said Commissioner Jason Maxey.

"I think everything we are doing right now is complying with 14-8. We are not raising the mill levy to do this; we are simply using reserves that we have and staying within our budget to take on this type of capital project," said Commissioner Kevin Ross.

"I believe we have to get this done. Time is of the essence. I don’t want to take any shortcuts, but Lord knows we have been doing our homework on this for a year and a half as we work through one of the most monumental decisions we will make," said Commissioner Perry Buck.

"I am grateful for the experts. I am grateful for the people who have challenged us. It helps us be better at what we do. It's time for us to move forward, be the best stewards of citizens' tax dollars and get this thing done," said Commissioner Lynette Peppler.