Colorado Governmental Entities

As of December 31, 2020, the total number of governmental entities serving the citizens of the State of Colorado totaled 4,219. The basic breakdown of governmental entity types in the State of Colorado is as follows:

Special districts are the most prolific form of government within Colorado comprising 62% of all Colorado government entities. Generally, special districts are government entities vested with the power to assess property taxes, fees, rates and tolls to fund various types of public services such as fire protection, water utility, sewer, park & recreation, ambulance and hospital services. As noted in the above table, special districts are provided significant autonomy from regulatory oversight. Although this issue will be discussed at length in subsequent sections of this complaint, it is worth pointing out here that the number of public officials who report conflicts of interest while serving in their official capacities is very low across all government entities except for public officials who serve on the boards of metropolitan districts (a subset of special districts).

Regulation of Public Officials’ Conduct

While the ethical conduct of public officials serving the State of Colorado and all other forms of government are subject to active regulatory oversight, Colorado statutes provide no form of regulatory oversight over the ethical conduct of directors serving on special district boards. Public officials serving cities, towns, counties, home rule municipalities (i.e. “Municipal Government”) and the executive and legislative branches of the State of Colorado are all subject to regulatory oversight by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC). The conduct of public officials serving on authorities and districts (other than special districts) is directly monitored by the Municipal Governments that created such authorities and districts. School district boards are subject to oversight by the State Board of Education, and the Colorado judicial branch is subject to oversight by the Commission on Judicial Discipline. Although Municipal Governments are required to authorize the creation of special districts within the boundaries of the Municipal Governments, such Municipal Governments do not regulate the conduct of the public officials serving on the boards of such special districts.

Regulation of Elections

The conduct of elections for all types of Colorado government entities except special districts are subject to oversight by the Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado citizens can submit complaints and concerns regarding the conduct of elections to the Colorado Secretary of State. However, the State of Colorado provides no regulatory oversight body to oversee the conduct of special district elections. In fact, violations of certain election laws (such as registering unqualified individuals as voters) in the conduct of special district elections is exempt from criminal prosecution. (CRS 32-1-807)

Passive Regulatory Oversight

All forms of Colorado government – including special districts – are required to comply with various statutory reporting requirements. Reporting requirements applicable to special districts include publicly publishing (a) annual audited financial statements, (b) annual budgets, (c) annual district contact information, (d) annual board meeting calendars, (e) boundary maps, etc. Also, Municipal Governments that authorize the creation of special districts typically require special districts to submit annual reports to the Municipal Governments regarding certain financial and operational aspects of the special districts.

Conflicts of Interest Reporting

Colorado statutes require all public officials serving all forms of Colorado government – including special districts – to report all conflicts of interest that arise from their service as public officials. These conflict-of-interest disclosures must be filed with the Colorado Secretary of State. The Colorado Secretary of State is neither responsible for reviewing or evaluating the completeness or accuracy of any conflict-of-interest disclosure filings nor responsible for alerting any oversight body regarding the potential unethical conduct or breach of fiduciary duty of public officials reporting conflicts of interest. The public is responsible for reviewing written conflict-of-interest disclosures filed with the Colorado Secretary of State and filing any related complaints or concerns with the appropriate regulatory oversight body. However, no oversight body exists to review the public’s complaints or concerns regarding conflict-of-interest disclosures filed by public officials serving on special district boards.