Longmont is contending with several obstacles to holding a special election to fill a vacant city council seat, including funding and timing. One estimate says a special election may cost nearly $400,000, well above what the city has available in its budget.
The City Council will review its options Tuesday night during a work session that begins at 7 p.m.
The city council seat became available when incumbent Joan Peck was elected mayor in the Nov. 2, 2021 election. Plans to hold a special election this spring to fill Peck’s spot were dashed when both Boulder and Weld County election officials said they could not hold a coordinated election for Longmont.
The county said they were too busy implementing redistricting plans, according to a city staff report to the council.
The city sent out a request for proposal to solicit bids from vendors who specialize in holding elections but the city did not receive any responses to the RFP, the city staff report states.
The city began reaching out to vendors and one_ Community Resources Services — said they could conduct the election in late May or early June but they could not provide signature verification, which is required by statute, the staff report states.
The vendor — Community Resources — also said they could conduct the election for $350,000, but that does not include costs for signature verification, the report states.
The estimated costs for a special election is now $100,000 higher than originally estimated — which was originally set at $250,000 — due to increases in paper costs, the report states.
The Boulder County Clerk and Recorder indicated she might be able to provide signature verification as a contracted service but only through April 25, 2022. The Boulder Clerk estimated the cost of providing that service would cost $40,000, bringing the new estimated cost for a special election to $390,000, the report states.
Waiting until November to hold Longmont's election with Boulder County's coordinated election would cost $130,000, the report states.
The city has budgeted $93,000 for 2022 elections and an additional $63,000 available in carryover funds for total funding available for an election to $156,000.
