Local government groups urge early state-local collaboration, warn against unfunded mandates

Representatives of Colorado Counties, the Special District Association of Colorado, the Colorado Municipal League and the Associated Governments in Northwest Colorado told the state Local Government Committee on the legislature floor that unfunded mandates and one-size-fits-all policies strain local services and urged earlier collaboration with lawmakers.

"We are where that rubber meets the road," said Katie Furst, legislative director for Colorado Counties, Inc., describing counties’ role turning state policy into local services. Furst told the committee that early engagement with local officials helps identify implementation challenges and cost drivers before bills are finalized.

Michael Valdez, chief governmental affairs officer at the Special District Association of Colorado (SDA), said special districts provide frontline services such as fire protection, water, wastewater and parks and argued that unfunded mandates divert limited dollars and raise long-term costs. "These unfunded mandates divert limited dollars away from these frontline services," Valdez said, adding that mandates often require added staff, new technology and reporting systems.

Valdez also criticized the state's existing statutory reminder on mandates, saying "the statute doesn't have much teeth in terms of prohibition against mandates to local governments," and urged clearer fiscal accountability when the state proposes new requirements.

Bev Stables, legislative advocacy manager at the Colorado Municipal League (CML), emphasized local control and implementation knowledge, saying municipal officials and staff are ‘‘in the weeds’’ of implementation and that flexible, accountable approaches often produce better results than blanket preemptions.

Richard Orf of the Associated Governments in Northwest Colorado highlighted rural concerns, including layered uses on public lands and the impact of unfunded mandates on counties and special districts in sparsely populated areas. Orf urged lawmakers to consider how state policy interacts with local funding limits in regions with large amounts of state and federal land.

Committee members pressed the panel on specific issues. Representative Zukla asked why municipal elections are held in different years than county and state elections; panelists said nonpartisan municipal elections and local discretion drive timing and, in SDA's experience, moving some district elections to odd years increased contested races and improved clerk cooperation.

Former commissioner Representative Richardson offered a legislative partnership to identify costly reporting requirements and other mandates that could be reduced amid state budget pressures. Representative Brooks asked whether associations can anticipate legislative trends; panelists said earlier outreach and shared policy development are possible and desirable.

The committee chair thanked the panel for its testimony; with no further questions the committee adjourned and said it would reconvene next week.

Ending note: panelists left legislators with a practical request—ask for fiscal detail and early engagement so state policy designs reflect implementation realities at the local level.