Kudo’s to Boulder County FIRM, for the takedown of the Boulder County Commissioners regarding their refusal to maintain all Boulder County roads.
You can read the ruling below. This excerpt on page 10, which is simply a “note” by Judge Lowenback, could have ramifications much larger than simply road paving:
Counties have limited powers. As political subdivisions of the state, counties have only those powers that are expressly granted to them by the Colorado Constitution or by the General Assembly.
Board of County Comm’rs v. Bowen/Edwards Assocs., 830 P.2d 1045, 1055 (Colo. 1992). Counties are limited to powers that have been expressly authorized. For example, in Board of County Comm’rs v. Bainbridge, Inc., 929 P.2d 691 (Colo. 1996) the court held that where a specific statutory provision controls the maximum school related fee that can be exacted and prescribes when and how it shall be paid, county commissioners have no implied power to require additional monetary exactions after subdivision approval. The court noted that a county is not an “independent governmental entity existing by reason of any inherent sovereign authority of its residents; rather, it is a political subdivision of the state, existing only for the convenient administration of the state government, created to carry out the will of the state,” quoting Board of County Comm’rs v. Love, 470 P.2d 861, 862 (1970); accord Bowen/Edwards Assocs., 830 P.2d at 1055. (emphasis added)
Counties have limited powers? That’s pretty sour medicine for the Boulder County Commissioners.
