BROOMFIELD AT 60 – When Broomfield was Camelot – The Creation of a County

By Bette Erickson

The threads of Broomfield’s patchwork history tie its past with its future. Things like how Broomfield came to be its own county, come to mind. Broomfield is Colorado’s smallest and newest county and one of only two consolidated city-counties in the state, along with the City and County of Denver.

Because Broomfield continues to be a successful city that runs a county, there is no need to add the cost of county commissioners. With ten council members representing some 73,000+ residents, the community is well-represented and its citizens enjoy important county services without issue.

As early as 1997, community visionaries and leaders considered the idea of Broomfield becoming its own county, including residents Larry Cooper, Al Jeffries, Gary Grenier, Clark Griep, Hank Stovall, and Linda Fahrenbruch, among dozens of others.

“It was quite a task,” explains former council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Cooper. “It was an amazing experience. We worked on this for years, presented to the city and the idea was accepted.”

A feasibility study focused on advantages and disadvantages. Advantages included things like keeping property taxes lower and improved delivery of courts and human services, for example. Disadvantages considered were the costs of a county transition, building new infrastructure like a jail, county and

Former council member and Mayor Pro-Tem, Larry Cooper, was one of the community visionaries and leaders who helped create Broomfield County.

Courtesy photo.

district courts and transferring operations and records. Not to mention the time and expense of a statewide campaign for creating Colorado’s 64 th county.

An amendment to the Colorado State Constitution was required to create a new county, meaning a statewide vote was required. Campaigning vigorously and traveling throughout the state yielded just the result Cooper, a lifelong Broomfield resident, and his team sought. The proposal passed in the November 1998 election, allowing Broomfield three years to transition to county status.

“The campaign was so much fun,” Mr. Cooper said. “We had a great team.” Even today he gets invitations to speak at various events describing the successful process. He took off 18 months of work and spent much of his own money because he believed so strongly in the benefits of Broomfield becoming its own county.

Prior to the 2001 transition to becoming our own county, Broomfield overlapped into Boulder, Adams, Jefferson, and Weld counties, which meant not only needing to travel out of the city for county services, but also four different sales tax bases. During the three-year transition, city officials oversaw an expansion of city hall, construction of new facilities including county and district courts, a jail, and the creation of important human services. In fact, some services are specific county (not municipal) functions such as treasurer, clerk and recorder, assessor, and a variety of human service programs.

“Not much in my life changed when we became a county,” said Broomfield city councilwoman and lifelong resident Kim Groom. During the statewide campaign in 1998, she was a new mom and was focusing on her family and her career. “To a citizen it was a seamless transition. But to the city planners and leaders, a lot of work went into it.”

Lifelong Broomfield resident and city councilwoman Kim Groom pauses on a walk with her dog, Wilson, on a warm late May afternoon.

Photo by Bette Erickson/For Our Broomfield

Mr. Cooper agreed. “It was so complex. We were changing the State Constitution.” Important relationships were being cultivated and nurtured at the Colorado Capitol. Representatives Sally Hopper with the Senate and Tony Grampas with the House were instrumental in supporting this proposal. Cooper laughed as he recalled being asked to leave the chambers when the General Assembly voted in favor of putting the measure to become our own county on the ballot. “I was jumping up and down and cheering, I was so happy,” he said.

Fast forward to Thursday night, Nov. 15, 2001, to the festive gala in the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Library lobby and auditorium. I had just been elected to city council for the first time. Hundreds of people from state legislators to grassroots activists gathered to celebrate Broomfield becoming its own city and county; including remarks from Governor Bill Owens via video. Cooper brought a bottle of Dom Pérignon vintage champagne to mark the occasion. To be sure, we were celebrating Broomfield’s Camelot.

Bette Erickson is a former city councilwoman and Mayor Pro-Tem. She writes about people, places, and events. Contact her at bette_erickson@hotmail.com.