Aurora – Aurora will not become a city and county – at least in the forseeable future.
A task force charged with making recommendations to the City Council on potential changes decided against a proposal that would have been the first step in Aurora becoming a city and county. Tonight’s 12-5 vote shot down the dream of Aurora councilman Steve Hogan, who has long wanted Aurora to secede from Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties.
The Blue Ribbon Panel felt that the cost in becoming a city and county was too expensive. The city would have had to take over everything from human services, election offices and even a district court and fund those on its own. Those are all services provided by the individual counties now.
The issue likely would not have become reality even with the panel’s endorsement.
City Council members during informal work sessions had indicated it was largely against Aurora becoming a city and county, such as Denver and more recently, Broomfield. The council would have had to endorse the plan to send it to city voters. If voters approved it, the state legislature would have had to approve bringing the issue before a statewide vote.
