The town of Monument will begin accepting nominations next week for members of a Home Rule Charter Commission tasked with drafting a new town charter if residents this November approve a measure to create the commission and move to municipal home rule.

Voters would select the commission members in the same election. The nine-person commission would have six months to draft a new town charter, which would head to voters in a future election, Town Attorney Andrew Richey previously said.

Charter commission candidates must be registered Monument voters. They must also submit to the town clerk a nomination petition signed by at least 25 registered voters and a statement that they consent to serving on the commission if elected, according to a notice posted on the town website Thursday.

Beginning Tuesday, candidates can pick up nomination petition forms from the town clerk’s office at Monument Town Hall, 645 Beacon Lite Road, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Residents must file their nomination petitions and statements with the town clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 23.

In Colorado, home rule cities have more authority to set regulations and more control over day-to-day operations, Richey has said. Without home rule status, towns like Monument fall under rules set by the Colorado General Assembly and can’t set ordinances that conflict with state laws, the 2018 Colorado Local Government Handbook states.

If Monument voters approve the switch to a home rule government, the biggest changes would be on community development and the town’s overall financial well-being, Richey previously said.

Under home rule the town would have more flexibility with its land use standards, zoning and economic incentives for incoming businesses, Mayor Don Wilson has said. There are also more opportunities for revenue because the town could, with voter approval, adopt taxes on visitors and tourism, such as lodging tax and some new user fees, he said.

For more information about the Home Rule Charter Commission nomination process, contact the Monument Town Clerk’s office at (719) 884-8035.