I have recently been asked my stance on the Town's current face coverings order. This is an issue which by now, I am sure we have all formed our own personal opinions on. Since 2020, it has affected our daily lives and has been a “hot topic” locally, nationally, and world-wide. It has created division between families, friends, neighbors, communities, and nations alike – and likewise, Erie too has also seen its fair-share of division surrounding the subject.

Personally, I abide by the orders issued by a county’s Public Health Agency, as their respective agency has final-say on the specific orders currently in place within their respective boundaries. As well, I abide by the requests and policies of a business which may not be under a mask mandate, but request that patrons within their establishment wear one.

However, as I will go into further, the current Town of Erie Face Covering order is in actuality an overreach of legal authority applied to the Weld County side - due to Erie not having its own Public Health Agency, and due to Public Health order which was referenced in the Town's order being from the Boulder County Health Department. The decision made by the Board of Trustees and Town Administrator to administer this upon those in Weld County has not only hurt our businesses, but it has as well placed our Erie Police Department in a situation which they have no option but to enforce the order.

The Erie Face Coverings Mandate

Erie is uniquely situated in a location where we are split between two counties, with each county having differing views when it comes to various topics – and COVID has been no different. Statutorily, CRS §31-15-103 notes that the Town has the power to issue ordinances “which are necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health” of the Town’s residents. As well, we are statutorily provided with the authority to create our own Board of Health, as described in CRS §31-15-201 (1) (c), as well additionally in CRS §25-1-507 which notes:

However, since our Town has not formed our own Health Board, we are beholden upon the guidance, recommendations, and orders of the County health departments for direction. As noted within CRS §25-1-506 (2)(a)(I):

This means that each county can only be responsible for, and their authorities can only be rendered to, those that are physically within their county boundaries. Specifically, their authorities, as listed in CRS §25-1-506 (3)(b), include:

After a Public Health Agency and Public Health Board is formed, only then does the jurisdictional entity have the authority to exercise various powers as identified in CRS §25-1-508 (5), including:

This is exactly why the face covering order is an overreach of legal authority when extending it upon those on the Weld County side. The Town of Erie does not have a health board nor health agency, meaning it does not have the specific powers or authorities vested to it required to do so.

In fact, when the Town issued their most recent Emergency Declaration regarding Face Coverings, they specifically referenced Boulder County Order 2021-08 from September 3, 2021. Boulder County Public Health Order 2021-08 specifically notes on page 12, “Nothing in this Order should be construed to preempt any other local Public Health Orders.” This is exactly what it would be doing if it were also to be applied to an area outside of its jurisdictional boundaries, which Erie has attempted to do.

As well, Boulder County also notes on page 12 of the order, “Nothing in this Order shall be construed to prevent a municipality from adopting more protective standards than those contained in this Order”. As noted earlier, this is only applicable to municipalities which have their own Public Health Agency – which we do not.

Unless Weld County were to change its health orders in relation to face coverings, or unless the Town of Erie were to create their own Public Health Agency – the Town’s decision to administer a Boulder County health order against individuals outside of that county’s boundaries is an overreach of legal authority.

By extending this Boulder County Order to Weld, what the Board of Trustees and Town Administrator have done is placed our amazing Erie Police Department between a rock and a hard place. Due to the fact that this has been issued as a Town order, Erie PD must uphold the laws issued by the Board of Trustees. It places them in a situation where they become the ones to receive backlash because of our Town's leaders. This is exactly why if EPD is called and the individual is unwilling to abide by the face covering order,  they are forced to issue a "Failure to Obey a Lawful Order" citation.

If this face covering order was removed, a business could, if they decided to, still require patrons to wear face coverings to enter. The business could simply require that all patrons wear a face covering as part of a "dress code", then it could be enforced by Erie PD for trespassing.

However, as outlined above - the fact is our Town's leadership are currently just extending their authorities and powers beyond those which are legally granted to them - which is inexcusable.

*Just a side note to all of the items that I discuss: I am a solutions driven problem solver by nature. I wonder how things work, why they work the way they do, and how to make them better. This means seeking different, outside-the-box methods to figure out solutions to various issues. Accordingly, I am always open to learning new ideas, different ways of doing things, as well as constantly learning from others' experiences to make better decisions. When I see an issue, I view it in a holistic fashion, and then dive into specific areas to remove deficiencies and create efficiencies. If you, who are reading this, have some thoughts or ideas about any of the subjects I discuss, I would be more than happy to speak with you to hear your opinions. Please reach out to me here through my website. Listening, hearing, and understanding different perspectives is the only way that we can all grow and create positive change - by learning from others, and delivering ideas that push the needle to become Forward Thinking.