I hope that everyone had an amazing holiday season, and you enjoyed the company of your family and friends.  Fountain is starting 2023 strong, and things are already busy!  Some of the items that we immediately have our eyes on are the current activities taking place at our state capitol.  As you know, the Colorado General Assembly, made up of 35 Senators and 65 House Representatives meet up once a year in January for up to 120 days for their legislative session. This year marks the 74^th General Assembly for Colorado, and members are already busy meeting to introduce and discuss bills, laws, and state budget items that will affect the entire state of Colorado including, Fountain.

Many of your council members and our city staff keep a close watch of the proceedings of the General Assembly so that we can speak up and advocate for what is best for the Fountain community.  This is particularly important when we find instances where the General Assembly is pushing along bills that carry unfunded mandates, which means they not only infringe on our status as a home rule municipality, but also give us the bill for implementing and enforcing new state laws.  We also maintain a close partnership with our House District 21 representative Mary Bradfield and our Senator of District 12 Bob Gardner.  I look forward to seeing both Mary and Bob at our City Council meetings soon to discuss their efforts in best representing the interests of Fountain.  If any citizen is concerned or supports legislation being proposed in Denver, I encourage you to call, write or email your representatives!  For more information on the General Assembly please visit: Colorado General Assembly.  Thank you and hope you have a very Happy New Year!