However, the Colorado Constitution provides a procedure for “statutory” counties to become “home rule” counties and thereby assume a greater degree of self-government. Colo. Const. art. XIV,
§ 16. To become a home rule county, a statutory county must adopt a home rule charter, which must be approved by a vote of the electors in the county.
Id. While statutory counties have government structures that are specifically delineated in the state constitution, home rule counties are largely freed from these constitutional dictates.
Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Andrews, 687 P.2d 457, 458 (Colo.Ct.App.1984) (noting that
article XIV, section 16 frees home rule counties from the provisions of
sections 6,
8,
9,
10,
12, and
15 of article XIV of the constitution, which set forth the type of officers who shall be elected in each county and how to choose and compensate them). While a home rule county still “must do the things that all counties must do and must provide the services all counties must provide,”
id., there are numerous provisions in the Colorado statutes that either allow home rule counties to expand upon the powers already granted to statutory counties or grant home rule counties new powers altogether. For example, home rule counties have broader powers to incur indebtedness than statutory counties have.
Compare Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30–35–201(6) (specifying procedures for home rule counties to incur general debt),
with Colo.Rev.Stat. § 30–11–107(1)(dd) (allowing statutory counties to incur debt to finance energy-saving measures). Home rule counties have the power to provide for “public concerts and entertainments” and may advertise to attract tourists,
id. § 30–35–201(3),
(4), while statutory counties have no similar powers. These are but examples, and many other differences are apparent from even a cursory comparison of
sections 30–35–201 and
30–11–107.