Greeley, Colorado

How Greeley is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

1 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

  • John Gates per Wikidata

  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

  Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

  Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

greeleygov.com

Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 80631 or everyone in Colorado.

Population over time

From 92,889 in 2010 to 108,795 in 2020 (+17.1%).

History

Union Colony

Greeley began as the Union Colony of Colorado, which was founded in 1869 by Nathan C. Meeker, an agricultural reporter for the New York Tribune, as an experimental utopian farming community "based on temperance, religion, agriculture, education and family values," with the backing of the Tribune's editor Horace Greeley, who had visited Colorado in the 1859 Pike's Peak Gold Rush and had popularized the phrase "Go West, young man". A committee which included Meeker and former Civil War general Robert Alexander Cameron traveled to Colorado to find a suitable site, and purchased 12,000 acres at the confluence of the Cache la Poudre and South Platte Rivers. The site, formerly known as the "Island Grove Ranch", included the area of Latham, an Overland Trail station, and was halfway between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Denver, Colorado along the tracks of the Denver Pacific Railroad.

By May, 500 people had arrived to take up residence in the new colony. The name Union Colony was later changed to Greeley in honor of Horace Greeley.

Latham

Greeley is located just west of the area previously occupied by the Overland Trail station originally called Cherokee City. The Cherokee City, Colorado, post office operated from November 25, 1862, until November 25, 1863, when the name was changed to Latham. The Latham station, which was also known as Fort Latham, was named in honor of Milton S. Latham, one of California's early senators. The stagecoach station was at the confluence of the South Platte River and the Cache la Poudre River. It is believed that the birth of the first white child born in Colorado, a girl, occurred there. Fort Latham was the headquarters of the government troops during the Indian conflicts of 1860–1864. Latham served as the Weld County seat from 1868 to 1870, when the county seat was moved to Evans. The Latham post office was also moved to Evans on May 16, 1870.

Later history

The Greeley, Colorado, post office opened on April 21, 1870,

and the Town of Greeley was incorporated on November 15, 1885.

Greeley was built on farming and agriculture, but kept up with most modern technologies as they grew. Telephones were in town by 1883 with electric lights downtown by 1886. Automobiles were on the roads alongside horse drawn buggies by 1910. A Women's Citizens League was established there to support female suffrage.

In 1922, KFKA became one of the first radio stations to broadcast in the U.S. The Greeley Municipal Airport was built in 1928.

Greeley housed two prisoner of war camps in 1943, during World War II. One was for German POWs and the other was for Italian POWs.

A vote to allow the sale of alcohol passed by a mere 477 votes in 1969, thus ending temperance in the city.

The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra was started in 1911. In 1958, Greeley became the first city to have a Department of Culture.

On December 12, 2006, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) staged a coordinated predawn raid at the Swift & Co. meat packing plant in Greeley and at five other Swift plants in western states, interviewing undocumented workers and transporting hundreds off in buses.

In June 2012, Greeley became the first city in the state of Colorado to implement SB11-273, known as the Law of Common Consumption, allowing for patrons of the Downtown Greeley Entertainment District to buy drinks in "Go-Cups" from participating downtown establishments.

On May 28, 2024, a severe hailstorm impacted the eastern side of the city, covering some areas in over one foot of hail (~30.5 cm) and causing one fatality. Mayor John Gates signed a local disaster declaration due to major flooding and hail. City officials stated that the cost of damage to the city was over $1.45 million.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Colorado

• Denver 715,522
• Colorado Springs 478,961
• Aurora 386,261
• Fort Collins 169,810
• Thornton 141,867
• Arvada 124,402
• Westminster 116,317
• Pueblo 111,876

All Colorado cities →