Whether it’s faster internet, a soda tax, pot shops or backyard chickens, voters across Colorado are considering more than candidates and statewide ballot initiatives before the polls close Nov. 8.

For residents of more than 50 Colorado towns and cities, politics is especially local, according to the Colorado Municipal League.

In Rocky Ford, it’s also bitter. Voters in the Eastern Plains town of 4,000 known for its melons could throw tomatoes at five of its seven council members over their disputes with city manager Ian Kaiser, who took the job two years ago.

A spokeswoman for the recall group could not be reached, but according to the city ballot, those seeking the ousters allege that council members fail to understand the council-manager form of government and created a hostile work environment for Kaiser.

“My fellow citizens of Rocky Ford: I respectfully deny the accusations of the recall committee,” Councilwoman Margaret Grasmick said in a statement included on the ballot. “My appointment to Rocky Ford City Council was as serious to me as my profession. I approached my commitment to council much as I did during my 30(-plus) years of educating young students. In both cases, I was ‘not in it for the income, but rather for the outcome.'”

Meanwhile, Boulder and Parachute are deciding whether to limit their City Council members to three terms.

Edgewater needs voters’ permission to build a recreation center, library and police hall on city park property, while Morrison is asking voters whether to ban future rooftop patios in its commercial transition district.

Local tax hikes for buildings, roads and bridges are common across the state this year.

Besides Boulder’s proposed 2-cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages, Dacono and Sterling are considering lodging taxes.

Pueblo is proposing a halfcent sales tax to pay for crime prevention efforts and youth programs, and Lafayette wants to hike property taxes to pay for free bus passes for city residents.

According to the Colorado Municipal League other major issues on local ballots include:

Marijuana

Pueblo leads a list of towns and cities deciding marijuana issues, including one initiative to ban recreational sales within the city and another that would ban such sales in Pueblo County. Both have recreational sales now. Cities deciding whether to allow local pot shops are Del Norte, Englewood, Federal Heights, Florence, Lochbuie, Palisade, Palmer Lake and Simla.

Pueblo joins 11 others voting on marijuana taxes: Central City, Del Norte, Englewood, Florence, Palisade, Palmer Lake, Parachute, Sheridan, Silt, Thornton and Yuma.

Denver voters will decide whether to allow locations designated for marijuana use.

Broadband internet

Colorado law requires voter approval for a city or town to provide broadband service, and 18 municipalities are doing just that. They are: Woodland Park. Arvada, Aspen, Basalt, Black Hawk, Breckenridge, Carbondale, Cripple Creek, Dolores, Golden, Green Mountain Falls, Hudson, Lafayette, New Castle, Palisade, Parachute, Silt and Superior.

Forty-six municipalities already provide the service.

Borrowing

Municipalities considering bonds are Basalt, $3.1 million for a park project; Englewood, $27 million for a police building; Firestone, $10.5 million for a police building; Glenwood Springs, $54 million for streets and bridges; Hayden, $4 million for streets; Louisville, $28.6 million for recreation and senior center; Telluride, $4.2 million for parking improvements, including a parking garage.

Lochbuie, meanwhile, is voting on whether to allow residents to keep backyard chickens (and ducks, doves and pigeons).