Measure to End Controversial Levy May Land on the Ballot
Trevor Phipps
For the last year, the battle surrounding the Woodland Park RE-2 School District and its governing board dominated city council meetings with passionate comments from both sides of the aisle.
But at least for now, a sales tax hike, initially approved in 2016, will stay intact. But the door is open for a potential ballot issue that could bring this issue to a citizens vote.
The school tax matter has quite a storied history.
A conservative group, which secured re-election last November, following a super-tight vote, came under fire regarding the way the tax money was being allocated.
In fact, many pointed their fingers at the school district’s superintendent and board of directors saying that the sales tax dollars were not being spent, according to the intent of the voters initially. On the other side of the argument, school board proponents viewed the criticism as a direct attack against the district residents. Moreover, they believe that the tax critics wanted to punish the school board by removing the increase.
On July 18, the issue finally came to a conclusion. The council voted to kill a proposed ordinance, which would have ended the sales tax increase. But at the same time, discussion ensued regarding the possibility of a city council member or a group of citizens deciding to put an issue on the election ballot. This would open the door for voters to permanently end the sales tax increase.
The ordinance to end the sales tax increase was originally started in the early part of the year, as some leaders blamed the school board for “stonewalling” them when they requested a joint work session. This session was intended to discuss the sales tax increase and the intergovernmental agreement (IGA).
During the council’s July 18 session, discussion continued regarding the possibility of postponing any action on the sales tax-elimination. But after hearing public comment, the majority of the council members chose to keep the tax increase—at least for now.
Woodland Park City Manager Aaron Vassalotti presented council with three options on how the IGA can be changed to fulfill requests by citizens, calling for the district to be more transparent as to what the sales tax dollars are being spent on. The first option Vassalotti presented was based on a plan that accounts for how the city deals with their streets’ fund.
The second option was to handle the school sales tax increase, similar to how the city handles funds for grants.
The third option outlined was similar to what is done in another resort town in Colorado. The city would establish a fund, and then a board would be in charge of how the money is spent
The majority of the city council favored the first option.
However, the council believes the school board should submit reports on a monthly or quarterly basis instead of annually. School Board President Mick Bates agreed mostly with pursuing this option. In addition, he supported the idea of showing more details regarding where the money was spent.
But Bates said that he didn’t think that the school board needed to produce reports more than on an annual basis. “Our administration is busy just like yours is,” Bates said. “And if we start adding monthly reporting in there that is substantial.”
Tax Increase Will Remain; But Possible Ballot Issue Pending
In the end, the council agreed on the first option. This would allow tax to continue but it would add more layers of transparency. Bates said that he didn’t want to delay the process any longer, but he wanted to wait until the district has hired a chief financial officer.
Councilwoman Teri Baldwin said that she wanted to get the new IGA signed as soon as possible. “If this IGA doesn’t get changed and signed then I’m going to initiate a ballot question for the citizens to decide on whether they want the tax to remain or not.”
Baldwin said that she was looking at possibly putting a question on the ballot during the election in November. City Clerk Suzanne Leclercq said that the deadline for such action is September 6
Following public comment, the council voted 6-1 to kill the ordinance aimed at eliminating the sales tax hike. Councilman Jeffrey Geer casted the sole “no” vote.
