Trevor Phipps
The local School Board/ Council showdown once again showed its ugly face during a recent meeting. No injuries were reported, but verbal punches were on full display.
The end result, though, may take an interesting turn with voters of Woodland Park possibly deciding the fate of an issue surrounding a previous sales tax increase to benefit RE-2 District schools, instead of area elected leaders.
More specifically, the council has made the first step towards letting voters nix the 1.09 percent sales tax increase given to the school district, in a vote that occurred in 2016. The idea of having the voters resolve this issue, as part of the November ballot will be decided during a public hearing slated for Sept 5.
During a council meeting in mid-August, the elected panel voted 5-2 (with Mayor Kellie Case and Councilman George Jones voting “no”) to have a public hearing about whether repealing the sales tax should make its way onto the ballot in November. The debate regarding the city and the school district’s intergovernmental agreement (IGA) surrounding the sales tax, and whether or not to let the voters make the final call on this contested issue, took up the majority of a lengthy meeting.
In fact, the hot topic could have even been debated longer if public comment was allowed. But this didn’t happen due to a legal technicality, as this subject was listed under an initial posting designation. The mayor told the crowd to hold their comments until the public hearing slated for early September.
Council Debates Changes to the City/School District IGA
For some time, the council has pushed the Woodland Park School Board to provide a more transparent account of how the 1.09 percent sales tax increase in dollars, which are coming from the city, are being spent. The council eventually decided that the school district needs to provide clear reporting on the sales tax funds on a monthly basis.
During the council’s most recent discussion on this issue, School Board President Mick Bates expressed how their board has been cooperative with Woodland Park and has met with city officials. Bates said that the district could produce what the city wanted, but that they needed some time to produce the extra reports since they just recently hired a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the district (see related press release)
“We just ask for the grace to be able to do our first reporting in early 2025,” Bates said. “By February 15, we would have the ability to provide a report. That will also give our new CFO some time to get his feet wet. He is coming into a brand new district and a brand new school year and he has a couple of months of catching up to get us back on track.”
However, some council members believe the district is trying to further stall the situation. Moreover, they contend that the voters should be able to see exactly where the money has been spent.
Some leaders expressed concern that the school board couldn’t produce reports sooner than next year. “The only thing I can say from what the people of the city have told me is that they want this done and they want results immediately, otherwise they want to take it to a vote,” Councilman Steve “Smitty” Smith said at the meeting. “I spent all day today reading e-mails and talking on the phone and I hear what the city is saying. Out of almost eight hours doing that just today, there were only two people against it (taking the sales tax issue to a vote).”
And when an agenda item arose, dealing with having a city vote on the tax issue, the council appeared motivated to move this idea forward. They agreed to send the issue to the public hearing stage. This will open the door for public comment on this contested topic.
Large crowds are expected at the next council meeting in early September and the public comment session could feature dozens of emotional speeches on both sides of the aisle. Supporters want to have voters decide the issue so this issue can finally be brought to a conclusion. But on the other side of the coin, some say another vote is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars and argue that the sales tax increase was already approved by voters.
The council will have the final say regarding whether this issue will be referred to the citizens for a formal vote this November as an additional question in what could become a crowded election ballot. The November election is highlighted by the presidential election and a number of hot national and state races, and state ballot propositions.
