Proposed .25 Percent Hike Gets Council Green Light for November Ballot
Trevor Phipps
After choosing to strip away a 1.09 percent sales tax hike that went to the school district last year, the Woodland Park City Council, in a 360-degree turn, has now chosen to put another related tax increase question back on the Nov. ballot.
However, this time the proposed hike, aimed again at supporting the Woodland Park RE-2 School District, is a much lower .25 percent increase.
In addition, the proposed package calls for more restrictions on what the schools can spend the money on. The tax hike this time will only be able to be spent to pay back a loan that the district already received for building upgrades.
The issue hit the public hearing stage in early September. During the public comment portion of the meeting, nobody appeared to have an issue with raising city sales taxes by a small amount to help support the school district. Since losing their original tax revenue, the district has encountered difficult financial times.
In fact, most people who attended the Sept. meeting were in favor of letting the voters decide on the tax. Some even thought that the city could choose to do more to support the local school district.
The push for a tax question on the Nov. ballot came up after a group of citizens organized a campaign in favor of a sales tax hike, but with more conditions than what existed before. A few months ago, the group of concerned citizens put together a proposed sale tax ballot initiative that would raise the city’s sales tax by .5 percent with the money only being spent on facility maintenance and improvements.
But the group faced a difficult time deadline to get the plan on the Nov. ballot. They had to receive well over 1,000 signatures from registered voters within a very short time frame. At the same time, the plan received much support.
According to Patricia Perry, who spent time canvassing for the sales tax increase, the tax was positively received by most of the public. “Several people who did not want the tax said, ‘I can’t afford it, I’m on a fixed income,’” Perry said at the city council meeting. “But most people said, ‘This is what we need to support our schools in our community. And we have to support schools in our community to have a strong community.”
In the end, the petition effort fell short by only about 50 signatures.
Even though not enough autographs were obtained, the .5 percent sales tax increase landed on the city council agenda for the elected leaders to decide the issue. But instead of agreeing to proceed with basically the same plan proposed by the citizens’ group, the council opted for a lower .25 percent sales tax question.
The ballot question proposed by city council is also much more restrictive than the plan put forth by the citizens’ group. The .5 percent tax hike would have gone towards facility maintenance. But under the council approved ballot question, the new sales tax increase will only go towards paying back loans for facilities the district has already incurred. The new ballot question also eliminates the requirement of having a third party disburse the funds.
A Positive Reaction to Sales Tax Plan
During public comment, most spoke in favor of the council choosing to raise the sales tax by the smallest increment they can. Some even agreed with the council’s original decision to axe the former 1.09 percent sales tax. Most believe that the new proposed tax increase will do a better job of supporting the schools by restricting where the money can be spent.
The council also recently made adjustments to the ordinance to make it easier to understand. “We tightened it up so it’s really simple,” Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Nakai said. “It takes all of the guesswork out. It takes all of the middlemen out. The city collects the tax, and the city distributes the tax directly to the institution and that’s pretty much it.”
The proposed ballot question also includes three sunset clauses. This is different from the original sales tax increase, approved nearly a decade ago. If the district’s loan (referred to by council as a C.O.P. (certificates of participation) gets paid off, the sales tax increase will go away.
The sales tax increase would also get eliminated if any other school-related tax hike got passed by the voters. With the proposed ballot question, the sales tax hike will automatically sunset after five years, unless the voters decide otherwise.
Most people who spoke at the sales tax hearing applauded the council. They were complimented for considering steps to support the school district. Some even said that they appreciated the lower tax increase, which only equates to $2.50 per every $1,000 spent inside the city.
One resident, Brian Bosse, though, raised concerns about the city’s larger budget over the past 10 years. He cited the fact that the city wants to spend millions more on recreation options for the city. “This is all important, but if we are going to spend $40 million on a plan for Meadow Wood, could we maybe mitigate that a little bit and put more towards schools to fix those facilities?” Bosse asked the council.
In the end, the council’s unanimous vote signaled the greenlight for the sales tax question to appear on the Nov. ballot. The council faced an early Sept. deadline, if it wanted to submit questions for the Nov. 3 ballot.
In fact, in the forthcoming election, voters will decide on 12 state ballot questions and a handful of local propositions in various parts of the county.
In addition, voters will pick a new Colorado governor, decide on an array of county positions and key legislative seats. On a national level, the Nov. 3 election will determine which party gains control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
