Keep taxes at current levels or raise taxes and hire more cops. That’s the choice facing voters in key suburban cities in the Nov. 1 election.
Colorado cities depend heavily on sales taxes, which slumped at the beginning of the decade and have recovered only modestly, so some cities say they’re still short of cash for cops, recreation centers, libraries and other facilities.
So, in Arvada, Aurora and Lakewood, voters are being asked whether to raise taxes.
Other key issues up for a vote around the metro area include big-box store rezoning in Thornton and Westminster, term limits in Aurora and Thornton and whether Castle Rock should be part of the Regional Transportation District.
In Aurora, the issue is a 4 mill property tax increase – about $80 a year on a $250,000 home – to hire more police, open and staff two fire stations and avoid closing a museum, two swimming pools, a rec center and a library. The measure would raise $10.4 million annually.
Aurora’s voter-mandated ratio of two police officers per thousand residents is “only part” of the reason for the referendum, said Mayor Ed Tauer. When revenues were down, the city still had to hire cops while other costs, such as health care, rose sharply.
“We have to adjust something,” Tauer said. The choice, he said, is up to the citizens.
But Councilman Bryan Frazier says “this proposed tax increase is not a solution – it’s a Band-Aid.” He urges expanding the tax base, drawing more people and businesses into the city, and believes “a little fiscal prudence is in order here.”
Police strength a recurrent theme in metro-area referendums: Arvada’s Referendum 2A proposes to increase the sales tax rate .25 percent above the current 3.21 percent. “That’s 25 cents on a $100 purchase in order to hire 23 additional patrol officers, three sergeants and seven non-sworn positions,” said Mayor Ken Fellman.
For the first time in 30 years, Lakewood is proposing to boost its sales tax from 2 percent to 3 percent, to raise an extra $16.7 million, partly to hire more officers.
Mayor Steve Burkholder says retail sales have been flat for the last few years, and if the Colorado Mills, Lakewood City Commons and Belmar shopping areas hadn’t come on stream, “We’d be in a lot worse shape.”
But Newt Vaughan, Lakewood T Party treasurer and city council candidate, disputes that, saying “their revenues are going up steadily.” He suggests cutting non-essential programs to keep needed programs going.
Commerce City, Longmont and Louisville also have tax questions on their ballots this year.
What are the prospects for local tax issues? A vigorous debate over taxes is in the air this autumn as campaign committees slug it out with TV ads supporting or opposing Referendums C and D, the two statewide measures that would allow the state to keep tax revenues in excess of TABOR limits and authorize increased state borrowing.
“The question, of course, this November is going to be what relationship will Referendums C and D bear to local questions,” said Sam Mamet of the Colorado Municipal League, who doesn’t agree with the theory that too many tax measures on the ballot leads many citizens to vote no on everything. Voters, he said, are “pretty discerning” about local issues.
History would seem to bear him out somewhat. According the the league, from 1993 when TABOR took effect until November 2004, Colorado cities have asked voters for more than 1,000 TABOR overrides, tax hikes or debt increases. Of those, 87.7 percent of TABOR overrides have been approved, 54.6 percent of tax increases have been ratified and 67.2 percent of debt questions have passed.
Mamet notes, thought, that the approval rate “has actually dropped down a little bit the last couple of years.” (And, fewer cities around the state have tax increases and other financial measures on their ballots this year than did in 2003, according to the league’s tally.)
In two northern suburbs, zoning for big-box retail is the hot issue.
Approval of the zoning for a Wal-Mart Supercenter at West 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard was put on the ballot by the City Council when it looked like the issue would be put on the ballot by citizen petition.
Nationally, Wal-Mart usually wins at the polls – nine out of 13 times in the last 12 years. Colorado victories include Woodland Park, Windsor and Steamboat Springs, according to the Mamet.
Similarly, as public opposition mounted, the Thornton City Council put the big-box rezoning of vacant land at East 128th Avenue and Quebec Street on the ballot to avoid spending $40,000 to $80,000 on a special election.
A curious twist in Westminster and Thornton is that those who approve of the zoning changes will have to vote “no,” while those who don’t want the big stores have to vote “yes.” Read the ballot carefully.
In Castle Rock, voters will really need to pay attention, because they face a confusing decision about whether the city should be in RTD or not. (Part of the city now is in the transit district; part isn’t.)
The city’s ballot will have two questions – the first asks whether the city should withdraw from RTD; the second asks whether the entire city should be in the district. Citizens who want out of RTD (and its sales tax) will have to vote “yes” and then “no.” Residents who support RTD will have to vote no and then yes. Confusing enough for you? (To muddy the waters even more, Castle Rock voters face a similar two-step decision on whether the city should be part of the Metropolitan Stadium District.)
It may be a good thing that Castle Rock voters, like many around the state this year, will be voting by mail. It’s easier to take plenty of time at your kitchen table than in a voting booth.
Peter G. Chronis can be reached at pchronis@denverpost.com.
