Denver voters would be asked to increase property taxes and to approve the largest bond issue in city history – as much as $567 million – for infrastructure improvements under a recommendation reached Wednesday.
Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Infrastructure Priorities Task Force crafted a list of projects after more than a year spent considering more than $1 billion in proposed improvements to streets, parks, theaters and safety.
“There is just so much on the list that affects everything we do,” said Chris Hen derson, Denver’s chief operating officer.
The recommendations will be submitted to the public starting next week.
The plan still must go through the City Council, which last week identified projects totaling more than $50 million that are not in the task force’s plan, and the mayor’s office.
Task force members said Wednesday that they need more time to study the council’s recommendations.
While there is likely to be tweaking of particular projects, the recommendation is to place a package on the November ballot, Henderson said.
Voters could be asked to approve a three-pronged infrastructure improvement and maintenance package: an upfront $340 million bond package, a $227 million bond package to be issued later on, and a property-tax increase of 2.5 mills. The mill increase, which would raise an estimated $27 million annually, is seen as a way to pay for infrastructure upkeep and to eliminate the need to regularly ask voters for money to catch up.
Since the task force was formed, city officials have said Denver is fiscally structured to depend on a major bond issue about every 10 years.
The task force’s plan would implement the mill-levy increase right away to eliminate that cycle.
Based on its most recent property valuations, the city can issue $340 million in bonds to pay for top-priority projects without increasing the property-tax rate.
How and when the $227 million bond would be collected is yet to be determined.
More than 20 business and community leaders met in an all-day session to prioritize a list of projects under the city’s bonding capacity of $340 million.
The task force had assumed that the city had $250 million in bonding capacity, but Henderson said recent property assessments had boosted the figure.
Task force member and former city Economic Development Director John Huggins told group members that they had the responsibility to keep the costs low.
“What leaves this room today will never go down,” he said of their infrastructure improvement plan.
The recommendations include big-ticket items such as $50 million in street reconstruction, $38 million for a new Denver crime lab and $18 million for the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter.
Some panel members questioned asking voters to spend so much on a facility that euthanizes more than 7,500 animals each year. But Henderson said killing the animals is a service that cannot be outsourced.
Many items on the list, such as $9.5 million to restore historic features at Civic Center, come as seed money for larger projects that the city believes will be accompanied by funding from other public and private groups.
A request of $40 million for various library projects, for example, was shaved to $14 million in hopes of finding outside funding.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
Voice your opinion on infrastructure bonds
City officials announced Wednesday that there will be five community meetings to discuss the proposed infrastructure bonds. All meetings will be
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Southeast: June 6: District 3 Police Station; 1625 S. University Blvd.
Northwest: June 7: St. Anthony Central Hospital, Auditorium A; 4231 W. 16th Ave.
Far northeast June 12: Montbello Recreation Center, Multipurpose Room; 15555 E. 53rd Ave.
Southwest: June 13: Brentwood United Methodist Church; 1899 S. Irving St.
Central/northeast: June 14: National Jewish hospital, Rooms 103, 104 and 105; 1400 Jackson St.
More information can be found online at DenverInfrastructure.org.
AT A GLANCE
Denver’s Infrastructure Priorities Task Force compiled its recommended list of projects for a $340 million bond package. Here are some of the
projects that have made the cut:
$50 million – Street reconstruction
$38 million – New police crime lab
$30 million – Park maintenance
$20 million – Permanent housing for the chronically homeless
$19.5 million – New east-side human services office
$18 million – Denver Municipal Animal Shelter
$16.5 million – Irrigation replacement
$15 million – Federal Boulevard improvements (Alameda to Sixth)
$15 million – Traffic operations relocation
$14 million – Public library maintenance
$11 million – Police firing range
