The homes of nearly 70,000 Denver voters got a telephone call Tuesday from Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who asked them to participate in a “virtual town hall” discussion on a bond referendum and tax increase package.
Donning the persona of a radio talk show host, Hickenlooper fielded dozens of questions over the telephone.
Participants listened in as others conversed with the mayor. They also could submit questions.
Participants ranged from Sharon Coggan, who urged Hickenlooper to run for president, to 80-year-old Henry Orchard, who told the mayor a property tax increase would force him to sell his home.
Hickenlooper said he would have a member of his staff walk Orchard through the application process for the Homestead Act, which keeps property taxes from increasing for the elderly.
As for Coggan, Hickenlooper told her: “I wish my wife was listening.”
Coggan gushed back: “Call me anytime you want a boost because we love you here in Denver.”
It was the third virtual town hall meeting Hickenlooper has conducted in October, as he stumps for a nine-question infrastructure bond and tax package. Questions B through I would pay for infrastructure and facility improvements through $550 million in general obligation bonds. Question A would increase property taxes to fund future maintenance.
If passed, the 2.5 mill levy increase would mean about $50 a year in additional property taxes each year for the average Denver home of $255,000. The bond portion of the package would cost $12 a year for the average homeowner.
No formal opposition to the entire A-I package has emerged. Opponents argue that the cultural facilities addressed in questions G and H should be paid for with increased admission prices to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Boettcher Concert Hall and the Denver Botanic Gardens instead of property taxes.
Hickenlooper continually stressed that if questions A through I pass, Denver still will have the lowest property taxes in the area.
Hickenlooper said that when he took office, he found that Denver “like most cities in America was far, far behind in maintaining infrastructure.”
He likened the situation to when he bought his first house and was barely able to afford the $26,000 cost.
He said he couldn’t afford to fix the roof. But three years later, he had to spend twice as much on repairs because the leaking roof had damaged plywood and walls.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
