AURORA — Advocates for a tax extension that would pay for more than a dozen transportation improvements formed a campaign committee Monday urging citizens to support the measure.
In November, Aurora residents will vote on ballot question 2B, which will determine if the city can extend a property tax to finance the construction of 21 road, pedestrian and bicycle projects.
“We have about $430 million in long-term transportation needs in Aurora,” said at-large Councilman Bob LeGare, a proponent of 2B and a member of the support committee. “This is an opportunity to fund much- needed transportation projects without initiating a new tax.”
LeGare said — which is the most expensive — is the construction of an interchange at East Sixth Avenue and E-470 to improve access to Buckley Air Force Base. Its estimated cost is about $17.5 million.
Property owners first approved the tax in 1998 and another tax in 2000. The first tax is set to expire this year. If 2B is approved by voters, both taxes would be extended for 20 years, said Sean Walsh, spokesman for Aurora Moves, a group that is backing the extension and formed the campaign committee. Aurora Moves estimates the tax extension would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $2.70 per month, and would collect more than $71 million over its life.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan described it as a quality-of-life question for Aurora voters.
“Bottom line, the price we’ll pay for these pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic improvements — and the increased safety and mobility that come with them — are well worth the modest price we’re paying,” Hogan, who heads the Aurora Moves initiative, said in a statement.
Aurora Finance Director Jason Batchelor
said that with this mill-levy tax extension, the city would receive the money from investors upfront, then pay off some of the bond each year.
“It’s like making mortgage payments on a house,” Batchelor said. “From the tax revenue, the city would make the annual payments.”
In previous years, the combined taxes have helped to finance the interchange at Alameda Avenue and Interstate 225 and the construction of the Tallyn’s Reach and Martin Luther King Jr. libraries.
This time around, the tax would be used only for transportation projects.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee
