HomeMy WebLinkAbout1074 - OPPOSING Colorado's 2010 measure designated as proposition 101 and amendments 60 and 61RESOLUTION NO. 1074
A RESOLUTION OPPOSING COLORADO'S 2010 MEASURES DESIGNATED
AS PROPOSITION 101 AND AMENDMENTS 60 AND 61
FINDINGS
The City of Boulder City Council finds as follows:
1. State voters will have the opportunity at the November 2, 2010 statewide general
election to protect the fiscal health of local government by defeating Proposition
101, Amendment 60 and Amendment 61; and
2. During this current economic downturn the City of Boulder has already cut
services and budgets dramatically, including over five million dollars in 2010; and
3. These ballot measures, both individually and collectively, significantly reduce or
otherwise restrict both state and local revenues in a number of different ways
including but not limited to: property taxes, specific ownership taxes,
telecommunication taxes, state income taxes, state shared revenues to assist
municipalities with local road and transit improvements, and other state grants
and loans to help local governments; and
4. Amendment 60 invalidates ballot decisions made by local voters by allowing
voters across the state to overturn previous local ballot questions regarding the
amount of taxes voters are willing to pay to fund local services provided by
counties, cities, school districts, and special districts;
5. The ability for local governments to finance long -term capital improvements like
road and bridge projects, police and fire stations, community centers, libraries,
open space, other public facilities, as well as energy efficiency and renewable
energy improvements to existing public facilities, will be dramatically impaired
by the restrictions on debt financing as proposed by Amendment 61; and
6. If these three initiatives are approved in November 2010, the City of Boulder's
2011 general fund is expected to be reduced by approximately ten million seven
hundred thousand dollars requiring the city to reduce basic services and programs
in the community which are paid for with general fund dollars, including fire,
police, streets, parks and recreation, human services and housing; transportation,
open space, administration; and
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Water and Wastewater utility rates will have to be increased for customers to
collect millions of dollars to pay for costs never incurred by local utilities; and
8. A number of prominent individuals, newspapers and organizations, including the
Colorado Municipal League, are voicing opposition to these measures as not
being in the best interests of Colorado and of local communities; and
9. Provisions of state law allow the City of Boulder to put forth this resolution as a
statement of opposition to the measures known as Proposition 101, Amendment
60 and Amendment 61.
RESOLUTION
NOW, THEREFORE, due to the impact of these ballot initiatives on the services
provided to the citizens of the City of Boulder and the restrictions these initiatives will
place on local decisions regarding taxation and debt financing, Boulder's City Council
opposes Proposition 101, Amendment 60 and Amendment 61 and urges our citizens to
vote against all three ballot measures.
Resolved this 20th day of July, 2010 } ' LL�) ,
1 ayor
Attest
City Clerk on behalf of the
Director of Finance and Record
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