#DontBeFooled
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#ThankGodForTABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
Nov
01
Category Archives: Transportation
Jul
22
It’s Your Money, Not Theirs
#ItsYourMoneyNotTheirs
#ThankGodForTABOR
#VoteOnTaxesAndFees
#FeesAreTaxes
#TABOR
#FollowTheMoney
#FollowTheLaw
May
06
Democrats’ top legislative priority: re-election
Apr
09
Conservatives file lawsuit to invalidate Colorado’s new transportation fees. Here’s what it claims.
Senate Bill 260, passed by Democrats in 2021, enacted new fees on gasoline purchases, deliveries and Uber and Lyft rides to raise billions for transportation projects
Colorado’s new transportation fees violate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and several other state finance laws and should be invalidated, two conservative groups and Republican state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg claim in a long-promised lawsuit filed late Thursday in Denver.
Senate Bill 260, passed by Democrats in the legislature last year, enacted a host of new transportation fees — including on gasoline purchases, deliveries and Uber and Lyft rides — to raise money for road and transit projects across the state.
Democrats celebrated the measure as a partial solution to Colorado’s longstanding transportation funding deficit, but Republicans decried it as an unlawful attempt to get around TABOR’s requirement that voters approve new taxes.
To continue reading this story from the Colorado Sun, please click (HERE):
Nov
10
Now You Know About TABOR
Oct
11
Voters to decide if El Paso County can keep $15 million in excess revenues
Voters to decide if El Paso County can keep $15 million in excess revenues
From the 2021 Voter Guide: Races and issues in El Paso and Teller counties series
- Breeanna Jent breeanna.jent@gazette.com
- Oct 11, 2021
EL Paso County voters will decide in November 2021 whether to refund $15 million in excess government revenue back to residents or to use the money to address road infrastructure projects and backlogged parks maintenance.
Courtesy of El Paso County Public Works
El Paso County voters will decide whether the county may keep $15 million in excess government revenues to fund road infrastructure and deferred parks maintenance projects when they cast their ballots Nov. 2 — money that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
If voters approve the question, El Paso County will use $13 million of surplus funds to pay for backlogged roadway improvements, including paving and repairing potholes on roads throughout the county. Another $2 million would fund deferred parks projects such as capital improvements, trail preservation and wildfire mitigation at Bear Creek Park, Paint Mines Interpretive Park, Fountain Creek Regional Trail, Ute Pass Regional Trail, The Pineries Open Space and Fox Run Park, including a northern nature center.
The question also asks voters to decide whether to raise El Paso County’s revenue cap to reflect actual 2021 revenue, increasing the limit from $285 million to about $300 million. The amount of the final revenue cap is unknown until next May, because El Paso County will continue collecting additional state and sales tax revenues through the rest of the year, county spokeswoman Natalie Sosa previously said.
2021 Voter Guide: Races and issues in El Paso and Teller counties
TABOR calculates increases in most local government revenues to a formula based on population growth and inflation. Excess can only be used for voter-approved purposes. Continue reading
Sep
28
EDITORIAL: $4 billion in returns will fuel the economy
- The Gazette editorial board
- Sep 28, 2021Updated 3 hrs ago
Tails should not wag dogs. It defies physics, not to mention the will of the dog. Tails should wag dogs no more than politicians should decide the size and scope of a government established by the governed to serve the governed. A roaring economy should never increase the size and scope of government unless the people demand it.
The residents of Colorado have made clear they don’t want more government. They believe the state has all the money it needs. They reiterated this conviction just two years ago when they trounced Proposition CC, a proposal to let the state keep revenues above a floating state spending cap determined by an equation of inflation and population growth.
Just last year, voters went a step further and lowered the Property tax from 4.63% to 4.55%, and probably would have voted for a lower rate had they been given the option.
One reason this center-left blue state wants to throttle back government spending is the general discontent the public has with the way politicians treat their money.
To read the rest of this editorial, please click (HERE):
Sep
16
Sen. Rob Woodward: Why can’t Democrats respect the will of the voters?
By Sen. Rob Woodward
If there is one thing that I’ve learned during my time in state government, it’s that Coloradans like to have their voices heard on taxes, fees and government debt. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is often at the center of debate and discussion on these issues, but at every opportunity that voters have had, they’ve repeatedly upheld TABOR.
Colorado voters soundly defeated — by over 100,000 votes — an attempt to repeal portions of TABOR just two years ago when we voted down Proposition CC. Then, in 2020, voters strengthened TABOR by passing Proposition 117, which required that any new fees that feed into a government enterprise that expect to bring in over $100 million over five years must be voted on by the people. This initiative was born from necessity as some politicians found it convenient to bypass TABOR by simply switching out the term “tax” for “fee.”
This legislative session, Democrats, who have complete control over state government, were determined to not let you have a say when it comes to taxes and fees. Colorado Public Radio columnist Andrew Kenney dubbed this legislative session as “The Year Democrats Left TABOR Behind,” and I unfortunately must agree.
The most egregious example of the ruling party’s tactics was Senate Bill 21-260. While this legislation was heralded as the best step we’ve taken in decades on transportation infrastructure, the truth is that our roads and bridges will see less than a $2 billion investment over 10 years. While that number seems substantial, keep in mind that we — as of today — have about $10 billion worth of road and bridge projects we still have not started.
To continue reading the rest of this story, please click (HERE):
Aug
22
El Paso County commissioners to mull placing tax question on November ballot
El Paso County commissioners to mull placing tax question on November ballot
El Paso County commissioners will take a closer look this month at a proposed November ballot question that, if voters approve, would use $15 million in excess government revenue to fund road infrastructure projects and deferred parks maintenance county officials say are sorely needed.
Commissioners will discuss the possible ballot question during the board’s regularly scheduled meetings Aug. 17 and 24. Residents can come to these hearings to offer input on the possible question before commissioners vote on whether it will make it onto the November ballot. Commissioners expect to vote on the matter Aug. 24.
Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, ties increases in most local government revenues to a formula based on population growth and inflation. Excesses can only be used for voter-approved purposes.
To continue reading this story, please click (HERE):
Aug
22
Castle Rock looks to voters to ‘de-Bruce’ for 10 years
TABOR pause would pay for road improvements, police and fire personnel
SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Posted
In November, the Town of Castle Rock will ask taxpayers to pause TABOR for 10 years. TABOR, known as the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, was approved in the 1990s, changing the state’s constitution to require all tax increases be approved by voters, limiting how much local and state government can spend.
Castle Rock Town Manager David Corliss said he has no problem with the part of TABOR that requires residents to approve tax increases. However, the restrictions and limits TABOR can put on a municipality to keep up with the cost of growth is a problem, he said.
TABOR is a state tax and expenditure limit that includes the following elements: It is a Colorado constitutional amendment; it restricts revenue or expenditure growth to the sum of inflation plus population change; and it requires voter approval to override the revenue or spending limits.
Colorado is the only state in the nation with TABOR.
Castle Rock Town Attorney Michael Hyman is no stranger to how TABOR has created controversy and issues for state and local municipalities trying to balance a budget. In the 1990s when TABOR was passed by voters, Hyman worked for the City of Aurora.
Click (HERE) to continue reading the rest of this story