“Vote No” on Amendments 60 & 61 and Proposition 101 seems to be the resounding message from local community leaders. Many city officials, county representatives, law enforcement and public safety officers, libraries, schools, chambers of commerce, and businesses in Douglas County have all joined in opposition.

By Lisa Crocket

This fall, three initiatives are on the ballot to reduce Colorado taxes. Several local government and business groups are openly opposing the measures, passing official resolutions and making statements urging voters to defeat the measures.

At issue are Proposition 101 and Amendments 60 and 61. Proposition 101 imposes a reduction in ownership taxes on vehicles. Amendment 60 eliminates all prior citizen-approved exemptions to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and Amendment 61 prohibits state debt and limits local government financing. Most provisions of these initiatives, if approved, would take effect on January 1, 2011.

“Why would someone support these? To lower their taxes,” said James LaRue, director of the Douglas County public library system. “What happens when you lower your taxes? You get fewer services.”

According to LaRue, the library faces a loss of $1.3 million from the passage of Proposition 101 and $11.2 million from the passage of Amendment 60, from a total operating budget of $21.6 million. The library board has not made specific decisions about how it would respond to a nearly 60 percent cut in its budget, but LaRue estimates he would have to cut library staff by roughly 50 percent and close libraries – including the newly-minted Castle Pines branch of the library.

Amendment 61 deals with the amount of debt and types of financing that public entities can incur, which LaRue said is not likely to affect the library much in the short term, though it would make the construction of new libraries very difficult.

“Truly, at this scale, I suspect we’d be cutting hours across the board in addition to closings,” said LaRue. “Again, I emphasize that these are not decisions that have already been made. But these kinds of choices would certainly be on the table.”

Douglas County Sheriff Dave Weaver has also come out against the measures. The passage of Proposition 101 would reduce funding from the Law Enforcement Administration fund from about $1 million to $6,000.

“The men and women who serve the public as police officers and fire fighters care about people,” said Weaver. “With this kind of reduction, I’m worried about providing the kind of service we are used to.”

“We solve a lot of crimes here in Douglas County, and we live in a safe community. I’m wondering how we’ll continue to provide that with these kinds of cuts,” said Weaver.

In the Denver metro area, most counties average one peace officer per 1,000 people. In Douglas County there is .68 per 1,000 – already the lowest ratio in the metro area. Weaver estimates that the passage of these initiatives would cost his department 40 to 50 staff members; a loss he said could translate into slower response times and worse service in relation to non-violent crimes.

“If this happens, we will lose manpower and cuts would likely come first in ‘auxiliary functions’ that relate to community programs like community relations, our Safe Schools initiative, outreach and education,” said Weaver. “But it’s also important to remember that Douglas County covers 844 square miles and with fewer cops, instead of being two minutes away to help when you’re in trouble, we may be 20 minutes away.”

South Metro Fire Rescue Authority Chief Dan Qualman has similar concerns with regards to the potential impact these ballot measures could have on coverage in the South Metro service area. Projections for reduction in coverage include the possible closure of up to six stations and the loss of three medic units.

“With this staffing level, we could be severely strapped if we had two simultaneous residential structure fires or one commercial incident,” said Qualman. “Mutual aid [assistance for or from other fire departments in case of larger incidents or emergencies] will be minimal or non-existent because all surrounding departments will be similarly impacted.”

The mayor of Castle Pines North (CPN), Jeffrey Huff, has said that in addition to the probable loss of the library, the city could face trouble financing municipal projects like road repair and construction. Stipulations in Amendment 61 require that any new borrowing taking place after the amendment is passed have a term no longer than 10 years. Terms for loans like these would also apply to the area’s metro districts.

“We would like to develop a capital improvement plan for the City of Castle Pines North for roads and sidewalks and that takes long-term financing,” said Huff. “In general for projects like that, you want the liability of the asset to be equal to its useful life. The average life of a road is 15 or 20 years, so a 10 year limit on the financing for a project like that isn’t always the best option.”

Huff also expressed concern over how these measures would affect Colorado businesses and their ability to compete against other states that might be perceived as being more business friendly after the passage of these measures.

“This would be a disadvantage to Castle Pines North,” said Huff. “And in this business climate, we need every edge we can get.”

That “edge” is on the minds of other local business leaders, too.

The Southeast Business Partnership (SEBP), an organization of government and business leaders in the South Metro Denver region, partnered with Douglas County to present a public educational forum at the Wildlife Experience regarding this legislation. The forum was held in August.

“This is so important to the long-term vitality and future growth of Douglas County,” said Director of Economic Development for SEBP Lynn Myers. “We were really pleased with the number of Douglas County residents who turned out for this top-notch educational forum, and felt there was a great cross section of people from all walks of life — including neighbors, government officials, and the business community.”

A Snapshot of What They are Saying:

Business and government organizations are speaking out against proposed measures on the fall ballot. Here is what they are saying about Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101:

“It is important to the Board that Douglas County voters are informed and educated on these three ballot questions, as the potential impacts of these questions will have significant effect on local voter’s ability to decide what is best for our local communities, will have an effect on the provision of local services and critical infrastructure and will negatively impact jobs and our local economy.”

– Statement by Douglas County Board of County Commissioners

“Proposition 101, when fully implemented, would remove about $1.3 million from our budget. Amendment 60 would remove $11.2. Our entire budget for this year was $21.6 million. So, if both measures pass, that would represent a 58 percent cut in our annual income.

Amendment 61 does not affect us in the short run because we have no debt. Long term, it would make the construction of new libraries very difficult (mainly because it only allows public construction bonds with ten year terms, which drives up the payments from longer term bonds, and thus makes them less politically palatable).”

– James LaRue, director, Douglas County libraries

“Some projects should be financed long-term, things like roads and water infrastructure which have a long life. Amendment 61 would restrict our ability to do that.”

– Jeffrey Huff, mayor, Castle Pines North

“What [these measures] do will affect the quality of life in Colorado for years to come. If we pass this, we will see a loss in quality of our services and I worry about how I will protect citizens.”

– Dave Weaver, Douglas County Sheriff

“If the three measures pass, we will have a 43 percent reduction in revenues. Since 67 percent of our budget is for personnel we would be unable to maintain current service levels.”

– Dan Qualman, South Metro Fire Rescue Chief

For a summary of ballot measures and more information, visit www.douglas.co.us, click on 2010 Ballot Initiatives under the “Hot Topics” heading on the left-hand side of the page.

Community leaders and government officials gathered at the Wildlife Experience to educate residents about the potential implications on government and business should Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101 pass in the election this November.

Pictured left to right: Justin Williams – Douglas County School District, Jim Frye – Colorado Union of Taxpayers secretary (lone speaker in favor of 60, 61 & 101), Jim Gunning – Lone Tree mayor, Rick Reiter – campaign director for Coloradans for Responsible Reform, Dan Qualman – South Metro Fire Rescue chief, Jill Repella – Douglas County Board of County Commissioners, Jeff Huff – City of Castle Pines North mayor, Dean Murphy – American Civil Constructors – representing the private sector, Jack Arrowsmith – Douglas County Clerk & Recorder, Ann Terry – Special District Association of Colorado executive director, and David Weaver, Douglas County sheriff.

Elected officials not pictured who spoke against Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101: Jack Hilbert – Douglas County Board of County Commissioners, Steve Boand – Douglas County Board of County Commissioners, David Cassiano, Town of Parker mayor, Carole Murray – State Representative CO House District 45, Allen Dreher – Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District board of directors chair, Dan Gerken – vice president Douglas County School District board of directors, and the Douglas County League of Woman Voters.