''The Ugly 3'' ballot forum

Learn about the local impacts of "The Ugly Three," Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. Hear from city and school officials about LOCAL impacts of these measures and from Club 20 Executive Director Reeves Brown about how these measures hamstring the state and local communities. There will also be an opportunity for questions and answers from each of the panelists.
 

Amendment 60 requires school districts to cut property taxes by 50 percent and requires the state to make up the difference, but doesn't indicate where in the state's cash strapped budget the money come from. It would overturn hundreds of local elections – commonly called de-Brucings – that have occurred since 1992. Local voters throughout Colorado have chosen to give greater flexibility to their school districts, library districts, fire departments, police departments and other services to meet local needs. If Amendment 60 passes, local control would be usurped by the state, resulting in financial chaos for local communities and especially for our schools.

Amendment 61 would severely limit – even prohibit – what it calls government borrowing. Bonding is a prudent form of financing that governments have relied on for decades. Bonding makes it possible to build schools, fire stations, water projects, prisons, airports, health facilities, highways, transit, colleges… the list goes on and on. Amendment 61 would make it very difficult – even impossible – for the state and local governments to issue bonds. The state would be prohibited from using financial instruments like “revenue anticipation notes” and “certificates of participation.” The state has used these tools for decades to even out cash flow throughout the year. Not being able to use these tools will impede the state’s ability to provide services – even meet payroll – during times of the year when revenue is low. The amendment also would require that after bonds have been repaid, any taxes used for repayment must be lowered – even if those taxes weren’t raised in the first place. For instance, when the bonds that financed T-REX and other transportation projects have been repaid, the state gas tax would have to be cut by $168 million a year – at a time when our road needs are greater than ever.

Proposition 101 eliminates a major funding source for road and bridge construction across the state. The annual vehicle registration fee would be cut to an arbitrary $10 – no longer based on vehicle size or weight. The registration fee hasn’t been that low since 1919 when the state had only a handful of paved roads. Road budgets would be cut by hundreds of millions of dollars, meaning more potholes and crumbling bridges. Not only would state highway projects be cut, but local projects would be as well, since cities and counties receive a major portion of their road funding from this fee. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) estimates that Proposition 101 would eliminate a quarter of its annual revenue – about $277 million. The Specific Ownership Tax on cars would be reduced to $2 on new cars and $1 on used cars. This revenue actually helps fund schools districts and other local government priorities. Local revenue would be cut by some $500 million annually. The state income tax also would be reduced incrementally to 3.5 percent. This would eliminate a quarter of the state’s revenue from income tax when state budget already has been severely impacted by the recession. Such a drastic reduction would mean even more cuts in critical state services.