The Denver Post reports good news from Aurora - with a catch:The Aurora school district and its teachers union have reached an agreement on a new contract that calls for a 2 percent increase in pay for all employees this coming school year. But there's a hitch: The school board must agree to put a property-tax hike on the November ballot to fund it and voters must approve it or else there will be no raises. Aurora Public Schools hasn't asked for a mill levy increase since 1990 but feels that is the only way it can fund salary increases for the 2008-09 school year, said chief personnel officer Kari Allen. The timing isn't good. School property taxes for Aurora homeowners and business owners already increased about 6 percent this … [Read more...]
Search Results for: property tax hike
Bill Ritter’s Property Tax Hike on Trial: Closing Arguments for Tomorrow
A busy day, not much time to blog. For those of you following Bill Ritter's property tax hike on trial, Jon Caldara reports that closing arguments are set for tomorrow morning at 10:00. … [Read more...]
I.I. Radio Ad Calls for State Board Transparency on Property Tax Hike
Following up on my post from yesterday... The Independence Institute - where I work my day job - has put out a radio ad today calling for a public recorded vote from the State Board of Education on the Governor's property tax hike. Here's a You Tube video, using the audio from the radio ad, that the I.I. tech team created (they're getting pretty good at this): If you have an opinion to share on this issue, don't leave a comment here unless you've first shared your opinion with the State Board. … [Read more...]
High-Ranking Democrat: Property Tax Hike Not Just for Schools
One year ago today, Gov. Bill Ritter announced his "Children's Amendment," which ended up passing as part of the 2007 School Finance Act - effectively raising property taxes on homes and businesses without a constitutional vote of the people. Now comes the revelation from a high-ranking member of Ritter's own Democratic Party: The money generated from the tax hike isn't just to fund schools. The chairman of the powerful Joint Budget Committee has acknowledged on the record that a sweeping statewide property-tax hike pushed through last year by his fellow Democrats will subsidize new social programs--not just schools, as originally promised. Democrat Bernie Buescher, of Grand Junction, said in a JBC meeting this week that some of the … [Read more...]
Ritter Signs Property Tax Hike, Sticks Finger in Taxpayer Eyes
Colorado taxpayers should remember yesterday - May 9. Governor Bill Ritter signed S.B. 199, which includes a huge property tax increase. He refused to ask for a vote of the people. He stuck a finger in your eye. Have we so soon forgotten Referendum C? It's little more than arrogance, sheer arrogance, my friends. More: - Rocky Mountain News: "Plain and simple, TABOR says all tax increases have to go before a vote of the people," Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, said in a release Wednesday. "Those in charge at the Capitol very easily could have asked first before hiking property taxes," said Caldara. "Instead, they've thumbed their noses at the voters and the constitution." - Colorado Senate News: "It's … [Read more...]
Four Weeks Since Ritter Hiked Your Property Taxes
Four weeks have passed since Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that raises property taxes. As one dissenting elected official pointed out in yesterday's Denver Post: Gardner called Ritter's "defining bill" the mill-levy tax freeze that will let school districts keep an extra $64 million per year by freezing property-tax rates. "It sets the tone for his first four years as governor," Gardner said. "What do the people have to look forward to? Probably more tax increases." Since I agree that it's definitely the Governor's defining bill, I will continue reminding readers about it at regular intervals. Today seemed a fine opportunity to do so. To learn more, if you missed any of my observations and analysis the first time around: - … [Read more...]
Unraveling Claims of “Bipartisan” Property Tax-Hike Backers
The Dead Governors tout a story about their heroic maverick Republican legislator Al White, who bucked the party line to support a tax increase without a vote of the people (an issue completely ignored in the posting and in the news story linked). White has enabled the Governor to hold forth his property tax hike as a "bipartisan" measure. And the Dead Guvs show no interest in taking a critical look at the piece they so enthusiastically quote. (Nor care to mention the Democrats who voted against it.) The Dead Guvs' silence is consistent with their own faulty usage of the phrase "property tax freeze," which is inaccurate and an abuse of the English language - as I pointed out in a previous post. Unprompted, I am glad to offer my own … [Read more...]
Heath: “Grand Bargain” K-12 Tax Hike “Beginning to Take a Bite” from Elephant
Imagine sitting down to write a term paper or thesis, then releasing the first draft of the paper not only to your professor but to a worldwide audience. Now imagine your paper contains instructions for allocating billions of tax dollars to a bunch of different groups. You can start to understand what Colorado state senator Michael Johnston (D-Denver) feels like after releasing a draft of legislation to rewrite the state's 19-year-old School Finance Act. In the funny game of democratic politics, is it better to make a bold push in one direction, or to try to bring diverse interests together around a "Grand Bargain"? When it comes to Johnston's monumental effort, the question is being played out before our eyes. The idea is to tie "bold" … [Read more...]
Stage Set for State Capitol Showdown on (Most of) Dirty Dozen Tax Hikes
Update: I'm not a big fan of the tax credits and exemptions per se. Some represent better policy than others. I would love to see a legislator propose an amendment that one or more of the tax credit revocations be offset by a general reduction to make it revenue-neutral. But since the Democrats' motivation with these "dirty dozen" bills is about scratching together more funds to help backfill the state budget, and not about creating a more equitable tax system with a minimal shared burden by businesses and consumers, I don't see the idea going anywhere. And that doesn't even bring us to the whole legal question of whether some or all of these bills violate TABOR in the state constitution because they raise taxes without a vote of the … [Read more...]
Once Proud Freedom-Loving Gazette Backs Colorado Springs Tax Hike
Last week I pointed out that financial concerns might end up pushing the Colorado Springs Gazette to abandon its longstanding position as a beacon of limited government, personal liberty, and fiscal sanity. Well, buckle up, because it's started happening really quickly. Witness today's Gazette editorial co-signed by publisher Steven Pope and John Weiss, publisher of the Lefty Colorado Springs Independent, pulling out the big scare to support a tax hike on the city's ballot. However, it's not clear the new Gazette management has considered all of the implications of the property tax increase (H/T Sean Paige). If the Gazette losing its independent, libertarian voice concerns you in the least, now is the time to speak up. … [Read more...]
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