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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10509RESOLUTION NO. 10509 A RESOLUTION OF ENDORSEMENT AND SUPPORT FOR REFERENDA C AND D, ALSO KNOWN TOGETHER AS THE COLORADO ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN, ASKING COLORADO VOTERS TO RETAIN EXCESS REVENUES AND TO USE THOSE FUNDS TO IMPROVE SERVICES, FACILITIES, AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS FOR THE STATE OF COLORADO WHEREAS, state voters will have the opportunity November 1 to advance the quality of life and economic health of Coloradoans by supporting Referenda C and D, known together as the Colorado Economic Recovery Plan; and WHEREAS, during and since the recent recession, the state has cut spending severely, and state spending cannot be restored to pre- recession levels without voter approval, even though state revenues have recovered from the recession; and WHEREAS, municipal revenues and programs are adversely affected whenever state finances are in crises, and municipal revenues and programs, as well as those of other local governments, will be affected if statewide voters do not approve Referendum C; and WHEREAS, Referendum C would provide funding for transportation, education, healthcare, and police and fire retirement plans; and WHEREAS, Referendum C permits the state to retain excess revenues for five years and eliminates the 'ratchet' effect of TABOR following economic downturns, without revising TABOR or raising taxes; and WHEREAS, Referendum D would accelerate construction and other expenditures for highways and bridges, K -12 and higher education facilities, and police and fire retirement plans through the issuance of voter approved bonds; and WHEREAS, Referenda C and D utilize the opportunity afforded voters by TABOR for the state to retain excess revenue in order to provide services in the same manner as local voters in other communities throughout Colorado have done, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: SECTION 1 The City Council conveys its support toward the efforts of the Colorado Legislature to address the economic health of Colorado and the spending priorities of the State. SECTION 2 The City Council recognizes the invaluable need for the State of Colorado to retain excess revenues for the next 5 years to address the critical services, facilities, and infrastructure needs for the State of Colorado. SECTION 3. The City Council hereby supports the passage of the statewide initiatives Referenda C and D, known together as the Colorado Economic Recovery Plan, by Colorado voters on November 1. 2005. INTRODUCED September 12, 2005 BY Michael Occhiato Councilperson APPROVED: PRESMENT 9F CITY C IL ATTESTED BY: CITY CLERIC 4 6C. :ff / os09 � LI _ -�; `- Background Paper for Proposed RESOLUTION AGENDA ITEM X �D DATE: July 11, 2005 DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE DAVE GALU, CITY MANAGER DOUG FITZGERALD, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER TITLE A RESOLUTION OF ENDORSEMENT AND SUPPORT FOR REFERENDA C AND D, ALSO KNOWN TOGETHER AS THE COLORADO ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN, ASKING COLORADO VOTERS TO RETAIN EXCESS REVENUES AND TO USE THOSE FUNDS TO IMPROVE SERVICES, FACILITIES, AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS FOR THE STATE OF COLORADO ISSUE The high -tech economic boom experienced by Colorado in the 1990s came to an end. Furthermore, a severe drought, national recession, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, hit the Colorado economy with a hard negative impact. The Colorado economy slumped, unemployment increased, many services suffered, and the infrastructure of the State became further dilapidated. In addition, Colorado lost its ability to attract high — paying jobs and fell behind the competition nationwide in this area. Referenda C and D would let the State of Colorado retain surplus revenue over the next five (5) years and issue bonds for critical needs. The retained surpluses will fund much needed highway projects and maintenance, K -12 and higher education, healthcare, and the Fire and Police Pension. Without these measures, critical state services will be ratcheted down to low levels, and the prospects of future economic growth in the State of Colorado will diminish. RECOMMENDATION This Resolution has been placed on the agenda at the request of Councilman Ray Aguilera. FINANCIAL IMPACT No financial impact Pueblo and Referenda C and D K -12 Education: • Funding is available for districts with low- income students and additional high needs students. Pueblo city schools qualify for this funding; however, this supplemental funding is not provided nor guaranteed by Amendment 23. • Referenda C and D's earmarks for K -12 education allow funds to be spent on capital - construction projects, preschool programs, libraries, textbooks, student assessment and accountability, read -to- achieve programs, school breakfast and lunch programs, and categorical programs like special education and transportation. Many of the programs were cut or eliminated during the state's recent recession. • Referenda C and D do not duplicate funding for Amendment 23. C and D actually provide the General Assembly the ability to meet current and future increases in the Amendment 23 obligation. If there are additional funds available after Amendment 23 obligations are met, then programs such as preschool will once again receive funding. • Also, without Referenda C and D, Colorado would become the only state that would have to choose between funding public schools and supporting higher education. • Colorado still owes $147 million to assist poor school districts that have no means to repair their oldest and most dangerous school buildings. C and D provide voter permission to pay this obligation. Pueblo School District was a plaintiff in this lawsuit. • The grants available with that $147 million may help the school district handle pressing maintenance needs such as a recent request to the state to replace and upgrade fire and security systems throughout the district. Pueblo city schools requested about $919,000, but did not receive any funding from the state. Colorado State Fair: • Referenda C and D's opponents through their Priority Colorado report propose to move the State Fair from Pueblo and circulate it around the state to individual county fair facilities. Obviously, closing the State Fair would be a huge economic blow to Pueblo. • Few, if any, county fair facilities are large enough to handle the event. SO the fair potentially could just end up in a Northern Front Range location, which would unfairly penalize Pueblo. • A study conducted by Colorado State University — Pueblo found that the Colorado State Fair generates a monetary impact of more than $22 million annually. More than 60 percent of all visitors come from outside Pueblo County. Half of non -local visitors come from Colorado Springs and Denver, and more than 75 percent of all visitors are from urban areas. Visitors spend an average of $33.21 per person during their stay. • The 2003 fair generated a net increase in tax revenue of more than $568,000 for the City of Pueblo and $244,000 for Pueblo County. According to the Colorado Office of the State Auditor, 800 part -time, seasonal employees are hired to run the annual fair. In addition, 27 -full time state employees, along with additional contract employees, run the year -round operations of the Colorado State Fair Authority. Higher Education: Referenda C and D will provide needed financial assistance for Colorado students, as well as assistance for construction and maintenance needs. Also, with passage, the looming threat of additional funding cuts will ease. With Referenda C and D, over the next five years, TABOR rebates will be retained by the state and used to support Colorado's community colleges and public colleges and universities. Specifically, Referenda C and D will: • Provide financial assistance to in -state students attending community colleges and public colleges and universities through needs- and merit -based grants and additional support for the College Opportunity Fund. • Resume $50 million in repairs and improvements to facilities at our state's colleges. According to the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee, from 2001 to 2005, state spending on higher education —which includes Colorado's public universities and colleges, as well as community colleges —fell by 21.3 percent. CSU— Pueblo: CSU — Pueblo in 2003 had 3,758 in -state undergraduates, most of whom receive some type of support from the College Opportunity Fund. • College Opportunity Fund is primary mechanism for financial support of public colleges and universities and in -state undergraduate students. The average annual COF for a full - time student currently is $2,400. According to the Office of State Planning and Budget, without C and D, balancing the budget could come at the expense of the COF, reducing that $2,400 stipend to about $800. • CSU - Pueblo also has several pressing maintenance needs, including replacing roofs on Life Sciences and Physics Math Building at $437,497 and making campus -wide structural repairs and water line upgrades for $280,000. Pueblo Community College: Pueblo Community College in 2003 had 5,483 in -state students, most of whom receive some type of support from the College Opportunity Fund. These students likewise would be adversely affected by any cuts to the COF. • Much like Colorado's public colleges and universities, state funding for community colleges was significantly reduced over the past four years. Community colleges play a vital role across Colorado. At the community college level, students are learning trades and professions that support our growing communities. Nearly 65 percent of Colorado's nurses and 90 percent of first - responders receive their degrees from community colleges. Training for these professions requires facilities and instruction that keeps pace with advances in medical care. Between FY2002 and FY2004, the state did not provide any additional funding for 8,239 community college students, representing a $24.4 million shortfall. In FY2002, capital construction funding only covered two small projects in the community college system. No funding for capital construction was provided in FY2003 or FY2004. Between FY1998 and FY2003, eight community colleges saw a decrease in General Funding per student: Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, Front Range Community College, Lamar Community College, Morgan Community College, Northern Junior College, Otero Junior College, Pikes Peak Community College, and Pueblo Community College. Additionally, Pueblo Community College needs about $650,000 to make repairs on the HVAC system in the health /science building and to address deterioration of the academic building. Health Care: • Providers of services to developmentally disabled Coloradans have not received adequate funding to meet ever - growing demands. For example, Colorado Blue Sky, Pueblo County's DD provider, currently has a waiting list of 109 adults waiting for service. • State funding for community mental - health services dropped nearly $5 million in fiscal year 2002 -03 and another $1.6 million during the next fiscal year. During that time, according to the Joint Budget Committee, more than 400 Coloradans were on waiting lists at community mental - health centers. • During 2003 and 2004, 155 beds were eliminated at the state's mental - health institutes. At the same time, the number of inmates in Colorado prisons with serious mental illnesses increased more rapidly than the general inmate population. • State's mental - health institutes have been designated as the highest priority for capital construction funding for fiscal year 2005 -06. Replacement parts are no longer available for the control system for the central heat or for the pollution control device for the central boiler. Portions of the campus are at risk for being shut down if repairs are not made. • Colorado's match for Medicaid, at 50 percent, is the lowest the law allows and places Colorado at the bottom compared to other states. • Nearly 70 percent of Medicaid expenditures go to services for seniors, with long -term care drawing the largest share. Medicaid is the only public source of financial assistance for long -term care in Colorado. Medicaid programs pay for nearly six of every 10 persons in nursing homes. • In fiscal year 2003, Medicaid spending was cut by $133 million. Additional Medicaid cuts in 2004 contained a $7.6 million reduction to Colorado's Medicaid transportation budget, which created hardships for people who rely on this public service to travel to their medical providers. • The new forensic unit for the criminally insane at CMHIP cannot be started until adequate money is available in the General Fund. The $58 million facility will be built by a private contractor, but the state has to have about $5 million per year to lease the lab. Senior Homestead Property -Tax Exemption: • Voters passed the Senior Homestead Property-Tax Exemption in the 2000 general election. Homeowners age 65 or older are exempted from paying property taxes on 50 percent of the first $200,000 of the actual value of their primary residence. • The tax exemption was only available during 2002. During that year, Colorado seniors received more than $61 million in property -tax relief. Seniors in Pueblo County received $3 million in relief. • During the recession, the Legislature eliminated the exemption for three years. • Property -tax relief allows many Colorado seniors to stay in their homes longer and to be able to address the many challenges that seniors face when living on fixed budgets. • Without Referenda C and D, the Legislature will not be able to restore funding for this important voter - approved program. Roads and Bridges: • I -25 in Pueblo, Eden Interchange (Pueblo County) - new interchange construction, $30 million FPPA: • Pueblo Fire would receive 3.8 percent —or $6,683,241 —of the $175 million designated to complete the state's FPPA obligation.