ISSUE 1A - JOBS

“Without raising additional taxes, shall the existing .665 general property mill levy tax be extended from its current expiration of December 31, 2009 through December 31, 2025 to be used exclusively to create, attract and retain primary jobs, market and promote Colorado Springs, require City Council to create and appoint a five person Job Opportunity and Business Sustainability Committee with no more than two members of City Council appointed thereto, to make recommendations to City Council pertaining to the expenditure and use of such revenue, with all revenues and expenditures constituting a voter-approved revenue change?”

Dave Gardner Position: Not just NO, but ARE

Also see my opinion piece on this in The Gazette.

“Shall the City of Colorado Springs be permitted to expend up to $1,200,000 to provide essential City services, this amount being the estimated 2008 revenue above the 2008 fiscal year spending limitation mandated by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, otherwise known as ‘TABOR’ (Colorado Constitution, Article X, Section 20 and City Charter, Article VII, Section 7-90), and constituting a voter-approved revenue change?”

Dave Gardner Position: YES. We’ve been dug into such a deep hole that we have no choice now but to allow the city to keep these funds and allocate them to essential services. I’d like to see the City cut the corporate welfare from the current budget (EDC funding, Retail Enhancement Program, discounted development review fees) as a way of thanking the citizens for this vote.

“Shall the existing 0.1% (one-tenth of a cent) City sales and use tax for Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) be amended to allow no more than fifteen percent (15%) of the revenue from the tax and interest earnings of the TOPS fund to be used for stewardship and maintenance of all City-owned trails, open space and parks for a period of five years, from May 1, 2009 through April 30, 2014, only, with a change to biennial independent audit requirements, and no other changes to the TOPS program as authorized in previous elections?”

Dave Gardner Position: NO. We’ve chipped away enough at TOPS funding. To water the parks this summer, let’s ask the EDC to donate to parks the quarter-of-a-million dollars it is being given this year by the City and Utilities. Let’s keep the money flowing to TOPS for acquisition. We might be able to get a good deal on Banning Lewis Ranch right now. It would be much cheaper for our city to buy it back from the California developer than it will be for us to build the $2 billion SDS pipeline to water its planned new subdivisions.

“Shall the City of Colorado Springs benefit from the receipt of federal grants and federal funds to assist the Colorado Springs Airport and the City’s other enterprises compete for those federal funds, by replacing the definition of ‘Enterprise’ in the Charter of the City of Colorado Springs, Article VII, Section 7-90, with the same definition of ‘Enterprise’ as found in Colorado Constitution, Article X, Section 20, as amended?”

Dave Gardner Position: YES. This is really pretty simple. Let’s redefine an enterprise to match the state TABOR definition and give our airport the flexibility to accept more federal funding if it becomes available.