There is a letter to the editor in Sunday’s Daily camera from Hunter Lovins and Paul Sheldon Hygiene encouraging the passage of the County Open Space tax, ballot issue 1B.
I tried to respond on the papers comments section but it was too long. Tried to split it and that didn’t work. Trimmed it down and that didn’t work. So here’s my original response.
HUNTER LOVINS and PAUL SHELDON HYGIENE
So is this the perfect storm to vote for MORE open space tax or is there simply not an open space tax you wouldn’t support? For every open space tax the county asks for I’m sure they can paint an alluring picture of need. The world will not stop spinning on its axis and Boulder will not cease to be the 24 square miles surrounded by reality if this issue doens’t pass. Camelot will not cease to exist.
Is any amount too much? Is there ever any trade off between Open Space taxes and quality of life improvement it provides? How much property taken off our tax rolls is too much? When does the Open Space department stop growing and start taking care of what it has? When will their access to the general fund be cutoff? Ever heard of the Great Recession?
Think about this, every open space purchase is a future liability to take care of and preserve. Just like the County can’t pave subdivision roads, 20 years from now they will be asking for money to maintain of all their purchases. The thirst for tax money from the Open Space department is unquenchable and it’s time to start reigning in this powerful arm of Boulder County government.
Also, why did the Boulder County Commissioners decide to use misleading ballot language. See Bob Greenlee’s August 29th column.
So our leaders can’t add the text to the ballot measure stating something to the effect “…for a total tax of 117 million over 20 years?”. I know these guys have the thick skin to “take the heat” but they didn’t do it. To re-emphasize a point already made above here is an excerpt from the ballot language…
“…AND, TO THE EXTENT MONEYS FROM SUCH TAX ARE NOT SUFFICIENT FOR THE REPAYMENT OF SUCH BONDS, FROM OTHER COUNTY OPEN SPACE SALES AND USE TAX REVENUES, THE CONSERVATION TRUST FUND, THE COUNTY’S GENERAL FUND AND OTHER LEGALLY AVAILABLE FUNDS,”
You can read the ballot language on the County website. You will see if there’s money anywhere in the County system the Open Space Department can seize it to pay the bonds. That’s quite an incentive to be fiscally responsible isn’t it?
This tax can wait until another year (well probably 2 years!) and in the meantime Boulder County can collect the taxes from the landowners. Just say NO to Open Space Ballot issue 1B
