Boulder is a Stoopid Place

I recently learned that Boulder County has “changed its policies” by pursuing a special road tax levy, which would disproportionately target residents in unincorporated Boulder County to pay for the paving of roads in these areas. The county has been short-changing roads like this for years, while profligately increasing spending in other areas.

From a budget perspective over the past decade, Boulder County`s Road Fund has been reduced by 59 percent, diminishing from $2.6 million in 2000 to $1.1 million in 2010. However, social services expenditures have increased by over 200 percent during this same period, skyrocketing from $5.2 million in 2000 to over $16.4 million in 2010 and now stands at more than three times the level of expense that was allocated in 2000. (Overall, property tax revenue to the county has nearly doubled since 2000.) If the same proportion of the budget were allocated to roads in 2010 as was allocated in 2000 the total Road Fund would be $4.9 million this year.

This can be fixed with a 3 percent cut in non-Road Fund expenditures. That would enable the Road Fund to be quadrupled from its current amount, and help to begin to make up for years of neglect and avoid the issue of yet another property tax increase. This is not an attack on social priorities, but an appeal to sound fiscal stewardship. The alternative of continuing to allow deterioration of unincorporated county roads or a thinly veiled attempt to raise taxes (under the guise of a “policy change”) is simply not acceptable.

Currently, there are few checks and balances at the county level, other than citizens saying enough is enough. I encourage everyone who is concerned about government`s fiscal discipline to contact our County Commissioners about this issue at 303-441-3500.