VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 26
WEEK OF JUNE 29, 2023
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Colorado Commerce City school receives $50,000 in security, other upgrades taxpayers should see hefty refund checks Good news on revenues means more money coming back to residents
The backdrop to such upgrades are concerns about security across the county, especially amid ongoing incidents, including shootings at schools. According to a survey done by the Institute of Education Sciences, an independent, nonpartisan statistics arm of the U.S. Department of Education, around 58% of elementary schools reported at least one instance of violent crime in the 2019-20 academic year, the most recent data available. And, 45% reported at least once instance of nonviolent crime. Fisher said Convergint typically provides alert technology in the schools that could inform first
Colorado taxpayers will be sent even larger refund checks next year than expected after state tax revenues finished the fiscal year much higher than budget analysts for the legislature and in the governor’s office predicted. The state may now have to refund nearly $1 billion more than originally expected, nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff and the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting told state lawmakers in June, increasing refund checks by hundreds of dollars per person. Exactly how large those Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refund checks will be remains in flux, in part because the number will be determined by whether voters pass Proposition HH in November, a 10-year property tax relief plan from Democrats in the General Assembly and Gov. Jared Polis. The legislature passed a bill in the final three days of its 2023 lawmaking term, which ended May 8, that would make the refund check amounts the same for everyone if voters pass Proposition HH. They were originally expected to be about $650 for single filers and roughly $1,300 for joint filers, but could now be roughly $850 for single filers and $1,700 for joint filers. Last year, Colorado taxpayers received TABOR refund checks of $750 or $1,500 to account for surplus collected in the 202122 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022. If Proposition HH fails, the refund checks would be tied to income levels. Under the default refund system — called the six-tier sales tax refund mechanism — people who make more money get bigger
SEE SECURITY, P4
SEE REFUND, P5
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• Vestas to lay off 200 employees
BUSINESS
BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
Volunteers with Convergint pose outside of Ward S. Kemp Elementary School in Commerce City. BY TEDDY JACOBSEN TJACOBSEN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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•27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
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LOCAL OBITUARIES LEGALS CLASSIFIED
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LOCAL
Kemp Elementary School in Commerce City has received tens of thousands of dollars in security upgrades at no cost from a company that has donated similar systems to rural schools around the state. Convergint, an international company that designs, installs and services electronic security systems, donated its services as part of an annual social responsibility day, where its 9,200 employees participate in a day of service in their respective communities. The effort brought $3 million in equipment and labor to schools and security upgrades to 32 schools in three states, including
Colorado. Convergint Director of Business Development Stephen Fisher said the security portion of the annual program is called STEP Up. It is an initiative to help strengthen school security as part of the company’s social responsibility day. “There’s a lot of noise in the security space around K-12,” Fisher said. “And we are a trusted business partner who is product-agnostic and who has no agenda other than to create a safe environment for teachers and students and people on campus.” The company installs and services electronic security, cybersecurity, fire and life safety, building automation and audio-visual systems.
BRIEFS: PAGE 2 | OBITUARIES: PAGE 4 | CLASSIFIEDS: PAGE 9 | LEGAL: PAGE 11
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