Week of December 8, 2022
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
ParkerChronicle.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 2
School district anticipates funding questions on 2023 ballot Money would go to staff pay BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The state partners with local communities to increase and preserve Colorado’s affordable housing stock, manage rentalassistance vouchers, and address homelessness, says the state’s “blue book” voter guide, noting the state Department of Local Affairs is involved. The current budget for the department’s affordable housing initiatives is about $200 million, about half of which is from state sources, with the rest coming from federal sources. Since 2021, the state has allocated more than $1.2 billion from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for
affordable housing and services that address housing insecurity, lack of affordable and workforce housing, or homelessness. (The Urban Land Institute defines “workforce” households as those earning between 60% and 120% of the area median income.) These are one-time funds that will be spent over the next several years on: • Emergency rental assistance; • Homeowner mortgage assistance; • Tax credits for developers; • Housing and infrastructure; • And other housing solutions, such as manufactured homes.
reduce the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, refunds that Coloradans receive — by $86 per taxpayer for 2024, for example. Yet voters in November also sought to reduce their taxes and, taken together, the changes could lead to difficult decisions down the road, said Scott Wasserman, who leads the nonprofit Bell Policy Center, which advocates for economic mobility for Coloradans. He called the passage of the measure “bittersweet.”
“I think what makes it bitter is that it passed in conjunction with Proposition 121,” a measure voters approved to lower the state income tax rate, Wasserman said. Proposition 121 is expected to take a roughly $400-million bite out of the state budget next year while Proposition 123 will eventually increase spending about $290 million yearly. State Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, a
Though voters turned down two funding measures for the Douglas County School District in November, it seems likely the district will return to the ballot in 2023 in an effort to increase staff compensation and build three new elementary schools. During the Nov. 30 school board retreat, board members and Superintendent Erin Kane evaluated the results of the failed election with a focus on lessons learned, as well as discussed whether to ask for a bond and mill levy override next year. All of the board members and Kane voiced support for putting a mill levy override and bond on the 2023 ballot. “Personally, I would love for us to have (the bond and mill levy override) on the ballot in 2023 pretty much exactly as they were, asking for the same things because we didn’t magically find a different way to do it,” Kane said. Board members were more optimistic about the chances for passing a mill levy override in 2023 because it only failed by around 3,000 votes compared to the bond, which lost by more than 15,000 votes. Board member Christy Williams said she felt the bond would have gained more traction with voters if there had been more focus on the fact that the bond would not have raised taxes if it was passed. Since the bond failed, Douglas County taxpayers will see a small decrease in property taxes. “It was really discouraging to see the distance there, especially with a net-zero (tax impact),” Williams said.
SEE HOUSING, P2
SEE RETREAT, P5
With voter approval, Colorado will embark on how to have more affordable housing statewide.
SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
Affordable housing initiative could face rocky future Proposition 123 was approved by Colorado voters BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Few issues affect Coloradans as much as rising housing prices. The state will take a step toward addressing the problem — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year — as officials implement Proposition 123 approved by voters in November. In just 12 years, the median cost of a single-family home in the Denver area jumped from about $200,000 to three times that amount, according to the latest report by the Colorado Association of Realtors. The trend was similar statewide. Under Proposition 123, state officials are required to set money aside for more affordable housing and programs to help Coloradans acquire homes and stay housed. Though the measure didn’t raise tax rates to fund those programs, it will, eventually,
WHAT COLORADO CURRENTLY DOES ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING