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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986 Resolution No. 043Hl,SOLU'l'ION NO. 4 3 SE RIES OF 1986 A Hl-:SOLU'l'JO N IN OP POSl1'1 0 N TO AN INITlA'l'ED AMli NDMENT TO 'rHE CUl,O RAllO CONSTl'l'U'l'ION 'l'O APPEAR ON 'rHE NOVEMBl::R ELECTION BALLOT AS AMENDM ENT NO. 4 AND ENCOURAGING PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO INFORM AND 1-:lll ll',\TE 'l'II E VOT ERS ON /ILL PO'l'EN'rJAL EF FECT S OF 'rHE AM EN DMEN'!'. WHEREAS, a n amendm e nt to the Colorado Consti tu t ion has been i ni lin t e d and will appear o n the Novemb e r, 198G general election ball 0 L as Am e ndm e nt No . 4; i.1tl<i WlrnR F:/1S , Amendment 4 would: .require thnt , a s of January 1, 1987, any new tax or any i ncre ase in tax es of the state or any loca l government brought a bo ut by i ncr eased rate s or by chang es in the method of computa- tion be impos e d o nly with the approval of the voter~ in the unit o f government proposinq th e new tax or tax increase~ .es tablish that such vot e r approval be in the form of an ne t pns sed hy a maj or ity o f those voting in an election held on t he same day as the gene r a l election held .in even numbered years; .define t ax to include any means by which a unit of qovc rnment imposes obligations upon and colle~ts money from the peo ple, except for licenses, fees, fines and permits (which are e xempt from the voter approval requireme nt); .provide any elector of a unit of government with standing to sue for enforcement of the provisions of the amendment and require a unit of government to r e imburse such e lector within 30 days for all suit-related costs if the suit is sustained in favor o f the e lector; .provide that any tax increase sche duled to become e ffective after 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 1987 shall not become P.ffective unless previously approved by a majority of the voters in the unit of government in which the tax is to be effective; a nd .supe rsede any conflicting constitutional provisions; and WH ERE AS, Amendment No. 4 would have numerous effects on the City of Englewood and its citizens, many of which effects may not be apparent to the voters; and WHEREAS, such effects of Amendment No. 4 include the fo llowing: 1. Amendment No. 4 does not protect Colorado's local governments and regional entities, or their taxpayers, from increased costs of federall:1 mandated programs and requirements, a significant omission as a result of current federRI budget -cut ting efforts and reduction s in feder al r o n trihuti o n s to local <J o vernments and r eg j o 11al e ntities ; 2 . Am e ndm e n t. No. 4 co uld delay impl e me nta tion of a necessary t a x increase for up to two yea r s ; no exception is made for e merqencie s , e ve n those which cou ld not b e predicted, such as a natur·a l disaster or lo ss of a mnjor indu st r y ; 1. Amendment N0. 4 may res11lt in a dd i tion a l costs to tax- pay ~rs, including Lhe cost of an additional election sincP. t h e regu l a r e l e ct i on of ma ny loca l g overnment s is <lif f~r ~nt from the dat e of t h e general e l e ction p ot e n tia ll y lower bond ratings and thu s higher interes t co~ts on bonds whict1 will b e paid from a n increased tax; l P s~ nbili ty to take advantuge of low market i n tore~t rates on b o nds which r e q11ire a t a x increase b ecause of the del,1y requir ed by the Amendment; and a t im e dP.lay in making nece ssary public improvements reql1irinq a tnx increase, a delay which can result in increased construction costs as wel l ns increased financing costs; 4. Amendment No. 4 could delay for up to two years the ability of state a nd local governments t o finance program s which e nhanc e economic development, such as development of ne c essary infrastructure and incentives, if a tax increase were necess a ry; 5. 'l'he protec tion frolT't state mandate d incrcuse~ in spending which is sought to be provided to local governments by Amendment No. 4 is wise but unclear in its meaning and application, and thus may not provide the scope of protection intended by the drafters; 6. Am endment No. 4 may re s ult in increased reliance on user fe es , rather than taxes, and thus place some qovernment services beyond the reach of l~wer and middle-income persons and those living on fixed incomes, or incre ase housing prices as more development fee s and costs are ~assed on to homeown e rs; and 7 . Amendment No. 4 limi ts the fundamental concept of local control by impo s ing a uniform ele ction req uirement o ;~ tax increases eve n in those home rule municipalities wh ere citizens have voted through home rule charters to a llow the i r respresentatives to make tax decisions. WHER EAS, public officials are familiar with the effects of Amendment No. 4 on regional entities and local governments and t heir taxpayers; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, THAT: I I 1. The Englewood City Council is opposed to Amendment Nn. 4. 2. The public officials of the Englewood City Council are IH•r c hy encouraged to volunteer, without pay or reimbursement of ,·,,:sts , th e ir time and efforts to oppose Amendment No. 4 and to i11r,,rm ~nd e ducate t he citizen s of Englewood on all potential r l ,,,ct s of Amnndm c nty No. 4. 3. Th e l·:nqlewond Ci ty Co un ci l shall not make any r0ntrihuti.on nr contrihu t i o n in kind to any campaign opposing ~mendm~11t tlo. 4 . ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 20th day of October, 1986. Atte s t: -iii,,:,,, ,_(I((,,, Pu tricia II. Crow, City Clerk I, Patricia II. Crow, City Clerk of the City of Englewood, Co l orado, he r eby certify that the above and foregoing is a true copy of Resolution No. :Li_, Series of 1986.