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.