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$7M could flow to Colorado Springs parks and trails with TABOR vote

By 05/21/2019 | updated 7 years ago

Colorado Springs officials might soon ask residents if the city can retain up to $7 million in excess tax revenue to improve the city’s parks and trails.

The city collected more than expected last year from the sales and use tax, the Highway Users Tax Fund and state grant funding, said Chief Financial Officer Charae McDaniel.

Past TABOR retention votes in Colorado Springs

In the past 15 years, voters have approved at least five TABOR retention questions put forth by the city. Those votes are tallied below with information from the Colorado Springs City Clerk’s Office:

  • Issue 2 on the city’s 2017 general municipal election ballot allowed the city to retain $12 million – split between excess revenues in 2016 and 2017 – for stormwater projects within the city. The issue passed with 65 percent approval.
  • Issue 2D on El Paso County’s 2015 coordinated election ballot allowed the city to retain and spend up to $2.1 million to repair, renovate and improve existing segments of park trails. The issue passed with 71 percent approval.
  • Issue 2B on El Paso County’s 2010 general election ballot allowed the city to retain up to $600,000 in excess revenue o “provide high priority road and bridge infrastructure repairs and public safety services.” The issue passed with 71 percent approval.
  • Issue IB on the city’s 2009 general municipal election ballot allowed the city to retain and spend up to $1.2 million “to provide essential City services.” The issue passed with just over 50 percent approval.
  • Issue 2A on the city’s 2005 general municipal election ballot allowed the city to retain and spend up to $1.9 million for repairs to Prospect Lake. The issue passed with 70 percent approval.

Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights – also known as TABOR – caps the amount of tax revenue governments can keep each year using a formula based on population growth and inflation. Revenue over that cap can only be kept with the blessing of voters; without that, they would receive a refund.

The city has nearly $7 million in excess revenue sitting in a restricted general fund account, McDaniel said. A TABOR retention question could be placed on the state’s coordinated election ballot in November.

Mayor John Suthers offered his thoughts to the council last week on what voters might approve. Tying the question around the city’s upcoming 150th anniversary in 2021 might be wise, Suthers said.

“The things that we win are infrastructure and parks,” Suthers said. “I suggest we go with a sesquicentennial parks package … with a major emphasis on Palmer legacy parks.”

The city’s legacy parks include Acacia, Antlers and Alamo Square parks downtown.

Suthers said master plans are underway for those three downtown parks, with a list of suggestions on what can be improved.

“Monument Valley needs a lot of work with the increasing population downtown, I really think that can be restored… close to its initial luster with lighting, those ponds can be refurbished, the historical pavilion there needs a lot of work,” Suthers said. “Cottonwood Creek desperately needs artificial turf. It’s a heavily, heavily used athletic area.”

Asphalt on the Legacy Loop, Sand Creek and Mesa trails has deteriorated and concrete could be laid to restore them, Suthers said.

“A couple of our older parks – Thorndale and Boulder – have been sitting with unusable courts for almost a decade,” he said.

Parks Director Karen Palus confirmed several of the suggestions mentioned by Suthers but said much of that decision rests with the council, which has the authority to place questions on the city’s ballots.

Council President Richard Skorman said the group appears receptive to the idea. A simple majority is needed to place a question on the ballot.

“We’re all very concerned about, especially some of the older parks that have been languishing for a long time and in disrepair,” Skorman said. “We’re hoping that this is something that would spread the love throughout the city, that every area benefits by it.”

Next week Palus said she will present the council with a list of potential projects the money could back. It’s not immediately clear just how far $7 million could stretch, she said.

“It all depends on the projects and the bids that we can get,” Palus said. “We work really hard to try and leverage our funds whenever we can with private funds, grant funds, whatever’s available.”

Council members might have specific suggestions for park upgrades or other tweaks to Palus’ list, Skorman said. They also could propose an entirely different question to retain the excess revenue, he said.

Colorado Springs voters overwhelmingly approved the last TABOR retention question put on the ballot by the city. That question,  which passed with 65 percent approval, allowed the city to retain up to $12 million – evenly split between excess revenue from 2016 and 2017 – for stormwater projects. 

Colorado Republican Sen. Kevin Priola, left, Democratic House Speaker KC Becker, center, and Democratic Sen. Lois Court discuss a proposed ballot initiative to let the state keep excess tax revenue in Denver on March 20.
(AP Photo/Jim Anderson)
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