Denver November 2003 Election
Amendment 32 is the subject of this article from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Amendment 32 would ease restrictions on residential property taxes put in place 20 years ago by the Gallagher Amendment, which was authored by current Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher. What that amendment did was essentially fix the proportions of assessed property value in Colorado: Residential property would account for 45 percent of assessed value, and business property - land, buildings, furniture and equipment - would account for 55 percent. To understand what that means, take a look at how property taxes are determined. Assessors determine the actual or market value of a property every two years. That is then multiplied by the assessment rate to get the assessed value. Then, local governments tax the assessed value based on their own millage rates. When Gallagher was put in place, the assessment rate for businesses was 29 percent, while for residential property it was 21 percent. And if the total market values of both residential and business property increased every year at the same rate, that's the way it would have stayed. It didn't. There are far more homes in Colorado now than 20 years ago, and each home is worth more, on average. The result: Growth in the total market value of residential property has far outstripped the total value of business property. In 2003, about 75 percent of the actual property value in Colorado comes from homes, while about 25 percent comes from businesses. So here's the mathematical inevitability: If residential property can contribute no more than 45 percent of the taxes, but its value rises to 75 percent of the pie, its assessment rate must go down. And down it has gone, from 21 percent in 1983 to about 8 percent today. And it will likely go lower still. With Gallagher - and the increased restrictions of TABOR, or the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights - local governments have had difficulty capturing the tax benefit of booming residential property. So governments are more tempted to increase millage with voter approval."
The Rocky editorial staff is urging a yes vote on both Referred Issues, 3A and 3B. From the editorial, "But let's not kid ourselves. There's a lot still to be done. The district comprises more than 120 schools; some are first-rate, others are improving, but too many remain mediocre. That's where ballot question 3A comes in. It would raise $20 million annually through a modest mill levy hike, and Wartgow and the board have ambitious plans for the money. Denver already has an impressive array of magnet and charter schools that attract a host of applicants. And some of its neighborhood schools are healthy as well. So the $20 million would be used primarily to bring the others up to speed - by ensuring that every elementary student has an art/music teacher, for openers. Among other things, the money would also buy new textbooks, fund critical maintenance and repairs, expand all-day kindergarten and boost other programs targeted on needy schools. 3B would merely keep the district's bonding capacity at its current level and not raise the tax rate at all. If approved, 3B's $310 million in bonds would renovate 71 schools, build four new ones and buy land for a fifth. It's a no-frills proposal to ensure the district keeps up with growth and maintains its existing facilities as attractive centers of learning."
Proponents of Referendum A have a website here.
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