It looks like Denver voters are going to get a chance to OK more municipal debt and then tax themselves to pay it off. From today's Rocky Mountain News:
Denver voters would be asked to approve a $631 million package of bond projects in November under a recommendation made final Thursday by a task force that examined the city's capital needs.The recommendation, which now goes to Mayor John Hickenlooper and the City Council for approval, is about $64 million more than the panel's first proposal...
The proposal is three-pronged. First, voters would be asked to approve a property tax increase that would generate about $27 million annually for ongoing capital maintenance.
Second, the city would issue $340 million in bonds for deferred maintenance and other critical needs. The bonds would allow the city to juggle debt without increasing property taxes.
The third prong calls for another tax increase. Voters would be asked to approve issuing an additional $291 million in bonds, which would be used to expand services or for new projects, including the Boettcher renovation. Taxes for the average homeowner would increase by $99 a year under the first and third prongs, said Chris Henderson, the city's chief operating officer...
Big-ticket items in Denver's proposed bond projects: $75 million for Boettcher Concert Hall; $50 million for street reconstruction; $38 million for crime lab replacement; $20 million for housing for the chronically homeless; $22 million for Museum of Nature & Science; $18 million for Municipal Animal Shelter.
