City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2A (2023)

City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2A

CITY SALES USE AND TAX EXTENSION (TABOR)

WITHOUT RAISING ADDITIONAL TAXES, SHALL THE EXISTING 0.15 CENT CITY SALES AND USE TAX FOR GENERAL FUND PURPOSES, APPROVED BY THE VOTERS BY ORDINANCE 7300, BE EXTENDED BEYOND THE CURRENT EXPIRATION DATE OF DECEMBER 31, 2024, UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2044, WITH THE REVENUE FROM SUCH TAX EXTENSION AND ALL EARNINGS THEREON BE USED TO FUND SERVICES AND PROJECTS AS FOLLOWS: · 50% FOR FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES, PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES, HUMAN SERVICES, HOMELESSNESS SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES, PARKS, AND OTHER GENERAL FUND PURPOSES; · 50% FOR ARTS, CULTURE, AND HERITAGE PURPOSES; INCLUDING DIRECT AND GRANT FUNDING FOR ARTS AND CULTURE NONPROFITS, PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS, ARTS EDUCATION, VENUES AND WORKSPACES, PUBLIC ART, AND MULTI-CULTURAL PROGRAMS; AND IN CONNECTION THEREWITH SHALL ANY EARNINGS FROM THE REVENUES FROM SUCH TAX EXTENSION CONSTITUTE A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO THE REVENUE AND SPENDING LIMITS OF ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION?

YES / FOR. The context for Ballot Issue 2A is important. 2A renews an existing tax to the City of Boulder’s general fund, which city leaders had intended to renew in full without a dedicated fund for arts spending. A local group that has  been working to increase funding for the arts, petitioned the city to place a measure on the ballot to dedicate this entire fund toward the arts (~$7 million per year) rather than toward the general fund. That framing pitted both the city and arts group against each other to vie for the same funding stream.

The competition for the same funds would have put high stakes on the eventual winner to renew the funds, or potentially cause both issues to lose, such that the funding would not be extended after it expires at the end of 2024. Instead, this compromise tax issue allows both the city and the arts advocates to get much of what they need in a scenario that all parties feel comfortable with.

We should talk about other scenarios that could have happened. If the arts organizers agreed, the city could have changed the measure to be a new tax instead of extending this existing tax. New taxes are certainly harder to pass and do increase the tax burden with additional regressive taxation and risk putting Boulder’s sales tax increasingly higher than neighboring communities.

Another scenario is that the city could have slightly raised the existing tax in combination with a compromise measure with substantial arts funding. That would reduce trade-offs from existing uses of the funding. With a very motivated arts group, it’s likely that a small tax increase to additionally fund the arts would have been relatively easy to pass.

The city does not expect to have significant cuts due to half of the tax shifting from the general fund. The city’s budget has freed up some of its general fund needs by shifting its library system to a property-tax funded library district.

Some opponents of the measure prefer not to divert any funds for the arts. Other opponents argue that shifting funds to an inflexible dedicated fund is a bad policy when the city has budget shortfalls. I agree these issues are worthy of discussion. However, I find the significant under-spending on the arts in Boulder to be a serious deficit for the city, and an aim that is worth investment and dedicated funding for some period of time.

On a positive note, perhaps Boulder can increase its sales tax base for at least the next few years. “Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, has brought winning football back to the University of Colorado and as much as $17 million to the Boulder economy with each sold-out home game” (Forbes Magazine). So it’s possible that we may continue to ride a CU Boulder wave to cheerier budgets.

“Culture drives commerce. And that’s precisely what Deion Sanders has brought to Colorado: a fuel injection of new meaning that is driving cultural consumption,” stated Forbes. And same goes with the arts in Boulder.

Additional Reporting, Commentary, and Sources

City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2A: City Sales and Use Tax Extension (and arts funding) – Boulder Beat