Colorado Springs Voters Reject 2C, 300 Passes, High Voter Turnout
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Updated: 10:30 AM Nov 4, 2009
Colorado Springs Voters Reject 2C, 300 Passes, High Voter Turnout
Election results are in and it looks like El Paso County voters have said "no" to a property tax increase. Meanwhile, Issue 300 passes, which could require the city to phase out enterprise fees.
Posted: 7:41 PM Nov 3, 2009
Reporter: KKTV 11 News
Email Address: news@kktv.com
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Election results are in and it looks like El Paso County voters have said "no" to a property tax increase. Meanwhile, Issue 300 passes, which could require the city to phase out enterprise fees.

Measure 2C would have increased property tax to make up for the city's budget issues for 2010. Proponents said raising taxes would save programs likely bound for the chopping block, such as parks and recreation departments and city jobs.

City leaders of Colorado Springs are now looking forward at 2010 and the cuts they'll have to make within the budget. Supporters of the 2C tax increase gathered at the Blue Star Restaurant, including author of the proposal, Council Member Jan Martin.

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From the earliest returns it appeared voters overwhelmingly were against the measure.

"We understand. We're elected representatives of the citizens and we can only manage resources they give us, and if they want to reduce that, that's fine. I was elected to serve the community, and I will do that with the resources we have," said Mayor Lionel Rivera.

With the failure of the measure, and the apparent passage of Issue 300 city council will have to go into final planning of the 2010 budget with a $30 million shortfall.

“The thought of having to close parks and community centers and 62,000 hours of transit is difficult for me,” said Martin.

City leaders will go back to session next week to discuss the budget further, including potential cuts to services in 2010.

“I want to be at the table as we as a community decide where we go from here,” Martin said.

Firefighters who spoke with 11 News say they expect longer response times since 2C did not pass.

2C opponents say there is nothing to celebrate. Andy McElhany with the No on 2C campaign tells 11 News the city has a huge financial issue that it needs to deal with. "I speak for everybody in our group when I say we want to work with council to try to put together a budget that will have the least impact on the citizens," said McElhany.

Issue 300 would phase out city enterprise fees over the next eight years, although there's been some debate over whether this would affect the city's Stormwater Enterprise Fee. Anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce has said he will sue if 300 passes and the city does not get rid of the Stormwater Enterprise Fee.

For an off-election year, there was a high voter turnout. El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink estimates about 117,194 voters filled out mail-in ballot. Compared to the last off-election year in 2007, only 59,371 participated. Officials say the two controversial measures are probably what drew voters to participate.

Stay with 11 News for more on the results as they come in. We want to hear what you have to say about the election results... comment below. 11 News will read some of your comments on air Wednesday.

Click here to see all of the election results


Latest Comments

Posted by: Nick Location: Colo. Spgs. on Nov 15, 2009 at 02:08 PM

How could the authors of the 2C have had any real hope this bill would pass? People are going broke, just like the City...just like many Cities across the Country. You can't expect people to agree to higher Taxes when the potential exists that their jobs may eventually be lost. The financial situation within many institutions are riding a sharp down turn. Look at the actions Credit Card Companies and Banks are trending toward. Lower lines of credit with higher interest rates, or closed accounts all togather. Chase Bank I believe is the most aggressive. As people are struggling to put food on the table and warm cloths on their children, people can not be expected to pay even more in taxes - be they rich or poor! Being a service-based economy, most of if not all our jobs are related in an interdependent fashion. How long will it be until your job is in jeopardy? How long will it be until you ask yourself where things went wrong, when things went beyond your control?
Posted by: Wanted to but can't Location: COS on Nov 15, 2009 at 11:32 AM

When this proposal came up, in my mind and household, of course we want the police/fire and honored services like these to be all ok. But in an economic time, myself being a cashier after being unemployed with 15 years previous experience and top education, I get about $1,300 a month after taxes, and my financial breakdown on my recently purchased 95,000 home and married with one child is $700 mortgage, $350 necessary bills of gas, electric, phone, home/auto insurance, rest of the money goes to food... My annual property tax is $1000 and when I see 2C will double that, of course I think I want to be able to help the police/fire/etc but financially, that is close to 1/12 of my total income... So, of course we had to vote no.
Posted by: Who will pay? Location: COS on Nov 13, 2009 at 06:39 AM

"The enterprise fee" will be phased out over an 8 year period..." 2017 is a long wait for a bill that passed overnight. So we will probably see this on the ballot for the next 8 years. It is stated "Some street lights will be turned off" due to budget cuts. After the recent mass car pile up, maybe the budget for snow plows and road maintenance will not be cut again this year? Take note: There are expensive traffic cams and gear at the corner of each streetlight in town that were purchased and not inexpensive. Maybe it should be considered to sell the cams, so people can have the street lights to see where they are going on ice in the dark. This will prevent accidents. Seems like a logical priority in the Rocky Mountains. If the funds should go anywhere it should be obvious to roads and lights. The purchase of the recent fancy phone system for $3 mil,is not something that tax payers should suffer for because they stepped up to the plate and voted no on increases and poor spending.
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