Broomfield Taxpayer Matters

January 7, 2024

Welcome, and thank you for following Broomfield Taxpayer Matters.

Happy New Year!

This newsletter contains the following stories and information:

Are you being heard and do you have a voice?
What can you do to be heard?
Sign up for Boards and Commissions
Broomfield Taxpayer Mission Statement
Some Colorado laws going into effect this year
Common Sense Institute story on How Colorado is doing
Rent Control is a folly
City Council Agenda for January 9, 2024
City Council member contact information

You Have a Voice.

Is it Being Heard or Ignored?

"Because I said so. I know what’s best for you. Sit down, do what you’re told." You can probably remember a time when a parents, a teacher, or a boss didn’t listen to your concerns and told you to sit down, shut up, and do what you’re told. How did that make you feel?

Well, the end of 2023 was a huge “sit down, do what you’re told” moment for Broomfield citizens and for the State of Colorado.

Proposition HH was soundly defeated in November, tasking our state and local elected representatives to go back to the drawing board and provide real relief from largest property tax increase in the state’s history. The response at all levels was to give little or no relief, take the historic increase, and tell the citizens “We know what’s best for you. Sit down, do what you’re told.”

For us citizens and taxpayers, “sit down, do what you’re told” means we now face hard choices in our family budgets as as the huge property tax bills come due. For many it will strain budgets to the breaking point.

For the City and County of Broomfield, “sit down, do what you’re told” means they will collect a record $66 million in property taxes for the City and County in 2024, a 29% increase. They will take every last cent of the increase to fund their 2024 spending of ~$600 million, up 12% over 2023.

The Broomfield City Council is cramming the largest property tax bill in history down your throats while dismissing your concerns because "they know better than you do". Sit down, do what you’re told.

Please know that your voice, your opinion, and your concerns do matter!

We share your concerns, and we are with with you. While it’s tempting to say “forget it, what’s the use”, this is the exact time to stand up and remind our representatives that they work for us, not the other way around. Their only job is to protect our individual rights and property rights. It is not to grow their budgets on the backs of the taxpayers, year over year. With no end in sight.

So we are asking you this year to ponder what you can do get involved and make a difference in your community. There are a few ways to make your voice heard.

Attend one or more City Council Meetings each month.
Apply to sit on a board or commission (more on this below).
Write your city councilmembers to let them know your concerns on their priorities and agendas.
Write a letter to the editor and share your opinion on an issue that is important to you.
Most importantly, get out and vote. Less than 50% of the population of Broomfield voted in the last election. A local vote is more powerful than one cast across the United States. You have the power to change the direction of Broomfield and Colorado. We cannot stop fighting for our freedoms.

Apply for Broomfield Boards and Commissions

If you want to be more involved with your community, consider applying to be on a Broomfield Board or Commission.

Even if you don't choose to apply you can still sit in on the meeting and provide feedback like we did with Charter Review Committee Meeting. Those were recorded, however most Boards and Commission meetings are not and you would have to attend in person.

Broomfield Taxpayer Matters' mission is to raise the awareness of Broomfield taxpayers of by arming them with information regarding the policies of the City and County of Broomfield that impact us civically and financially.

We empower citizens to ask the hard questions, demand truth and accuracy, and request changes in the public policies of our municipal government and elected officials that limit citizens’ economic and personal freedoms.

Our goal this year to continue providing you with information about where the government is overreaching, what their proper role is, and what you can do about it. The Constitution was designed so that you as an individual could prosper and when the government oversteps its authority, it hurts you and hinders economical growth.

A couple of stories below, reveal this truth.

Some of the laws going into effect this year

As the new 2024 Colorado Legislative Session begins next week, we are reminding you of a few (and I mean only a few) of the new laws going into effect this year for Coloradoans.

HB23-1068: A pet security deposit for renters is capped at $300 and limits monthly pet rent to $35 or 1.5% of the monthly rent
HB23-1077: medical professionals are no longer allowed to conduct intimate examinations on patients without having their informed consent, unless it is a life-threatening situation
HB23-1011: This allows agricultural equipment owners the right-to-repair their equipment either by themselves or with independent service providers
HB23-1186: Allows individuals to participate in eviction hearings remotely
HB23-1245: Limits the contribution amount for municipally-elected offices to $400 from individuals and political parties and $4,000 for small donor committees

A total of 617 bills were introduced in the 2023 Colorado Legislative Session and 484 were passed. More information can be found in the Digest of Bills and Concurrent Resolution s prepared at the end of last year’s session. There is also a list of the bills passed during the special session, think Proposition HH (SB23-303).

Another quick listing of more bills that impact you can be found here.

How is Colorado doing?

The Common Sense Institute has written a 2024 Free Enterprise Edition which "provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Colorado economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues. The study is a year long undertaking and includes the CSI Economic Performance Index as well as a Free Enterprise Competitiveness Index across eight different policy areas."

Colorado Politics discussed housing competitiveness in this way, "Colorado’s housing competitiveness fell to No. 51 among all states and Washington, D.C. "It now takes 96 hours of work at the median wage to afford the mortgage on the median priced home," the report said, noting that represents a 118% increase from the 44 hours required in 2011."

The Center Square discussed education in this way, " 'K-12 student outcomes remain disappointing despite improved funding, and the recent slowing of net migration will have significant negative economic consequences if it persists,' the report stated." They also commented on Colorado's rankings in various areas, "The research examines eight public policy areas and ranked Colorado’s competitiveness in each: education (20th), energy (32nd), health care (13th), housing (51st), infrastructure (9th), public safety (31st), state budget (38th) and taxes and fees (14th)."

Finally, the Denver Gazett e discussed a comment made by Lang Sias — a former state representative from Arvada and one of the report’s lead authors — affixed some of the blame for the state’s ebbing competitiveness to his onetime peers in the State Capitol. “When we legislate, we don’t exist in a vacuum,” Sias said. He said lawmakers and those in the executive branch who imposed regulatory policy ought to weigh the “direct and indirect costs” of proposed rules and legislation and consider their aggregate effect on Colorado’s ability to attract and retain job creators as well as to curb the housing cost spiral."

This year, as bills are introduced, you can take a couple of bills, read them, follow their progress, and let not only us know if there is a vote coming up, but let your neighbors know what is going on down at the state capital. Elections for House District 33 are coming up in November, get involved as an election judge or a poll watcher.

Is Rent Control Practical?

Affordable Housing in Colorado ranks 51st in the nation, something they are telling you works doesn't. One of those is rent control.

There is ample evidence this policy does not work, although it may be revisited in this legislative session. This article discusses the data that has accumulated over time about rent control policies, "The evidence has piled up even more in the past decade as study after study reveals that rent control policies reduce housing options for the people who need it most, no matter the place or policy. Controlling rental pricing helps a select few at the expense of future generations. It’s effectively a policy void of equity across time." Several examples are given in this article.