HomeMy WebLinkAboutR18-083 Support of Ballot Issue 7D Supporting CMC Commissioner OlC CVuk..`, ►4`-i moved adoption
of the following Resolution:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO g
RESOLUTION NO. 2018- 0 U 2)
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF BALLOT ISSUE 7D IN SUPPORT OF COLORADO
MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
WHEREAS,Eagle County's mission is "Creating a Better Eagle County for All", and
WHEREAS,high quality, accessible and affordable higher education and job training for
residents of Eagle County is critical to our success in creating a better County, and
WHEREAS,Colorado Mountain College, a local district funded community college
supported by tax revenues approved by local voters,has been our local resource for quality and
affordable access to higher education and job training since 1967, and
WHEREAS,Colorado Mountain College trains the firefighters, first responders,nurses
and teachers, along with providing skilled trades and workforce training for our mountain
communities, and
WHEREAS,Colorado Mountain College provides free college courses to nearly 700
high school students in Eagle County alone under its concurrent enrollment program, allowing
students to obtain college credits counting towards their degrees, and
WHEREAS,Colorado Mountain College has been the sole provider of face-to-face not-
for-profit higher education in a 12,000 square mile area of the Western Slope of Colorado for
more than 50 years, serving 6 counties and currently serving around 20,000 students per year,
and
WHEREAS,Colorado Mountain College's Edwards campus serves the Eagle River
Valley portion of the County,with approximately 4000 students in the last year,along with
various Roaring Fork locations(the Glenwood Center, the Spring Valley residential campus,the
Carbondale Center, and the Aspen campus) serving the Eagle County residents living in the
Roaring Fork Valley, and
WHEREAS,the Gallagher Amendment, adopted as part of the Colorado Constitution in
1982,requires a balance between the total revenues collected from all residential taxes and all
non-residential(e.g.,business)taxes in a mandated ratio of 45%/55%, and fixes non-residential
assessment rates at 29%, and
WHEREAS,the Gallagher Amendment caused the statewide residential assessment rate
to be lowered from 21%when it was first implemented to 7.2% in 2017, a reduction of nearly
two thirds,and
WHEREAS,the rapid rate of population growth in Denver and Colorado's other front
range communities has resulted in this ratio being impacted and has required a reduction in the
tax revenues collected from residential properties to maintain this mandated ratio and has
reduced the taxes collected under voter passed local mill levies supporting special districts and
other entities such as CMC, and
WHEREAS,the Colorado legislature has to date not addressed this unintended
consequence of the Gallagher Amendment,particularly on Colorado's rural communities and
such services as fire districts, sanitation districts,libraries and other local governments ,which
threatens their ability to continue to serve essential local needs, and
WHEREAS,the Gallagher Amendment passed by the Colorado state legislature reduced
the revenues available to Colorado Mountain College in 2017 by more than$2.7 million with the
most recent adjustment from 7.96%to 7.2%, and
WHEREAS,the Gallagher Amendment downwards adjustment in the percent of the
assessment used as the tax basis is projected to decline from 7.2%to 6.1% in 2019 and could
cause another significant reduction in CMC's revenues in that year, and
WHEREAS,the Gallagher Amendment is projected to head down to zero over time,
which would totally undermine the expressed intent of the voters in CMC's six County district to
support this local provider of higher education with a 3.997 mill levy, and
WHEREAS,the passage of Ballot Issue 7D does NOT increase residential taxes
supporting CMC above current levels,but would allow the college to respond to a quirk in the
Colorado Constitution(the Gallagher Amendment) that is negatively impacting mountain and
rural communities, and
WHEREAS, 7D is a local solution to protect Colorado Mountain College from a
statewide problem,but it is not an automatic or unlimited tax increase,permitting an adjustment
in the mill levy only to offset those revenues lost due to Denver growth and the methodology of
the Gallagher Amendment.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO:
THAT,the Eagle County Commissioners do hereby support the passage of Ballot Issue
7D on the 2018 Eagle County election ballot, and encourage the registered voters of Eagle
County to vote YES on 7D in support of Colorado Mountain College.
THAT,the board hereby finds, determines and declares that this Resolution is necessary
for the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the County of Eagle, State of
Colorado.
MOVED,READ AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Co issioners of the
Couenty of Eagle, State of Colorado, at its regular meeting held the v5"ay of 06 Ih k.4- ,
20 1 b .
C4 f!`1 o� OUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF
g 1 ,�- 1 OLORADO, By and Through Its
* *'.OARD OF CO Y COMM ON:P S
ATTEST: coLoat►�o '! I
-�L6'4 01x71[.-4I( 1, BY: i..,, J,.A, �A _//l iii �
Clerk to the Board of .try •,ndler-He ASV a
County Commissigners Chair"- / I'
fills. H. Ryan
igissio
adc
ie
'Mr
J McQueeney
C issioner
Commissioner 19-*-1 iez-e_., seconded adoption of the foregoing resolution. The roll
having been called, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Chandler-Henry 14-1.4
Commissioner Ryan 4.-1•
Commissioner McQueeney •
This resolution passed by I 0 vote of the Board of County Commissioners of
the County of Eagle, State of Colorado