Basalt citizens should vote “yes” on item 3A.
Going into the November elections most of Basalt has heard or read about the misinterpretation of Colorado’s TABOR law and the resulting over-collection of property taxes in prior years.
Current Basalt property owners affected by the prior over-collection will start receiving refund checks pertaining to the last four years.
But with the resolution of past problems in process, citizens must look forward to 2020 and beyond.
The wording of the Colorado TABOR law requires that the town obtain citizen approval to continue operating at the current mill levy rate of 5.957, though that rate does not represent a tax increase. It is the same as the 2019 rate.
The current rate contributes to Basalt’s balanced budget for 2020, and failure to pass item 3A would force the rate to revert to the historical low point of 2.56, resulting in a loss of over $700,000 to the budget for 2020, and potentially for future years as well.
Voting ‘yes’ on 3A will maintain our current levels of Basalt public services including police, snow plowing, infrastructure maintenance, and many of the other services on which we all depend.
Doug MacDonald
Basalt