The Boulder County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on August 12 at 1 p.m. to solicit citizen feedback on two potential ballot initiatives for the November 4 election. Citizens can also share their feedback via an online form.
The first ballot initiative would extend the open space sale and use tax of 0.15 percent in perpetuity countywide to fund the acquisition, improvement, management, and maintenance of open space lands. The second initiative would implement a 0.15 percent countywide sales and use tax to provide mental and behavioral health services to youth, adults, families, and homeless individuals.
During the July 31 Boulder City Council meeting, there was mixed support for the mental health measure as it is currently drafted. The council members largely agreed that funding for mental health services is an urgent need, but several councilors expressed reservations about rushing the proposal through this year.
"My first problem with this is that we don’t have any polling data,” Councilor Mark Wallach said. “There was a previous poll on increasing the mill levy to fund the tax and that was unfavorable. I have to ask, what makes us think that funding the tax through an increase of sales tax will suddenly generate a vastly more favorable response? The only data we have suggests that the tax will not succeed. And I do not want to put a tax on the ballot without substantial evidence that it's going to be supported by the community.”
Councilor Matt Benjamin said that the proposal should be for “the right amount” and that the $15 million as proposed “doesn't really get us to the need of transformative change.”
“When you ask for this amount of money, you don't get to come back and say, ‘Oh, you know what? That wasn't quite enough. We need another $20 million more.’ So, it's got to be the right amount for the right work the first time we ask for it,” he said.
Councilor Nicole Speer, on the other hand, said that there is no time to waste in getting the initiative approved. “I think that there are emerging needs here that if we can get some funding to take care of them now, that is going to pay off in 5, 10, 20 years in a pretty big way," she said.
Others expressed urgency given federal budget cuts. "This topic and the funding need is a priority for this community,” Councilor Ryan Schuchard said. “Losing a year of funding is really not a good idea in this current climate."
Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts said that given the state of federal funding, that this initiative is “urgent."
The full text of the resolutions can be viewed on the county’s website. Comments can be submitted online and residents can sign up to comment during the hearing either virtually or in person. Residents can register to attend the virtual session online. The meeting will occur in the Commissioners' Hearing Room at 1325 Pearl Street on the third floor.
