Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutresolution.council.054-92 RESOLUTION NO. 54 (Series of 1992) A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, DECLARING ITS OPPOSITION TO AMENDMENT 1, WHICH WILL APPEAR ON THE NOVEMBER 3, 1992, GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT. WHEREAS, a proposed constitutional amendment has been placed on the November 3, 1992, general election ballot as Amendment No. 1, which would unreasonably limit state and local government revenues, spending, and services; require numerous expensive elections on state and local finance issues; and impose addition- al costly requirements, thereby diverting public revenues for critical public services; and WHEREAS, because the amendment addresses spending as well as revenues, it is much more confusing, complicated, and onerous than any prior local government limitation proposed to the Colorado electorate; and WHEREAS, the amendment will have immediate and long-term adverse effects on the City's operations and consequently on its ability to continue to provide services to its citizens; and WHEREAS, the amendment undermines the principles of local control and home rule by subjecting day-to-day governmental decisions to arbitrary statewide limits without consideration for local needs and conditions of the City and its residents; and WHEREAS, the City's current shares of state-collected, locally-shared revenues in the form of motor fuel tax, cigarette tax, energy impact funds, and lottery funds are also at risk due to the amendment's restrictions on state revenue and spending; and WHEREAS, the combination of revenue, spending, and other restrictions will impair the community's ability to inves~ in economic development, job creation and infrastructure and to gain the resulting community benefits; and WHEREAS, even though recreational and other activities are financed primarily by fees paid by users, the amendment will make it difficult to maintain and improve existing services or to expand or add new services; and WHEREAS, even though municipal water, sewer, electrical, golf, gas, and airport utilities are financed by fees paid by users, the amendment's "enterprise" exemption is so vague that these operations may be unable to serve consumer needs even though utility service demand levels and environmental mandates are not within the control of the municipality and even though private utilities are not similarly affected; and WHEREAS, the amendment violates the principles of represen- tative government in that decisions regarding governmental pro- grams and policies which relate to the expenditure of public funds will often require voter approval rather than be determined by members of the City Council who have been duly chosen by the citizens of Aspen to make such decisions; and WHEREAS, the amendment imposes a constitutional straight- jacket on every local government in Colorado without regard for 2 the complexity of local government structures and restrictions and provides no options for citizens of a local government to adopt alternative local limits consistent with local needs; and WHEREAS, local governments are already accountable to their constituents through regular elections, initiative, referendum and recall procedures, and a variety of financial controls; and WHEREAS, if a local government experiences a revenue and spending shortfall in any year, its ability to provide services are permanently reduced even though revenues recover in a good year; and WHEREAS, because of the cyclical nature of government revenues and spending and the delays inherent in the amendment's revenue and spending limitation, local governments, particularly resort communities, will be unable to respond to economic condi- tions in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, the effect of the amendment's requirement of voter approval of a wide variety of finance and service issues at elections held a maximum of three (or two) times in each two-year cycle will cause a myriad of finance issues to be placed on the ballot at the same time, prevent timing of bond elections to take advantage of favorable market conditions, substantially restrict citizen initiative rights, and preclude timely response to emer- gency conditions which are not defined as emergencies in the amendment; and WHEREAS, the amendment establishes costly, cumbersome, and confusing election procedures and requirements, with legal jeopardy to the citizens if required pro and con statements, fiscal estimates or notices are later determined by the courts to be mistaken or inadequate; and WHEREAS, the amendment requires additional elections to spend the proceeds of taxes approved by the voters at previous elections; and WHEREAS, the amendment prohibits any Real Estate Transfer Taxes, thus impacting the City's ability to fund the Wheeler Opera House, arts and non-profit groups and to assist in paying for day-care and affordable housing; and WHEREAS, the amendment requires local governments to divert funds from needed public services to create special reserves available only for extremely limited purposes; and WHEREAS, passage of the amendment will require extensive and costly litigation in order for citizens and government officials to be confident about its meaning and to comply with its terms; and WHEREAS if a local government makes a mistake in interpret- ing and complying with the amendment, the local government and its citizens are subject to paying a 10% penalty for up to four years, plus refunding the excess and paying the costs and attor- ney's fees of the plaintiffs of the local government. 4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO: Section 1 Amendment 1 is hereby opposed because it would be severely detrimental to the City and its citizens. Section 2 citizens are encouraged to become fully informed about the amendment and its effects on them, their community, and their state before voting on November 3. Section 3 The citizens of Aspen are encouraged to vote no on Amendment No. 1. RESOLVED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ~ day of ~F~ , 1992, by the City Council for the City of Aspen, Colorado. .~B ~ ~~ John ennett, Mayor I, Kathryn S. Koch, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do certify that the foregoing is a true and accurate copy of that resolution adopted by the city Council of the City of Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting held ~ c~ , 1992. - Kathryn s.~Koch, ~city Clerk~ alm1026.1 5