Boulder funds pilot program for basic income

BOULDER — One of the Front Range’s wealthier alcoves is trying something new to help its neediest residents.

Boulder is setting aside some American Rescue Plan Act money — initially $250,000 and potentially another $2.75 million — to fund a pilot program for guaranteed income. 

Several years ago, Stockton, California, became the first city in the nation to launch such a program, and staff with Boulder’s Housing and Human Services Department have been looking to that city as an example.

Unlike traditional social programs that provide for specific needs — food stamps or housing vouchers, for example — guaranteeing income is “a different…