Boulder voters rejecting Issue 2K’s property-tax hike

BOULDER — Voters in Boulder Tuesday were rejecting a measure that would authorize the city to borrow $400 million through bonds to pay for new buildings and repair existing ones.

To repay the debt plus interest, the measure also would have authorized the city to increase property taxes by up to $650 million over 20 years. For residential properties, this would have resulted in an annual property tax increase of about $400 for every $1 million in actual value. For commercial properties, the increase would have been about four times that amount. 

As of 9 p.m., 12,269 votes, or 43.84% of votes had been recorded in favor of Ballot Issue 2K, while 15,718 votes, or 56.16%, had been tallied against it.

Groups including Boulder Progressives supported the measure. That group said 2K “would finally modernize the aging, essential public infrastructure Boulder residents rely on every day — our recreation centers, fire stations, and 911 dispatch — through a responsible, voter-approved investment.”

However, other groups including the Boulder Chamber opposed the ballot issue. In an opinion piece for BizWest, Boulder Chamber president and CEO John Tayer urged city leadership “to pursue the more challenging process of comprehensively scrutinizing municipal expenditures, considering if they still fund priority needs, and evaluating whether they’re delivering the desired return on investment. This includes an assessment of current dedicated taxes to determine if there’s an opportunity to sunset them in favor of generating resources for alternative priority programs and facilities. Only then should we begin evaluating the full spectrum of unfunded needs and how we can most efficiently address them.”

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