Arapahoe County voters to decide on nixing TABOR limits, or ‘debrucing’

DENVER (KDVR) — Arapahoe County voters will be asked to consider removing spending and revenue limits set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in a measure that has been submitted to be included on the November ballot.

The ballot question would allow the county to increase property taxes to pre-TABOR levels, costing the average owner of a $500,000 house about $13 more each month and granting the county another $74 million in annual revenue. Residents can see what their taxes would be through this calculator .

The measure was approved to be put on the ballot at a special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday. The county has been using federal dollars to cover the gap in revenue and spending, but without that money, it will have to make $35 million in cuts to “essential services” next year.

Arapahoe County is Colorado’s third largest and is home to over 655,800 residents, an increase of about 14% from 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . It’s also one of 13 Colorado counties still operating within the property tax limits set by TABOR.

Arapahoe County to decide on ‘debrucing’

The resolution was approved in a vote of 4-1. The county government release said most of its neighbors have already asked voters to remove TABOR spending limits, or “ debruce .”

“Arapahoe County has a long tradition of financial responsibility, but increased population growth and inflationary costs have squeezed the county budget too far,” Board Chair Carrie Warren-Gully said in an announcement on the ballot question. “We’ve spent this year engaging residents to help them better understand our challenges and sought their input on various solutions. We’re now asking voters to invest in Arapahoe County and ensure essential services such as repairing roads, crime prevention, sheriff’s office response, housing solutions, and homelessness prevention programs remain.”

Natalie Menten, a board member for an educational group called the TABOR Foundation , spoke during Tuesday’s special meeting , calling the ballot language “misleading” and said commissioners should be more upfront about the measure being a tax increase. She also said the measure would “wipe out” another law that caps property taxes at 5.5% revenue growth each year.

“In about a week, the special session will start down at the legislature,” Menten said. “They’re going to address the shortfalls in the property tax that exist now because of Senate Bill 233.”

Arapahoe County: Budgets ‘reaching a critical point’

The county said in a release that the balanced budget has come out of the budget for capital projects and ongoing maintenance, and said those are “reaching a critical point.”

The county says over $316 million of deferred maintenance and transportation needs are unaddressed in the county, while the county’s population has continued to grow.

“Through surveying, we know Arapahoe County residents want better roads and improvements to traffic, sensible housing solutions, and reliable and efficient public safety services,” Commissioner Jessica Campbell said in the release. “Commissioners recognize the gravity of this decision as we try to preserve and enhance our residents’ exceptional quality of life. How that looks next year is up to the voters.”

Menten said the county’s communications with the community have said the measure is “not a tax increase,” but she asserted that it is.

“If we really want to have honest ballot language here for the voters, it should address one, ‘shall taxes be increased,'” she told the commission. “I hope people will see through this language and understand to vote no.”

Is there an alternative to debrucing?

Commissioner Jeff Baker also spoke about the measure during the meeting, noting that while Arapahoe County does need more money, he’s unsure this is the best method to right the budget.

“The discussions we have had were intense,” Baker said. “Last year, after seeing the polling results, we very responsibly decided to wait until the public was better prepared for a ballot measure.”

Baker said the board considered a “TABOR timeout,” which would be a trial period wherein the county is exempt from TABOR limits instead of a total debrucing measure.

“If this measure passes, which our polling indicates is likely to happen, I would advocate that we do not immediately raise the mill levy to the maximum pre-TABOR rate, but instead look at gradually increasing that as we right-size the mill levy to meeting the needs of our citizens,” Baker said.

Baker, who was the lone dissenting vote on the measure, said he was voting no because it is clear that the residents of his district were against the debrucing measure.

How much could Arapahoe County property taxes rise?

If voters approve the debrucing in November, Arapahoe could increase its mill levy for property taxes to the maximum legal limit for the first time since 2015. The county said TABOR guidelines left Arapahoe with 29% less property tax revenue than it otherwise would have collected.

“Most of our neighboring counties have debruced and that puts us at a disadvantage to provide essential services,” Commissioner Leslie Summey said in the county release. “Over the past two decades, we’ve had incredible growth compounded with funding constraints that seriously impact our ability to do business. Our residents deserve more, and they get to decide on the best path forward.”

The average residential property owner in Arapahoe County spends $384 annually, with the funds going to essential county services, according to the county. The owner of a $500,000 house would spend about $137 more each year in property taxes if the mill levy were to be returned to pre-TABOR levels.

“With careful budgeting and with help from the American Rescue Plan Act, we’ve been able to make things work at a baseline level, but our community members want and need more and more services to keep the high quality of life we have in Arapahoe County,” said Commissioner Bill Holen in the release. “We want to keep the momentum we’ve built to fully support our community.”

The Arapahoe County Commissioners created a website to dive into the $543.1 million budget, which it says is mostly funded by property taxes. The county has also surveyed thousands of residents, finding there was mostly support for the removal of the TABOR cap.

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