Menten: No on Jefferson County 1A; keep property tax caps in place
Complete Colorado
Property tax caps have been restored in Colorado. That’s thanks to the pressure from a citizen-initiated ballot measure (since pulled from the ballot) compelling state lawmakers to address skyrocketing property taxes in a special legislative session (this after local governments failed to lower mill levies and alleviate the problem). But those caps are yet again under threat in Jefferson County with Ballot Issue IA.
Runaway property taxes were created in the first place by voters in local elections unwittingly forfeiting caps in our constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and a statutory 5.5% annual property tax cap, only recognizing later that it was a big mistake.
State politicians had mixed feelings about the 2024 special session. Some fiscally conservative legislators thought that House Bill 24B-1001 didn’t provide enough assurance that residents would not be taxed out of homes. Some “progressive” elected officials thought it was horrible to provide property tax relief in response to a citizen initiative, calling it a “fecal sandwich”.
Jefferson County, like Arapahoe and Weld counties, has maintained tax caps for over 30 years due to vigilant citizens rejecting misleading ballot issues in 2019 and 2022. However, this is at risk again with a new version (Issue 1A) on the 2024 Jeffco ballot. This version, like before, uses deceptive language and aims to permanently remove these caps.
The key is to share this information quickly and widely. Remind your friends and networks to vote NO on Jeffco 1A to preserve the caps. Ballots will arrive around October 14-15.
The bill passed in the recent legislative special session implemented two key changes:
- Local taxing agencies (e.g. county or special district) now face a 5.25% cap on property tax increases (6% for schools).
- Any ballot measure after November 5, 2024, to remove these limits must clearly state, “Shall the _______ (name of government) waive the 5.25% property tax limit for…” and specify the duration.
Jefferson County’s 1A, being set before this date, skirts these new transparency rules.
Governments often use tax dollars for public persuasion campaigns and exploit legal loopholes during election seasons to get away with deceptive ballot language, including Jefferson County. I recently discussed this in an interview with Free State Colorado, which you can watch here.
The past proponents of Jeffco tax hikes even resorted to tainting our local TABOR notice booklet in 2019. The shenanigans didn’t stop there.
Our current county commissioners Andy Kerr, Lesley Dahlkemper, and Tracy Kraft-Tharp, have stepped up the attack on taxpayers’ wallets using a $340,000 taxpayer-funded political strategist, and continue to push their intentionally misleading ballot language to eliminate the caps.
Voters must reject this behavior. Vote NO on Jefferson County 1A to keep tax caps in place.
– Property owners: Vote no to avoid excessively higher property taxes year after year.
– Renters: Rising property taxes will be passed on as rent increases, making housing less affordable.
– Consumers: Higher business property taxes will raise prices for goods and services.
Vote NO on Jeffco 1A to protect yourself from excessively increasing costs. If you can’t afford more at the grocery store, gas pump, insurance bill, or rent – then you for sure can’t afford removing property tax caps forever.
Natalie Menten has been an activist in Jefferson County for over 20 years focusing on state and local public policy. She is a former elected RTD boardmember and sits on the board of directors for the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights Foundation. Contact Natalie at NMLakewood@gmail.com.
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