Home prices here are skyrocketing, but just because property values are going up doesn’t mean residents can afford to pay more in property taxes.
So says Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising State Action.
His group turned in petitions with more than 190,000 signatures Monday in support of Initiative 27 to reduce those taxes from 7.15% to 6.95%.
They needed 124,000 to get the measure on the ballot.
Fields says the increase in property values is especially putting a strain on senior citizens and those who live on fixed incomes.
If passed in November, the measure would also give a property tax break to disabled veterans and seniors.
We turned in a lot of signatures today for ballot measures to cut property taxes by 9% and increase transparency in state government. Thanks to everyone who signed the petitions! #copolitics #coleg @COStateAction https://t.co/FI9TMEBMZl pic.twitter.com/8fEQr24jGO
— Michael Fields (@MichaelCLFields) August 2, 2021
Fields is pursuing another ballot measure requiring oversight to how billions of dollars in donations to Gov. Polis’s office are being spent.
CBS4 reported last year there was zero transparency from the governor’s office in how those donations from corporations and private foundations were used.
The ballot measure would require so-called custodial funds – which also include federal stimulus dollars and legal settlements – to go through the normal legislative budgeting process, with hearings and public input.
“It really just opens up the books so there aren’t any slush funds in the executive branch,” says Fields.