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Forums on ballot initiatives to be held this week

Post Independent staff report
Aspen, CO Colorado

CARBONDALE – Two community forums this week, one in Glenwood Springs and one in Carbondale, will address the three tax- and debt-limiting state ballot initiatives on which voters will decide Nov. 2.

The Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association is sponsoring a forum from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday to address the potentially damaging impacts of the proposed state ballot measures, Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101.

The forum will take place at the Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfsohn Road.



“The three ballot measures would make deep cuts in funding for essential government services, build up a deficit in the state budget, and permanently eliminate any practical means for funding large projects such as airports, highways, bridges, hospitals, schools, water plants, community centers and trails,” according to a chamber press release. The chamber is opposing the three measures.

The forum will begin with a presentation by fiscal policy expert Rich Jones of the Bell Policy Center. He will explain how the three amendments could combine to drive Colorado into a “planned recession.”




A panel of local community leaders will then explain the expected impacts on public services. Included on the panel will be Linda English, chief financial officer for Colorado Mountain College, Jeff Hecksel, Glenwood Springs city manager, Bill Livingston, president of the Glenwood Springs Rural Fire District, and Shannon Pelland, assistant superintendent for financial resources for the Roaring Fork School District.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Carbondale Board of Trustees hosts a forum to discuss the ballot questions, at the Church at Carbondale Gathering Center, 110 Snowmass Drive.

It will invite both opponents and proponents to discuss the issue. Participants will engage in a panel discussion regarding the underlying issues. Representatives of the local school, fire, library and college districts have been invited to participate, alongside persons seeking passage of the measures.

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

“The Carbondale Board of Trustees recognizes that these initiatives have the potential to impact multiple programs, services and economic growth both locally and statewide, and they believe a public forum is imperative,” according to a press release from the town board.