Tax proposals too vague to pass

Voters should reject three of the four property tax proposals on the ballot Tuesday. Combined, they amount to a very meaningful increase in the property tax burden for both residents and commercial real estate and are supported by scant justification. While the framers of the increase try to justify all the wonderful projects they will undertake (Roaring Fork Transportation Authority) or appeal that the money would replace monies taken away by others (Colorado Mountain College), they fail to address why more typical funding alternatives are rejected, i.e., paid for by the users of the services. The Healthy Community Fund is an absurd construction: pay tax dollars to a group that merely redistributes them to charities — basically a forced charitable donation decided by paid functionaries. Remember once increased, mill levies seldom go away. The Aspen Fire levy should be supported because they have adequately outlined and defended a real need and identified the proper funding source for that need.

Frederic Brace

Aspen