Brighton considering public safety tax

Councilors could pick sales or property tax increase, refer to voters

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Brighton Police Chief Matt Domenico laid out his request for a dedicated $1.9 million in new taxes devoted to public safety Feb. 28.

“We have had a pretty signi cant increase in population size in the last ten years, about a 20% increase,” Domenico told City Councilors during their Feb. 28 study session. “During that time, demands on law enforcement have consistently gone up.”

City Councilors are considering putting the matter before voters in November. If voters agree, the city would create a new tax — either a 0.15% sales tax or a 2.5 mill rate property tax. Either would generate about $1.9 million that would be dedicated to public safety for hiring new o cers and support sta to respond to the growing needs of

Brighton. If voters approve on the Nov. 2023 ballot, one version of the tax would begin in 2024.

Domenico said new technology, like body-worn cameras, have increased sta time. Videos from the cameras need to be reviewed, cataloged and archived while calls for service to a wider area demand more o cers’ time. e department has a need for new o cers, but also support sta to help.

“One of the benchmarks that is

SEE TAX, P3

According to Brandon Figliolino, a spokesperson for RTD, the Board of Directors is looking at a plan to combine local and regional fares, and lower the airport fare. A threehour pass would cost $2.75, a day pass $5.50 a monthly pass $88 and the airport fare would be $10, under a modi ed version of that plan.

“In April, RTD sta will ask the Board to release the draft recommended fare structure, policies and programs and draft fare equity analysis to the public. roughout the month of May, members of the public will be able to attend fare study information sessions and provide comments on the proposal,” Figliolino wrote in an email.

It may be one way to get more riders. RTD saw an increase in ridership during its Zero Fare for Better Air period in August 2022, when services were free. According to a nal report on the program, overall

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Trash hauler opinions sought

City to survey residents about moving to single trash collection company

BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Brighton will pitch the idea of converting to a single trash hauler at a series of public meetings this summer, councilors agreed.

Brighton Sustainability Coordinator Traci McLean outlined the process to determine how residents feel about the idea.

“We found it’s best to do inperson surveying,” McLean said.

“ at’s because we can answer questions people have ahead of time and make sure everyone has access to the materials they need. Typically, when you do in-person surveying, you get much more accurate results and a more representative sample of the community.” e idea stems from the council discussion earlier in the year. Multiple trash haulers serve the city, they o er di erent services. Some of the haulers serving Brighton o er regular recycling collections while others don’t. Some will collect yard waste, grass clippings and leaves while others do not.

Hiring a single trash hauler would o er consistent services, according to city memos, and cut down on the number of trash trucks traveling on neighborhood streets.

McLean said the city would host at least four events this spring, one in each ward. Sta would make a short presentation, o er informa- tion about the services and ask residents to take a survey. Results from that survey would guide council decisions later this year.

“If we don’t have the turnout we want at these events — we are going to be wrapping those up by May, so it should give us enough time to also do some additional outreach at Brighton Summer Fest and the City BBQ just to get that sample up.” e survey would collect demographics, their experience with their current trash hauler and what they think of changing to a single trash hauler.

“We really want to be sure we are collecting data that captures that tells use the experience they’ve had with their current provider, their perceptions about single haulers and what kind of options they’d liked to see in a contract,” McLean said. “We really want to understand what the community wants so we can tie that back to any recommendations we make once we get to that phase.”

Councilor Peter Padilla he has talked to some Brighton homeowners associations and thinks they might be interested in a citywide trash service, as long as they could end their contracts with their current haulers.

He favors the idea of surveying residents.

“I’m de nitely excited to see what peoples’ opinions are, how people want to engage and if people are satis ed with what they have and they don’t want to switch or if they look at the options,” Padilla said. “And how they feel like having one truck on their streets versus four each day.”

Brighton o ering garden kits helps converse water